'Students in this course will explore ancient Greek tragedy as a way of thinking through such central problems of political life as freedom, identity, responsibility, and justice. The course will place the ancient texts in their particular historical context, while also attending to the material as a springboard for confronting contemporary political questions. The course will also address the broader implications of turning to ancient material and to literature as sources for political theorizing.'

'This course is an examination of political violence. Throughout the semester, the course covers the various manifestations of political violence, focusing on diverse topics such as genocide, ethnic conflict, interstate war, terrorism, and civil war. The course explores the debates in the field of political science regarding the nature and causal factors behind these types of violence. The course also examines how to end violence, how to maintain peace, and how societies should attempt to heal from periods of violence.'

'This course is an analysis of economic inequality in America and an exploration of the power relationships, interests, and ideological conflicts surrounding this problem. Topics include the distribution of income and wealth in the United States; the relationship of poverty to race, sex, and class divisions; conservative, liberal, and radical perspectives on poverty and poverty policy.'

'In this examination of American foreign policy since 1898, topics include the emergence of the United States as a global power, its role in World War I and II, its conduct and interests in the cold war, and its possible objectives in a post-cold war world. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between domestic interests and foreign policy, the role of nuclear weapons in determining policy, and the special difficulties in implementing a democratic foreign policy.

'This course offers a critical investigation of the questions of power, politics, and principles surrounding environmental issues in the United States. Topics include a history of U.S. environmental policy and an analysis of the workings of our major environmental policy-making institutions: Congress, the executive branch, the courts, and private corporations. A variety of approaches to environmental activism are also examined, including mainstream environmentalism, grassroots activism, deep ecology, and others.'

'Since the 1990s Latin America has witnessed increasing societal and political debates over sexual and reproductive rights. Issues such as abortion, gay marriage, transgender rights, sexual education and assisted reproductive technology have risen to the top of political agendas after decades of silence, taboos, and restrictive or non-existent legislation. The course provides a survey of sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America highlighting the disparities within the region and analyzing the multiple factors behind current policies.'

'This course examines the interaction of politics and economics in the global economy. Topics include the development of the capitalist economy and its critics, the politics of trade and investment, and the phenomenon of global poverty.'

'This course explores propaganda techniques and mobilization for war. Drawing on recent comparative and historical examples, we will analyze war mobilization strategies and different forms of propaganda, its control, and dissemination from a variety of cross-cultural perspectives. We will address the following questions: Why is propaganda necessary? What is the media's relationship to state propaganda efforts? How do states control information in an age of 'citizen journalists' armed with cell phones? How do activists and protest movements contest state propaganda?

'This course examines the dramatic rise of East Asia in the post-World War II period in comparative perspective. The focus will be on understanding the process and consequences of rapid development in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China. Assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the 'East Asian model of development' and explores how different developmental experiences and policies affect state-society relations, social and political identities, and prospects for peace and cooperation throughout the region.'

'Through the writings of such thinkers as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Mill, we will examine central issues of modern Western political thought. Understanding modernity to entail a turn from political legitimacy based on the will of God to political legitimacy based on the conscious designs of human beings, we will focus on the significance of this turn for questions of sovereign power, the relationship between rulers and ruled, human nature, and the meaning of freedom.'