Political Science
College of Arts & Sciences
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Introduction to American Politics
CAS PO 111
Undergraduate core course. Study of the national political structure; emphasis on Congress, the executive, administrative agencies, and the judiciary. Relations between formal institutions, parties, and interest groups. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.
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Introduction to Comparative Politics
CAS PO 151
Undergraduate core course. Examines different patterns of political development and contemporary politics in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Introduces the comparative method in political science and competing theories of political development and political change. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.
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Introduction to International Relations
CAS PO 171
Undergraduate core course. Explores major issues in international relations, including conflict, cooperation, and governance. Addresses dominant international relations theories and their application. Investigates state system, international law and organization, transnational actors, state behavior, and globalization. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. 4 cr.
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Race and the Politics of Criminal Justice Policy
CAS PO 316
Online offering. Considers the following questions: How many people are affected by the criminal justice system? What is the relationship between crime and race? What criminal justice policies, if any, should change? Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.
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Bombs and Bombshells: Gender, Armed Conflict, and Political Violence
CAS PO 346
Undergraduate Prerequisites: sophomore, junior, or senior standing. - Interdisciplinary course surveying women's relationship to political violence with a focus on the evolution of women's international participation in non-state, religiously-motivated groups. Women's roles in political violence throughout Western Europe, North America, and the Middle East are explored. Effective Summer 2025 fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration. 4 cr.
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International Nuclear Politics
CAS PO 358
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Prereq: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or CAS WR 120). Examines politics, history, and technologies surrounding nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. Foregrounds the "global atomic marketplace" with emphasis on the challenges and opportunities for nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Writing-Intensive Course. 4 cr.
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Religion and Politics
CAS PO 379
Introduction to the comparative study of the political role of religious institutions and beliefs. Covers issues such as religion's relationship to violence and terrorism, democracy and human rights, group identity, gender and sexuality, and modernity and secularism. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration. 4 cr.
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History of American Foreign Relations since 1898
CAS PO 381
Meets with CAS HI 287. Analysis of the history of American foreign policy from the perspective of the changing world and regional international systems; emphasis on the effect of these systems and the impact of America on the creation and operation of international systems. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 366. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II. 4 cr.
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Data Science for Politics
CAS PO 399
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Any 100-level course in Political Science. - Prereq: 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. 4 cr.
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Political Economy of China
CAS PO 548
Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent). - Prereq: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or CAS WR 120) and junior standing or consent of instructor. 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. 4 cr.