POLITICAL SCIENCE- COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

PS 101 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT (4) An examination is made of American government in theory and practice.  Topics include: the constitutional foundations of American  government; federalism, civil liberties and civil rights; Congress and the legislative process; the presidency and modern bureaucracy; the Supreme Court and judicial policy-making.

PS 102 UNITED STATES POLITICS (4) An introduction to issues and trends in political culture, political behavior, and public policy making.  Topics include: public opinion, political parties and pressure groups; elections and voting behavior, political participation, the role of the media, policy making, the budget process, domestic policy, and national security policy.

PS 103  STATE OF THE WORLD (4) This course critically examines the politics of global issues such as the arms race, interstate and internal conflicts, human rights, the global environment, the world economy, and poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment.  Students will learn the origins and significance of these problems; to identify the specifically political forces at work; to consider the ethical dimensions of problems and remedies; and to examine various frameworks for analyzing and resolving global problems.

PS 199 SPECIAL STUDIES (4) (Topics to be determined.) 

PS 200 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS (4) Basic introduction to the central themes and fundamental issues of political life.  The course examines the nature and meaning of politics and political association in both domestic and international settings.  The fundamental concepts and ideas associated with government, and politics more generally are explored, along with the nature of political culture and the way this culture is reflected in the institutions and operations of government.

PS 203 INTRO TO STATE & LOCAL POLITICS (4) This course provides an introduction to the role and structure of state and local governments, and examines the forces that influence subnational politics.  Topics include federalism, intergovernmental relations, elections, the policy-making process, and the problems confronting states and communities.

PS 204 COMPARATIVE POLITICS (4) A general survey of theories, concepts, and methods employed in comparative politics.  Attention given to political behavior, structures, and processes.

PS 205 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS (4) An analysis of the nature of relations among nations, with specific reference to contemporary international issues.  Motivating factors will be examined, including nationalism, economic rivalries, and the quest for security.  Also treated will be the problem of national sovereignty and its relationship to international cooperation, changing threats to international security in the post-Cold War era, and the increasing importance of international economic competition and cooperation.

PS 221 INTRODUCTION TO LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES (4) Offers a broad introduction to laaw from a political science perspective, with an emphasis on the U.S. legal system.  Examines the relationship of law and custom, law and politics, the nature of legal reasoning, and the operation of legal institutions through an analysis of the problems law is intended to ameliorate.

*PS 312 LEGISLATIVE PROCESS (4)  An examination of the role of legislatures in state politics.  Particular attention is given to the forces that shape legislative decision making, trends in state legislative elections, the relationship between legislatures and governors, and efforts to reform legislative politics.  Recommended: PS 101 and 102.

PS 313 THE POWER GAME (4) This political science course is designed to teach students about the nature of political power in Washington, D.C. The course revolves around a simulation of the U.S. House of Representatives and top executive branch officials. Students are taught about the national government by having them become “actors” in a miniature political world that attempts to recreate the pressures and politics of the nation’s capitol.

PS 317  FILM AND POLITICS (4) Examines the political meaning of films.  Topics include: how films reflect, and sometimes challenge, basic themes in American political culture; how filmmakers capture and encode images in ways that tell a culturally pleasing story; how audiences make sense of these images and stories to construct particular understanding of power, government, and the individual; and the relationship between Hollywood and politics.

PS 318 MEDIA, OPINION AND VOTING (4) Course examines the interaction between the mass media, public opinion, and voting behavior in the United States.  Competing theories of media effects on public opinion and voting behavior are analyzed, as are competing proposals for reforming electoral campaigns, campaign advertising, presidential debates, and other features of mass-mediated elections in order to enhance citizen participation.  Key questions students will consider include the degree of responsibility that politicians, journalists, and citizens should assume for improving citizen engagement with electorial politics. Recommended:  PS 102.

PS 319  POLITICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT (4) This course examines the politics of the human relationship with the rest of nature. We will briefly review the human affect on natural systems, the competing views of nature from a political perspective, and the distinctive character of  politics in this realm. Most of the course will focus on several cases in biodiversity protection and sustainability, examining the Nature of issues, interest groups engaged, strategies and outcomes. The relationship between environmental problems and policy, and hierarchy in human social organization will be also be examined. The goal of the course is to provide students with an enhanced capacity to think independently about these issues, to analyze policy options, and to act effectively to solve problems.

