| Political Science |
POLT 401 - Politics and Society
Credits:
4.00
Introduces the nature of politics and political
institutions. Emphasizes political behavior and continuing
issues of modern politics, such as power, authority,
legitimacy, freedom, and order.
POLT 401H - Honors/Politics and Society
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 401.
POLT 402 - Introduction to American Government
Credits:
4.00
Power and competition in American politics focusing on
voters and elections; public opinion and the media;
interest groups and political institutions?the President,
Congress, and the Courts. Examines critical political
issues from the founding of the nation to the present.
POLT 402H - Honors/Introduction to American Government
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 402.
POLT 403 - United States in World Affairs
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to United States foreign policy since the end
of World War II examining the foundations of American
policy, the origins and conduct of the Cold War and the
dilemmas of the post Cold War era. Explores contemporary
problems facing United States foreign policy such as
international economy and transnational global issues.
POLT 403H - Honors/United States in World Affairs
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 403. Writing intensive.
POLT 403W - United States in World Affairs
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 403. Writing intensive.
POLT 407 - Law and Society
Credits:
4.00
Introduces the ways in which law operates in modern
society: its forms, functions, underlying values, and the
consequences of its application in particular regimes.
Topics include the psychological bases for legal
obligation, the evolution of particular legal doctrines,
the philosophical underpinnings of legal responsibility,
the relationship of law to social structures, the
relationship of law to morality, the nature of legal
reasoning, and critiques of law.
POLT 407H - Honors/Law and Society
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 407.
POLT 444 - Science, Society and Politics
Credits:
4.00
Uses the issue of climate change to explore the
relationships between scientific and technical research
and debate, policymaking at the international and domestic
(U.S.) levels and public understanding and interpretation
of complex technical issues. The course is
interdisciplinary. Writing intensive.
POLT 500 - American Public Policy
Credits:
4.00
Political and economic factors that mold the processes by
which American policy makers deal with such domestic
issues as crime and violence, poverty and inequality,
inflation and unemployment, urban blight and renewal, and
energy and the environment. Writing intensive.
POLT 502 - State and Local Government
Credits:
4.00
Powers, politics, political cultures, and constitutional
settings of American state and local governments. State
legislatures, governorships, court systems, political
parties, electoral systems, and interest groups. Structures
and functions of local governments, including towns,
cities, counties, and special districts. Writing intensive.
POLT 504 - American Presidency
Credits:
4.00
The President as administrator, policy maker, and political
leader. The relationship between the President and the
public, the media, and other governmental institutions.
Historical and constitutional background of the Presidency,
role and powers of the President in domestic and foreign
affairs.
POLT 505 - American Congress
Credits:
4.00
Role and powers of Congress as national lawmaker and check
on the executive branch: committee structure, concepts of
representation, legislative oversight and party cleavage,
federal budget control, and foreign policy involvement.
POLT 506 - Parties, Interest Groups, and Voters
Credits:
4.00
Role of political parties as organizers and managers of
social conflict. Role of voters in controlling parties and
government. Influence of interest groups in the electoral
process and in governmental decision making.
POLT 507 - Politics of Crime and Justice
Credits:
4.00
Criminal justice in theory and practice; contemporary role
of police, prosecutors, judges, juries, counsel, and
interest groups in the administration of criminal justice.
Writing intensive.
POLT 508 - Supreme Court and the Constitution
Credits:
4.00
Supreme Court treated as a political institution whose
historic mission is to decide all controversies arising
under the Constitution between the nation and the states,
the President and Congress; the role of the judiciary in
defining its own powers, rights, and duties.
POLT 509 - Bureaucracy in America
Credits:
4.00
Growth and development of the bureaucratic state. Roles
and powers of administrative officials, decision making in
bureaucratic settings, citizen participation, and the
influence of interest groups on bureaucratic policy making.
POLT 510 - Mass Media in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Contemporary review of media in politics; major roles of
media today in providing news, setting public agenda,
influencing public opinion; government regulations vs.
media responsibility; future developments and consequences
for American democracy. Writing intensive.
POLT 512 - Public Opinion in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Relationship of mass and elite opinion within the context
of American political culture. Impact of public opinion on
American governmental policies, especially with respect to
major issues facing the President and Congress. Appraisal
of responsiveness to influence and responsibility to lead.
Writing intensive.
POLT 513 - Civil Rights and Liberties
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of four major areas of constitutional rights and
liberties?political freedom, equal protection of the laws,
and due process?with particular attention to their impact
on such problems as political protest, discrimination,
school segregation, students rights and the relationship
between government and religion. Writing intensive.
