Topics course.: Since Plato and Aristotle, wealth inequality has been the subject of political interrogation. In the last 50 years, most economic benefits have gone to the top 1 percent of the population; corporations and the very rich have paid lower taxes and corporations have received more corporate support from government while federal, state and local budgets for social welfare programs have been cut and working peoples’ salaries have fallen.

This seminar in political theory examines the idea and practice of civil disobedience. Are citizens morally obligated to obey unjust laws? How do we know when a law is unjust? What kinds of protest actions are justified? Is violence ever legitimate? This course will engage student with these questions by reading classic and contemporary texts from both philosophers and practitioners of forms of disobedience and resistance. Texts include works by John Rawls, Judith Shklar, Henry David Thoreau, MK Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Hannah Arendt.

Topics course.: The seminar identifies and analyzes the sources and patterns of conflict and cooperation among Asian states and between Asian and Western countries in the contemporary period. The course concludes by evaluating prospects for current efforts to create a new “Asia Pacific Community.” Permission of the instructor is required.

Topics course.: This seminar explores the status of the family in American political life and its role as a mediating structure between the individual and the state. Emphasis is placed on the role of the courts in articulating the rights of the family and its members. Suggested preparation: GOV 202 or WST 225.

What role do international organizations play in world politics, and what role should they play? Do international organizations represent humanity’s higher aspirations or are they simply tools of the wealthy and powerful? This course explores the problems and processes of international organizations by drawing on theoretical, historical and contemporary sources and perspectives. We focus on three contemporary organizations: the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the European Union. Prerequisite: 241 or permission of the instructor.

This course examines international human rights and the legal regime designed to protect them. Beginning with a theoretical inquiry into the justification of human rights, the course moves into an analysis of the contemporary system, from the UN to regional associations to NGOs.

This course will examine the relationship between race and the discourse, concept, and practice of citizenship as it has developed in the United States.  We will interrogate how ideologies and experiences of race and citizenship have constituted each other over time, enabling forms of unequal political belonging to coexist with claims to equality, liberty, and democracy. We will also consider how the meaning of citizenship has been challenged and reformulated by those who have contested racialized hierarchies and exclusions.

This course explores the eight years of the Clinton presidency. It covers the elections, policy debates, foreign policy, battles with the Republican Congress and impeachment. The purpose is to begin the task of bringing perspective to those years. Prerequisites: One American government course and permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 20.

A thorough introduction to the study of public policy in the United States. A theoretical overview of the policy process provides the framework for an analysis of several substantive policy areas, to be announced at the beginning of the term.

Topics course.: This seminar examines the history and political economy of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya,focusing on the post-independence era. Where relevant, Egypt and Mauritania will be treated. The seminar sets Maghrebi (North Africa) politics in the broader context of its regional situation within the Mediterranean (Europe and the Middle East), as well as its relationship to sub-Saharan Africa and North America. Study is devoted to: (1) the independence struggle; (2) the colonial legacy; (3) contemporary political economy; and (4) post-colonial politics and society.