Home

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.

View courses in

  • CAS PO 569: Money, Guns, and Power
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - What is the relationship between money and war' This course explores the relationship between money, guns, and power through the lens of American and European military spending and through larger theoretical conversations on the concept of power.
  • CAS PO 571: Contemporary African Politics
    Undergraduate prerequisites: First-year writing seminar or graduate student standing. - Exploration of challenges facing African states, their sources, and possible solutions. Focus on colonial legacies, political change, democracy and authoritarianism, political violence, the politics of ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexuality, and political economy, drawing on specific country cases. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Research and Information Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 572: Political Systems of Southern Africa
    Examines politics in Southern Africa focusing on issues of race and ethnicity, economic development and inequality, and struggles over authoritarianism, democratization, and human rights. Explores the legacies of apartheid, racial discrimination, and war and the politics of memory and transitional justice.
  • CAS PO 573: Race and Racism in International Relations
    Undergraduate prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - Race is a central organizing feature in world politics yet ignored in the discipline of International Relations. Course addresses the global racial contract, how race shaped the contours of American expansion, and how American experiences abroad shape race at home. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, Writing Intensive Course.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 574: Decolonization and Democracy in Africa
    Course looks at comparative legacies of colonialism, race, and decolonization in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and their implications for democracy and inequality today. Focus on incorporating African scholars and voices in addressing comparative social science questions. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS PO 576: The Foreign Policy of the People's Republic of China
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Explores China's perception of its role in the world, its evolution from a regional to a world power, and its security and economic relationships within the international system. Relationships with the superpowers, Third World, and world economy, focusing on technology and capital transfers.
  • CAS PO 577: Politics of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Limited to juniors, seniors, and graduate students. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - An in-depth examination of the political, economic, and societal evolution and interactions of states and non-state actors in the Persian Gulf and Arabian. Critically assesses dominant political narratives. Considers factors ranging from politics and history to demography and resources. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 578: The United States as a Great Power
    The course material is organized along a debate format. Although the course is primarily concerned with twentieth-century U.S. foreign policy, attention is also given to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century issues. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 579: Political Biography and Statecraft
    Political biographies and memoir literature used to evaluate twentieth-century international relations and statecraft. Topics vary but may include biographical literature related to World War II, the Cold War, and Third World political leaders. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 580: Readings in International Relations in Political Science
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Topics vary. May be taken multiple times for credit providing the topic is different.
  • CAS PO 582: North Atlantic/European Security Issues
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Examination of the post Cold War security environment in the North Atlantic and greater European context. Exploration of threats to security, mechanisms in place and emerging (NATO, CSCE, CFE, WEU), and challenges posed by changes since fall 1989.
  • CAS PO 583: Gender and War
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Examines gender constructions in world politics. Topics include gender biases in international relations theories, female and male roles in war, and rape as an instrument of warfare. Also assesses roles of women as leaders, actors, and objects of foreign policy.
  • CAS PO 587: Ethics and International Relations
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Examines important ethical approaches to normative controversies of contemporary world politics. Such questions as: Is my nation always right' Can war be justified' Is terrorism always wrong' What is the place of human rights in foreign policy'
  • CAS PO 589: Religion and International Relations
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Explores the role of religion in contemporary international relations in the context of questions about the common core of modernity. Reviews scholarly and policy literature, and case studies, in order to elucidate religion's intellectual and operational diversity in international relations. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing- Intensive Course, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 590: Readings in Political Theory
    Topics vary. May be repeated for credit as topics change.
  • CAS PO 591: Seminar in Political Philosophy
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior, senior, or graduate standing. - An in-depth study of a major political philosopher, historical period, or topic in political philosophy.
  • CAS PO 594: Advanced Feminist Theory
    This course explores themes in advanced feminist theory. Specific themes vary by semester. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS PO 595: Race and Capitalism
    Students engage with the political thought of philosophers, legal scholars, writers, and historians who have explored the global history of capitalism and race, covering topics such as labor, climate change, colonialism, slavery, and mass incarceration. In this course, students learn to compare different authors, place thinkers within their historical context, understand the roots of contrasting arguments, as well as develop their own questions, analysis, and arguments. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Historical Consciousness, Oral and Signed Communication.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • CAS PO 596: Colonization/Decolonization
    Prerequisite: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - This seminar introduces you to the political, theoretical, and historical study of colonization and decolonization. Topics include various kinds of colonialism, such as settler colonialism, internal colonialism, and domestic colonialism, as well as debates over the contemporary call to decolonize. Effective Spring 2024: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 598: Power, Identity, Equality
    Examines classic and contemporary theories of identity as well as their manifestation in political practice. We critically examine specific manifestations of identity including the role of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, ability, and foreignness in democratic politics. Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Ethical Reasoning.
    • Ethical Reasoning

Related Bulletin Pages

Beyond the Bulletin