POLT 520 - Justice and the Political Community
Credits:
4.00
Origin of the idea of justice; relationship between
politics, justice, and morality; selections from Plato,
Aristotle, Roman, Islamic, and Christian political
philosophers.
POLT 521 - Rights and the Political Community
Credits:
4.00
Human rights and the quality of communities as expressed
in Hobbes, Locke, Mandeville, Rousseau, and others.
POLT 522 - Dissent and the Political Community
Credits:
4.00
Current political ideologies and controversies in America
and abroad; liberal democracy and its critics since the
19th century.
POLT #523 - American Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
American political thinkers and observers of American
politics; the founding of the Republic; problems and
tensions reflected in the writings of Calhoun, Thoreau,
Lincoln, de Tocqueville, and others; relations between
liberty and authority, democracy and stability, capitalism
and alienation. Writing intensive.
POLT 524 - Politics and Literature
Credits:
4.00
Classical and contemporary works of literature to
illustrate perennial issues in political philosophy; among
authors studied are Aristophanes, Sophocles, Shakespeare,
Melville, Tolstoy, and Sartre.
POLT #525 - Multicultural Theory
Credits:
4.00
Issues of concern generated from an attention to and
appreciation of our diverse cultural identities. As a
theory course in political framework, we approach
multiculturalism as a new attempt to respond to the
challenges that difference poses in democratic theory.
POLT #544 - Pathways to Democracy
Credits:
4.00
Parting from analysis of the Third Wave of worldwide
democratization in the 1980s and 1990s, focuses on
understanding how and why these regime changes came about,
the ongoing trials of democratic consolidation faced by
many of these nations, and movement toward democracy by
some of the world's remaining authoritarian regimes.
Writing intensive.
POLT 545 - People and Politics in Asia
Credits:
4.00
Surveys the contemporary politics of nations and peoples
of East Asia within the framework of their modern
histories and societies. Emphasizes China and Japan, and
introduces the evolving political systems of Taiwan, North
and South Korea, Hong Kong/Macao. Companion course to POLT
546, but either may be taken separately. Writing intensive.
POLT #546 - Wealth and Politics in Asia
Credits:
4.00
Different paths to modernization, industrialization, and
development in nations of the Asia-Pacific Rim. In-depth
examinations of the challenges faced by Japan, China, Hong
Kong/Macao, Taiwan and the Koreas in their search for the
correct path to economic growth and prosperity, with
special emphasis on each nation's distinct society and
history. Companion course to POLT 545, but either may be
taken separately. Writing intensive.
POLT 550 - Comparative Government and Society
Credits:
4.00
Concepts for comparing modern political systems, such as
ideologies, institutions, social movements, and various
forms of states, from democracies to authoritarian regimes.
Illustrates concepts with examples from Western-style
democracies, former communist regimes, and the developing
world. Writing intensive.
POLT 551 - Global Urban Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines the social, economic, demographic, and political
processes of cities around the globe. Topics include
population growth, theories of urbanization, urban economic
development, urban policies toward transportation,
environment, employment, housing, land, water supplies,
sanitation, solid-waste disposal, and infrastructure.
Comparisons are made between cities of the developed and
less developed nations of the world. Structures of urban
and national social stratification, structures of urban and
subnational governments, and political participation
examined. Writing intensive.
POLT 552 - Contemporary European Politics
Credits:
4.00
Politics and governments in Western Europe, with attention
to both basic characteristics of political life in
different countries and current issues of politics. Writing
intensive.
POLT #553 - Politics in the Developing World
Credits:
4.00
Considers patterns of political and economic development
in the context of globalization. Part one addresses why
much of the world has not kept pace with the industrialized
democracies; part two addresses nation-building and
development efforts, with case studies from Central Asia,
Latin America, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
POLT #554 - Latin American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines region-wide transitions from state-led to
neo-liberal economic strategies in the 1980s and 1990s
and from authoritarian to democratic political
systems.Considers the results of these ongoing political
and economic changes in several case study nations and the
broader impacts of increased globalization and economic
integration of the Americas. Writing intensive.
POLT 555 - Politics in Russia
Credits:
4.00
Develops an understanding of politics in the Russian
Federation. Surveys the political history of Russia from
1900 until the collapse of the Communist Party and the
dissolution of the USSR. Focuses on the development of the
Federation's institutions, with emphasis on the Presidency
and the Parliament, federalism, the role of the people,
transformation toward a market economy, and the
Federation's status as a democracy.
POLT 555W - Politics in Russia
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 555. Writing intensive.
