This year the department will be offering several new courses, described below, including two from our newest faculty member, Professor Peter Krause.

New courses to be offered in the Fall semester 2012-2013

PO 350 Tip O’Neill and the Evolution of American Politics
Fall: 3 credits

“Tip O’Neill and the Evolution of American Politics” will use the Speaker’s political career as a window for examining two key changes in American politics: first the shift from the relatively conservative, seniority based congressional system over which Sam Rayburn presided in the 1950s and early 1960s to the significantly more liberal and entrepreneurial Congress created by the reforms of the late 1960s and early 1970s; and second the shift from the bipartisanship that characterized the House and Senate from 1912 through the early 1980’s to the era of intense partisan polarization that we see in Congress today. Speaker O’Neill rose to prominence in the old House, won the trust of both the reformers and many of the old-timers to become speaker, and as speaker began to confront features of the fierce partisanship that soon came to dominate Congress. Not only will an examination of his career help students understand the evolution of American politics from mid-century to the late 1980s, but they will be able to see how an astute political leader was able to adapt to changing times while remaining true to his basic commitments.
R. Shep Melnick

PO 410 Latin American Politics
Fall: 3 credits

This course examines efforts by Latin Americans to create more inclusive, representative, and participatory democracies in a region once dominated by authoritarian regimes of various types.
Jennie Purnell

PO 527 Seminar: Terrorism and Political Violence
Fall: 3 credits

Terrorism and insurgency dominate the headlines today, but how much do we really know about these forms of political violence? Are they inventions from the modern era, or do they have a deeper past? What drives an individual to join an armed group? Why do some groups choose to employ violence, while others do not? Are terrorism and insurgency effective political tactics? Just how significant is the threat of terrorism? This course will address these and other questions, while introducing students to relevant analytical frameworks, theories, and cases concerning terrorism, insurgency, and related forms of political violence.
Peter Krause

PO 528 International Relations of the Middle East
Fall: 3 credits

Media coverage of the Middle East increases by the day, but in-depth knowledge of the region and its politics remains in short supply. Why has the Middle East seemingly experienced so much conflict? How do ethnic and religious identities, domestic politics, and the balance of power between nations help explain state behavior in the region? This course will address the international relations of the Middle East from World War I to today. Students will gain a solid foundation in the region's recent history and politics, allowing them to develop a more sophisticated understanding of recent events like the ‘Arab Spring’.
Peter Krause

PO 531 Politics of Energy in US, Comparative and Global Perspective
Fall: 3 credits

Cross Listing: IN 531

Why is energy policy fundamentally political, deeply entwined with human, national, and international security, and critical to global stability and well-being? Major course units assess the main actors and institutions in energy, including OPEC and international markets; contrast the primary challenges confronting energy policy in the exporting and importing states; and analyze how energy policy and politics shapes global security, climate change & sustainability. Class members will also simulate a severe international energy crisis and use the extensive resources and contacts developed from 2008 - 2011 BC summer course in Kuwait—Oil & Politics in The Gulf.
David A. Deese

PO 561 Seminar: Modern Classics of International Relations
Fall: 3 credits

This course is open to juniors and seniors only.

This seminar will examine five major books, and related articles, published in the field of IR over the last sixty years. Each deals theoretically and empirically with the nature of the international system and the sources of order, stability, and war within it. Through close readings, intensive discussions and critical writing, we will explore each book and, cumulatively, the connections among them. The ultimate objective is to build conceptual and theoretical foundations for thinking about the present state and future prospects of international order while achieving, along the way, a deeper understanding of international political systems of the past.
Timothy Crawford

PO 654 Rousseau's Emile, or On Education
Fall: 3 credits

Frequency: Periodically

This course will focus on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile or On Education. The major issue of the course will be the question of whether an education devoted to making individuals happy also makes them into good citizens.
Christopher Kelly

New Courses to be Offered in the Spring Semester 2012-2013

PO 359 Seminar: Liberalism and Conservatism
Spring: 3 credits

By instructor permission only; please email Professor Wolfe for instructor permission.

This course will examine the two dominant ideologies of today by examining classic works in each tradition, contemporary efforts to restate and reformulate their key assumptions, and the dilemmas that result when politicians adopt each ideology to the world of campaigns and elections.
Alan Wolfe

PO 637 Politics and the Pursuit of Happiness
Spring: 3 credits

The “Declaration of Independence” guarantees us the right to pursue happiness. We will examine a selection of books, ancient and modern, that explore the meaning, and the challenge, of the ”pursuit of happiness.”
Robert C. Bartlett

PO 609 Markets, Justice, and the Public Interest
Spring: 3 credits

A consideration of the political and moral basis and limits of market society. Texts will include Aristotle, Locke, Smith, Marx, and a variety of contemporary readings.
Susan Shell

PO 437 Cops, Colonels, and Spies
Spring: 3 credits

This course develops a comparative analytical framework to understand the role of organized state coercion in domestic politics, protest politics and regime change. Cases are drawn from across different regions and regime-types, with an emphasis on the communist and post-communist regimes of Eastern Europe. The analytical themes covered include: Origins of modern police forces; Campaigns of Dirty War in authoritarian and democratic regimes; Espionage during the Cold War; Policing protest politics; and, Role of coercion in cases of regime change.
Gerald Easter