Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS PO 399: Data Science for Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Any 100-level course in Political Science. - Data science is changing how we understand and study politics, policy, and decision-making. This course introduces students to the fundamental tools of data science, including collecting, modeling, and visualizing data, and how to apply these tools to study political and policy questions. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Quantitative Reasoning I .
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  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • Quantitative Reasoning I
• CAS PO 409: The Political Psychology of Group-Based Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing and one previous course in political science or social psychology; or consent of instructor. - The study of political psychology, integrating political science and social and cognitive psychology as it informs the dynamics of group-based politics, including especially race, gender, class, and political party affiliation.
• CAS PO 497: Crime and Punishment: Philosophical Perspectives
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPH350) and two other philosophy courses. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course will explore philosophical questions about the criminal justice system, both in its ideal form and as it exists today. We will examine historical and contemporary writings on punishment, focusing on concepts of punishment, justifications for punishment, preventative detention, the death penalty, and alternatives to punishment. We will also ask how deep historical and contemporary injustices, including institutionalized racism, affect how we should theorize about institutions of punishment, their possible reform, or perhaps even their abolition. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry II.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 501: Formal Political Theory
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: PO 111, 141, 151, or 171. Calculus (MA 121,123, or 127) and probabilit y (MA 113, 115, or 213) are helpful, but not required. - Graduate Prerequisites: completion of BU Social Science Math Boot Camp. Some additional famili arity with calculus and microeconomics is helpful, but not required. - A course on formal theory, covering decision theory, game theory, and social choice theory. Topics include spatial models, electoral competition, bargaining, deterrence, and signaling models. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS PO 502: Political Analysis
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPO399) or consent of instructor. Familiarity with algebra and calculus are he lpful, but not required. - The logic and methods of empirical analysis in political science. Introduces research design for a variety of social science applications, as well as data analysis, data visualization and statistical software. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS PO 503: The U.S. in the Middle East
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: senior standing. - Examines the historical development and present status of the United States' association with the Middle East: American commercial, economic, political, military, and humanitarian interests in the area and their interaction.
• CAS PO 505: Readings in American Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Topics vary. May be taken multiple times for credit providing the topic is different.
• CAS PO 507: Development of American Constitutional Law
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPO111 & CASPO304) - A survey of the development of constitutional law and the exercise of power by the U.S. Supreme Court. The course is drawn entirely from decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the principal theme is the development of national constitutions and power. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Historical Consciousness.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 508: The Judiciary and Civil Liberties
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - First Amendment rights of speech, press, assembly, religion; rights of defendants in criminal cases; and the constitutional protection of racial minorities. Supreme Court decision-making processes and modes of compliance with its decisions are also considered. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 515: American Politics and Use of Force
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPO111) and junior standing, or consent of instructor. - Examines how domestic politics drive the use of force in the postwar United States. Explores how Congress, courts, interest groups, media, and public opinion define Presidential action in times of crisis, as well as the kinds of crises that evoke action.
• CAS PO 516: Gender and Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or above. - Analyzes the relationship between gender and politics, law and policy primarily in the United States. Considers inequalities based on gender and sexuality, women's changing political, gender- and sexuality-based political action and social movements. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 517: Urban Politics and Policy
  Explores the impact of American urban politics on the implementation of local policy. Topics include deindustrialization, white flight, neighborhood effects, housing policy, schools, regionalism, and factors that constrain policy-making capacities. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Writing-Intensive Course, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 518: Causes and Consequences of Political Segregation in the United States
  This seminar explores how political geography – where different political, racial, economic, and social groups live in relation to one another – shapes U.S. politics. The course covers trends shaping political segregation and its impacts on representation, elections, political campaigns, and polarization. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS PO 519: Inequality and American Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course examines the role of income inequality in shaping American politics and policy. Combining research from history, political science, economics, and public policy scholars, we will consider a range of important topics, including inequality in public voice, money and politics, and attitudes towards redistribution. We will apply this knowledge as part of a final paper project in metropolitan Boston. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Writing-Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 520: Readings in Public Policy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Topics vary. May be taken multiple times for credit providing the topic is different.
• CAS PO 524: Local Policy Analysis Lab
  Experiential learning by doing research for local governments. In this class students will learn about local government and policy research and apply what they learn to help local government partners solve real problems through serious policy research. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• CAS PO 525: Bureaucracy and Governance: A Comparative Inquiry
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Bureaucracy is not only credited with underpinning economic development but also blamed for corruption and inefficiency. Exploring both theory and comparative development, this course looks at some of the most basic and important issues informing our understanding of governance.
• CAS PO 528: Seminar: The Political Economy of Advanced Industrialized Societies
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPO321 OR CASPO324) or consent of instructor. - Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - Surveys forces contributing to national differences in social and economic policy; identifies current challenges to state sovereignty, such as globalization and immigration; and examines how nations from different welfare state regimes are coping with these threats to the nation state.
• CAS PO 529: Globalization and Contemporary Capitalism in Advanced Industrialized Nations
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Considers the impact of globalization on advanced industrialized nations. Explores global and regional governance of finance, trade, and multinationals. Examines changes in national economic practices in Europe, Asia, and the US, and their effects on jobs, inequality, welfare, and democracy.
• CAS PO 530: Readings in Comparative Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Topics vary. May be taken multiple times for credit providing the topic is different.