POLT 556 - Politics in China
Credits:
4.00
Dynamics of China's domestic political and economic policy
processes-from massive starvation of the Great Leap
Forward and the ideological upheavals of the Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution to the "Opening of China to
the Outside World." Writing intensive.
POLT 557 - Politics in Italy
Credits:
4.00
Develops an understanding of the politics and political
development of Italy, with an emphasis on the political
system which emerged after WWII and the transformation of
the 1990's.
POLT 558 - Government and Politics of Canada
Credits:
4.00
Cultural background of party competition, role of
ideology, structure of government, and contemporary issues
in Canadian political system. Special fee. Writing intensive
POLT 560 - World Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines the structures, processes and issues that shape
contemporary international relations. Topics include: the
rise and fall of the nation-state system and its current
prospects, national and international security in the post
Cold War era, problems of the international political
economy, international conflict resolution, human rights,
and global environmental politics.
POLT 562 - Strategy and National Security Policy
Credits:
4.00
Provides an overview of U.S. national security. Examines
the nature of security, evolution of strategy, and the
history of the United States? approach to its national
security. Focuses on the policy and decision-making
processes, the use of force in international affairs, and
the capabilities of the U.S. military. Concludes with
treatment of specific issues, including the current
American security environment?state and non-state threats,
contemporary military strategy, weapons of mass
destruction, terrorism, peacekeeping, coercive diplomacy,
alliances, and conflict management and resolution. Writing
intensive.
POLT 565 - United States/Latin American Relations
Credits:
4.00
Contemporary political, economic, and social relations
between the U.S. and Latin America. Topics include the
pattern of U.S. response to political change in Latin
America, regional cooperation, debt, trade investment, the
drug trade, immigration, rising interdependence, and
prospects for economic integration.
POLT 566 - Foreign Policies of Asia and the Pacific
Credits:
4.00
Analyzes the foreign policies and interactions of the four
great Pacific powers: China, Japan, Russia and the United
States from the breakdown of the western imperialist order
and the rise of imperial Japan, the Cold War clashes in
Korea and the Sino-Soviet border, to the current search for
a new Pacific economic and political order. Writing intensiv
POLT 567 - Politics of Global Resources
Credits:
4.00
International politics from the perspective of the
exhaustibility of global resources and the expansion of
global demand. Concentrates on issues including population,
food, energy, the environment, security, and human rights.
Global interdependence and the appearance of new
institutional frameworks of global public policy making.
Writing intensive.
POLT 568 - Introduction to Intelligence
Credits:
4.00
The purpose and practice of intelligence in the national
security process. Concentration on the role of
intelligence in the United States involving the C.I.A.,
military intelligence agencies, and the practice of
intelligence in other countries. Writing intensive.
POLT 569 - Chinese Foreign Policy
Credits:
4.00
Analysis of China's struggle for political and economic
power in Asia and the world. Examines the legacy of
China's historical encounters with the outside world,
interactions with the international system since 1949,
domestic determinants of foreign political and economic
policies, and theories of decision making. Writing intensive
POLT 571 - International Politics of the Middle East
Credits:
4.00
Examines inter-Arab affairs and U.S. involvement in the
region. Particular focus on oil and economics, migration,
transnational political ideologies (Arab nationalism,
Islam, democracy), and the Arab-Israeli crisis. Writing
intensive.
POLT 600 - Selected Topics in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Special topics such as politics and public affairs in New
Hampshire, women in politics, and civil liberties. See
departmental listings for semester offerings. Writing
intensive.
POLT 602A - Internship
Credits:
4.00
Field experience in a governmental or nongovernmental
organization at the local, state, national, or
international level. Arrangements must be made through the
political science department. Open to juniors and seniors
with at least a 3.2 G.P.A. Permission of the undergraduate
curriculum committee of the department is required prior to
the internship.
POLT 602B - Washington Center Internship
Credits:
4.00
A four credit independent study designed to work in
conjunction with the Unversity's Washington Center
Internship program. Requirements: Major in Political
Science Junior or Senior Research component to be discussed
with faculty sponsor For details on the Washington Center
Internship, please contact Carolyn Tacy, Coordinator
National Student Exchange and Washington Center Internships
114 Hood House 603/862-3485 (V/TTY 862-2607) email:
carolyn.tacy@unh.edu. Prereq: POLT 402.
