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 533: Globalization of Nationalism
  Focuses on the problem of nationalism, distinguishing types, examining origins, and analyzing political, social, and economic implications. Emphasis is on nationalism's spread into territories in Asia, specifically China, and under the cover of religion (e.g., ISIL) and secular social movements (e.g., "June Days" in Brazil).
• CAS PO 534: US Populism in Comparative Perspective
  Undergrad prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or 120). - This course examines the causes and consequences of rising populism in the US, Latin America, and Europe. Students learn how to identify and analyze populist leaders and movements and conduct original research on comparative populism. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 535: European Integration
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Explores present, past, and potential future of the European Union. Investigates who is in charge and who matters in policymaking and politics. Examines a wide range of EU policies, including economics, security, and trade, and their impact on EU member-states.
• CAS PO 536: Social Europe: Identity, Citizenship, and the Welfare State
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Meets with CAS IR 551. The past, present and future of "social Europe." Impact of European economic and political integration on national identities, cultures, politics, and citizenship; EU policies such as gender, human rights, migration and discrimination, plus the welfare state
• CAS PO 539: Topics in European Politics and Culture
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing and consent of instructor. - Meets with CAS IR 452. Explores European politics through the lens of culture, focusing on critical moments and memory across time in Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Eastern Europe, Balkans, UK, and more, using materials from literature, film, the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
• CAS PO 540: Prohibition
  The American experience of Prohibition is used to understand a variety of political and policy issues, including the War on Drugs, crime and law enforcement, bureaucracies, regulation, taxation, and social movements. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Historical Consciousness
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS PO 542: Immigration: Politics and Policy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Immigration has become a subject of much debate and controversy in democratic polities. This course explores the politics, economics, and social consequences of immigration policies across a number of countries, including European states and the United States. Effective Fall 2024 fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
• CAS PO 546: People Power in Global Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor - Explores how everyday people shape global politics, drawing on classic studies of political anthropology as well as more recent examples of transnational and digital activism.
• CAS PO 547: US Social Movements
  This course explores the strategies and impacts of historic and contemporary social movements in the US, with attention to their interactions with the party system. Students write a major research paper applying social movement theory to a chosen social movement. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 548: Political Economy of China
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent). - Provides a historical and comparative study of China's rise domestically and internationally and introduces China's national power, local governments, globalization, finance, and strategic concerns. Students learn to evaluate scholarly and policy pieces, compile evidence, and write research reports. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 549: Problems and Issues in Post-Mao China
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing. - An in-depth examination of politics in post-Mao China, this course focuses on several critical issues, uses various conceptual frameworks to try to understand why the reform process broke down and examines prospects for the future.
• CAS PO 550: The State and Public Purpose in Asia
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: juniors & seniors in Internat'l Relations, Pol. Science, and Asian Stu dies who have completed the 1st-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR100 or 1 20) & Writing, Research & Inquiry (WR150, 151, 152). - Comparative exploration of the economic and political institutions of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, drawing on political and economic theory. Addresses how relationships among state, business, and labor have affected industrial development and contemporary economic activity. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 552: Japan in International Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - International and domestic influences on Japan's international behavior in the past as a predictor of Japan's future role in international politics. Covers Japan's role in the Cold War, post-war Asia, and the management of the global economy. Examines viability of the post- Cold War U.S.-Japan relationship.
• CAS PO 553: Taiwan: Politics and Transformation
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Examines Taiwan's history, economic development, ethnic identity, democratization, and its controversial position in international politics as a key to understanding questions of political economy, democratic transition, and East Asian security.
• CAS PO 554: Conflict and Cooperation in Asia
  Investigates patterns of conflict and cooperation in South and East Asia surrounding issues ranging from water resources and health to borders and war. Analyzes how such issues contribute to instability in the region, as well as methods of cooperation.
• CAS PO 558: War and Society in the Modern Age
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing. - This course takes a state-oriented approach to understanding war in the modern age (as distinct from focusing on segments of the armed forces). How states fight wars and how changes in warfare affect the relationship between state and society. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Historical Consciousness.
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  • Historical Consciousness
• CAS PO 559: Wars, Peace, and Diplomacy
  Why do wars occur? What constitutes peace? How is peace maintained or lost? What are the virtues and deficiencies of diplomacy as practitioners have implemented it? How do memory, justice, and the requirements of security interact in the international arena? Effective Fall 2023 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Ethical Reasoning.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
• CAS PO 560: Rwanda: Genocide and Its Aftermath
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Freshman Writing Seminar. - Explores the factors that led to the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, how Rwanda compares to other cases of genocide and extreme violence, and the efforts in post-genocide Rwanda to rebuild, pursue justice, and promote reconciliation. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 561: Latin American Political Parties
  Parties and party systems of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. Historical origins and labor incorporation. Populist, working-class, and hegemonic parties. Market reform and party system transformation or collapse. Ethnic parties, clientelism, rise of a new Left. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS PO 562: Political Economy of Latin America
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Historical and contemporary issues in Latin American political economy. Uses case studies and cross-regional comparisons to assess competing explanations. Analyzes the current political and economic situation facing Latin America in its quest for economic growth and development.