Elections are at the core of both the vitality and fragility of American democracy. Free and responsive government is hard to imagine without elections, yet U.S. elections suffer from relatively low turnout, increasing polarization, invisible money, racial and gender inequality, partisan gerrymandering, and new forms of voter disenfranchisement. This course offers students an overview of American elections by placing the November elections in historical and comparative perspective and following their development in real time.

This course examines the dramatic emergence of democratic institutions and civil society in East Asia. The primary aim of the class is to help students understand and analyze the process of democratic unfolding in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. We will also evaluate China's recent, albeit limited experiments with democratic practices. We will begin by contrasting Western perspectives of democracy with both traditional and more contemporary Asian understandings of democracy.

Do ethical considerations matter in international relations? Should they? These questions are examined from the perspective of Western writers on these specific issues: just war, intervention, human rights, weapons of mass destruction, and distributive justice. The course also considers challenges to the international system posed by the critiques and responses of non-Western states and peoples.

This course examines voluntary and forced migrations from local, regional and global perspectives. It focuses on contemporary population movements and their historical antecedents, paying particular attention to colonial legacies and the immigration policies of European states and the U.S. We will debate the costs and benefits of migration, the ethical and normative implications of asylum policies and the treatment of refugees, and rights and obligations of citizenship.

How do we end political violence and achieve peace? This course focuses on the context for negotiation and bargaining strategies, including what types of actors are involved in negotiations, the contours of the mediation environment, the timing of intervention and talks, the use of leverage to get warring parties to the table, and the transformation of processes across multiple stages from initial mediation to implementation to enforcement.

This course will examine arguments for reparations for slavery with an eye towards understanding what withholding and extending reparations have meant for American democracy and citizenship. We will contextualize arguments for reparations within a larger conversation about repairing democratic norms, institutions, and social conditions within recent democratic theory.

From the writings of Adam Smith in the 18th century to present-day arguments by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the benefits and costs of capitalism in human society have been hotly debated. Do the benefits of capitalism outweigh the costs? Is it possible or desirable to "tame" markets to maintain their good elements while minimizing the harm? How has a debate dominated by Europeans and North Americans considered or overlooked perspectives from the rest of the world?

In an era where Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are ubiquitous, self-presentation is a constant concern and practice. What are the politics of self-presentation and -cultivation, if any? Do the choices we make about diet, how to dress, where to shop, and our friends have any political valence? To what extent can these choices be thought of as a form of resistance to popular culture in an era where rebellion is marketed to us?

What is the role of governments in regulating human reproduction? How has this changed throughout the 20th and 21st century? Is reproduction an area of our private lives that should be left outside the realm of government? Or is the state actually needed to safeguard our reproductive rights? This course analyzes the history of reproductive policies in the US and compares it with cases from the global South.

Teaches safety and general procedures in handling, grooming, and tacking the horse. Allows mounted students to learn and practice the basic riding position and communication aids for stopping, going and turning at the walk and trot. Instruction will be multidisciplinary. Special emphasis on horse care and overall stable management, with one meeting per week unmounted. For those with no prior horse experience and/or no formal riding instruction.