POLT 602C - Concord Internship Program
Credits:
12.00
Provides students with field experience in state
government in Concord (State Senate, House of
Representatives, Office of the Governor, etc.). Students
will spend three days weekly in Concord and attend a weekly
practicum in Durham. Open to Junior and Seniors with a 3.2
or better G.P.A. Applications accepted in the fall semester
and can be found on department's website. Permission
required. Prereq: POLT 402 and 502. Students may sign up
for 602A or any four (4) credit course along with 602C for
a total of 16 credits. Cr/F.
POLT 602D - Internship
Credits:
4.00 to 12.00
Field experience in governmental or nongovernmental
organization at the local, state, national, or
international level. Arrangements must be made through the
political science department. Open to juniors and seniors
with at least 3.2 G.P.A. Permission from the undergraduate
curriculum committee of the department is required. From 4
to 12 credits maybe taken. Cr/F.
POLT 620 - Selected Topics in Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
Selected issues in political theory, such as liberalism
and conservatism, radical political thought, the American
political character, and others. See departmental listings
for semester offerings. Writing intensive.
POLT 651 - Selected Topics in Comparative Politics
Credits:
4.00
Specialized areas or issues such as regional politics,
national politics, judicial systems, administrative law,
constitutions, etc. See department listings for semester
offerings. Writing intensive.
POLT 660 - Selected Topics in International Politics
Credits:
4.00
Examines specialized issues in international politics.
Topics may include ethnic conflict, non-proliferation and
global security, economic and political globalization, etc.
See department listings for semester offerings. Writing
intensive.
POLT 695 - Independent Study
Credits:
2.00 to 4.00
Designed to meet special interests of students and
instructors in exploring issues in political science. Upon
satisfying eligibility requirements set forth by
departmental guidelines (in departmental office and on the
Web), students must have the approval of a faculty sponsor.
Students submit the form and all supporting evidence by
mid-semester prior to the planned semester of independent
study for departmental approval. Does not meet the major's
four field-course requirement; maximum of eight (8) credits
can be counted toward the non-field major requirements.
Prereq: at least one upper-level course in field of
independent study.
POLT 696 - Independent Study
Credits:
2.00 to 4.00
See description for POLT 695.
POLT 701 - Courts and Public Policy
Credits:
4.00
Impact of judicial decisions on public policy and
influences on judicial decision making at the federal,
state, and local levels. Writing intensive.
POLT 702 - Public Planning and Budgeting
Credits:
4.00
Analysis, goal setting, and strategic planning in a
governmental setting, with particular emphasis on
budgetary processes as a means for controlling policy
effectiveness. Writing intensive.
POLT 703 - Urban and Metropolitan Politics
Credits:
4.00
An eclectic approach to the study of urban and metropolitan
politics. Topics include urban politics, forms of local
government, migrations, urban development,
intergovernmental relations, community power structure,
urban policy making, urban service delivery, crime and law
enforcement, urban bureaucracy, urban decay, and
revitalization. Writing intensive.
POLT 704 - Policy and Program Evaluation
Credits:
4.00
Policy and program evaluation of federal, state, and local
governmental enterprise; focuses on the politics,
practices, and methods of evaluative investigation.
Evaluation as a technique for providing rational
information for budgetary and policy-making decisions.
Writing intensive.
POLT 705 - American Public Policy
Credits:
4.00
Examination of public policy formation, agenda-setting,
decision-making, implementation. Focuses on theories,
models, concepts, actors, and case study examples.
POLT 707 - Criminal Justice Administration
Credits:
4.00
Examines the administration and politics of police
organizations, the courts, and correctional institutions.
POLT 708 - Administrative Law
Credits:
4.00
Examines the legal rules governing regulatory agencies, in
the U.S. Topics include regulatory adjudication and
rulemaking, legislative and executive control over
administrative agencies, judicial review and public
participation. Examines federal and state levels of
government.
POLT 710 - Public Human Resource Management
Credits:
4.00
Examination of the administration, politics, and
strategies of effective public human resource management.
POLT 721 - Feminist Political Theory
Credits:
4.00
Explores various strands of feminist political theory;
taking a specifically political view of the challenges of
feminist activism and philosophy. Addresses issues of the
public space, power, social transformation, and democracy.
POLT 743 - Comparative Political Economy
Credits:
4.00
Explores the origins, development, and functions of the
modern state in the West, its links with markets and
capitalism, and its role in contemporary political economy.
Examples from various advanced industrial societies.
Writing intensive.
POLT 751 - Comparative Environmental Politics and Policy
Credits:
4.00
Environmental politics and policy across national
boundaries and at different levels of governance.
