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Political Science

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  • 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.
    • 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.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
  • CAS PO 565: U.S.-Latin American Relations
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Explores both sides of the U.S.-Latin American relationship, tracing its development over time and analyzing its current challenges. Each week focuses on a different theme--including imperialism, intervention, hemispheric security, trade, immigration, and drug trafficking--within a roughly chronological framework. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 566: Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Latin America
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior or senior standing. - Examines a range of historical and contemporary conflicts and wars in Latin America, both internal and regional, examining their causes and consequences, and the most important factors that explain how they were resolved or why they persist.
  • 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: Government and Politics of Contemporary Africa
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Analysis of independent black Africa; factors of continuity and change in modern Africa, problems of political order, ambiguities of independence. Case studies of individual countries selected for additional emphasis on specific issues and problems of the developing countries.
  • 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 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

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