Comparison of the U.S. and European Union environmental
policies to build a foundation for comparisons across
national boundaries and sub-national authorities. Students
improve their understanding of how and why comparative
methods are used to gain insight into politics and
policymaking. Central concepts and debates addressed
include the roles of expertise, sustainability,
precautionary principle, the use of market mechanisms in
policy, environmental justice, policy devolution and
flexibility, environmental performance assessment, NGO
roles, activism, and social movements. A range of
theoretical approaches and historical and contemporary
events and case studies, evaluating the claims and
explanatory power of various concepts and theories.
Includes ethical issues emerging from the theory and
practice of environmental politics. Writing intensive.
POLT 760 - Theories of International Relations
Credits:
4.00
Theoretical approaches of international politics,
international organization and international political
economy with particular emphasis on systems theories,
domestic determinants of foreign policy and theories of
decision making. Writing intensive.
POLT 762 - International Political Economy
Credits:
4.00
The evolution of international economic regimes (monetary,
trade, development). Particular emphasis on theoretical
approaches to explain current economic problems: systematic
theories (interdependence, hegemonic stability); domestic
determinants (bureaucratic, interest group); and
decision-making theories (rational choice). Writing intensiv
POLT 778 - International Organization
Credits:
4.00
Various forms of cooperation among nations on security,
economic, environmental and social issues through
international organizations such as the United Nations,
NATO, the World Trade Organization, and other global and
regional bodies. Examines the role and influence of
non-governmental international organizations. Writing
intensive.
POLT 780 - International Environmental Politics, Policy and Law
Credits:
4.00
Explores international/global environmental politics and
policymaking, multilateral negotiations, the role of
science and technology in policymaking, state capacity, the
making of international law, implementation, and
compliance. Other issues include climate change, marine
pollution, long-range air pollution, United States
leadership in the global political arena, North-South
divisions in global politics, environmental justice,
sustainable development, and the role of the United Nations
and other international organizations. Writing intensive.
POLT 795 - Advanced Study
Credits:
4.00
Senior POLT majors, with a cumulative average of 3.20 or
greater, may undertake advanced study (political science),
in an area of their choice, in consultation with member(s)
of the faculty. Normally, the result of the project is a
significant written product of a quality comparable to that
done at the 700 course level. Student must initiate the
project discussion and obtain approval of the undergraduate
curriculum committee of the department before undertaking
the project. Writing intensive.
POLT 796 - Advanced Study
Credits:
4.00
See description for POLT 795. Writing intensive.
POLT 797B - Seminar in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research. Prereq: senior
standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 797C - Seminar in Comparative Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on government and politics in
foreign nations or regions. Areas of interest may include:
constitutional structures, political parties and interest
groups, legislatures, bureaucracy and public policy. Topics
address such concerns as religion and politics, patterns of
economic development, ethnic strife, political leadership.
Prereq: senior standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 797E - Seminar in International Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on problems of theory and
contemporary issues in international politics. Areas of
interest may include: democratic norms in international
relations, NATO expansion and European security, the peace
process in the Middle East, etc. See department listings
for semester offerings. Prereq: senior standing. Writing
intensive.
POLT 797F - Seminar in Public Administration
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research, including
opportunities for direct observation of governmental
administration. Prereq: senior standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 797I - Seminar in Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
Advanced treatment and individual research. Prereq: senior
or graduate standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798B - Seminar in American Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research. Prereq: senior
standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798C - Seminar in Comparative Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on government and politics in
foreign nations or regions. Areas of interest may include
constitutional structures, political parties and interest
groups, legislatures, bureaucracy and public policy. Topics
address such concerns as religion and politics, patterns of
economic development, ethnic strife, political leadership.
Prereq: senior standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798E - Seminar in International Politics
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on problems of theory and
contemporary issues in international politics. Areas of
interest may include democratic norms in international
relations; NATO and European security; the peace process in
the Middle East; etc. See department listings for semester
offerings. Prereq: senior standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798F - Seminar in Public Administration
Credits:
4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research, including
opportunities for direct observation of governmental
administration. Prereq: senior standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 798I - Seminar in Political Thought
Credits:
4.00
Advanced treatment and individual research. Prereq: senior
or graduate standing. Writing intensive.
POLT 799 - Honors Thesis
Credits:
4.00
Senior POLT honors-in-major students (see department for
honors-in-major requirements), with a cumulative average
of 3.20 or greater, may undertake a special honors project
in an area of their choice. The results of this special
project is a significant written product constituting an
honors thesis, under the supervision of a faculty sponsor.
Students must initiate the project discussion and obtain
approval of the undergraduate curriculum committee before
undertaking the project. The honors thesis constitutes the
tenth course in the major. Writing intensive.