PS 321 THE SUPREME COURT & AMERICAN POLITICS (4) Basic introduction to the relation between law and politics in America through an analysis of the work o the U.S. Supreme Court.  The course uses selective case law in order to explore the place of the Court in America's constitutional structure, the way the court forms and shapes policy through constitutional interpretation, and the way political forces and influences shape Court practices, judicial selection, and the decision-making processes.  Recommended: PS 221.

*PS 325  POLITICS AND THE LEGAL ENFORCEMENT OF MORALS (4) Critical examination of law as a mechanism for the enforcement of moral standards.  The limits of law and political authority more generally are explored through an analysis of specific problem areas associated with the legal enforcement of morality.  These include, but are not limited to: the use of criminal justice to enforce standards of conventional morality, political tolerance, civil disobedience, and the politics of law and order.  Recommended: PS  221.

*PS 331 OREGON POLITICS (4)  An examination of political structures and policy trends in the state of Oregon.  Attention is given to local governments as well as state government with special emphasis upon the relationships among different governmental entities.

PS 343  CONFLICT & COOPERATION IN WORLD POLITICS (4) This course focuses on substantive global problems and issue areas such as war, conflict resolution, nationalism, arm races,  and global scarcities.  The  historical roots of the problems as well as their contemporary manifestations are examined using both substantive and theoretical materials.  The sources of conflict and conflict resolution are also examined. Prerequisite PS 205.

PS 345 - U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: THE COLD WAR AND BEYOND (4) Analysis of the U.S. foreign policy process, its motives, objectives, and manner of implementation, in the major developments of each administration since 1945.  Emphasis is on U.S. relations with the U.S.S.R./Russia and the Third World.  Prerequisite: PS 205.

*PS 352  WESTERN EUROPEAN POLITICS  (4)  An analysis of the political systems, processes, and politics in major countries of Western Europe with special reference to France and Germany, as well as an overview of Italy, Sweden, or Switzerland.  Also a short look at the organizations for European integration. Prerequisite: PS 204 or 205.

PS 361 INTRODUCTION TO THE POLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST (4) Introduction to Middle Eastern political systems.  Focus will be on the nature of traditional politics, modernization and political development in the region, social stratification, institutions of government, and the political systems of selected Middle East countries.  Prerequisite: PS 204 or 205.

PS 362 ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT (4) Examination of the conflicting ideological perspectives, the formation of the state of Israel, rise of Arab nationalism, emergence of Palestinian nationalism, the Arab-Israeli wars, rise of Palestinian activism, diplomatic efforts at partial settlements, and possibilities of a comprehensive settlement.  Special attention is given to those elements opposed to a final settlement of the conflict, both within Israel and among the Palestinian and greater Arab communities.  Prerequisite: PS 204, 205, or 361.

PS 371  War and Morality (4) Examines the limits observed by states in their resort to war and in ithe conduct of battle.  Surveys the historical, moral, and legal foundations of these limits, and their enduring relevance in light of changes in international conflict and modern warfare.  Topics include aggression and self-defense, preemption, humanitarian intervention, terrorism, torture, and war crimes.

PS 380 WOMEN AND POLITICS (4) Analysis of the political role of women in politics.  Reviews the historical and contemporary analyses of women's participation and status in politics.  Prerequisite: PS 101 or 102.

PS 381 INTRODUCTION TO THEORY (4) General introduction to the problems of political theory.  A selective survey of the political ideas of Plato, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau. Mill and Marx introduced some of the major traditions of political thought in the west.  The foundations of the communitarian, republican, and liberal political discourse are examined and discussed.  Recommended: PS 200.

PS 385 MODERN IDEOLOGIES (4) An examination of the enduring political images of the modern world.  Attention is given to the new, developing ideologies in the Third-World countries and the new left as well as to the more traditional concerns of liberalism, communism, and fascism.

*PS 387  POLITICS AND FICTION (4). course explores various themes associated with politics as they are presented in fictional media.  The course integrates traditional academic material with novels, films, television, poetry, etc., in order to expand student awareness of politics and public life.  Prerequisite: PS 200.

PS 399 SPECIAL STUDIES (4) (Topics to be determined.)

PS 401/501 RESEARCH (credit to be arranged.) Consent of Instructor.

PS 403 HONORS THESIS (credit to be arranged.) Consent of instructor.

PS 404/504 COOPERATIVE EDUCATION/ INTERNSHIP (Credit to be arranged.)

PS 405/505 READING AND CONFERENCE (Credit to be arranged.)

PS 407/507 SEMINAR (4) (Topics to be determined.) Reading and discussion about an area of political science, with a research project required.  Enrollment limited.

PS 409/509 PRACTICUM (Credit to be arranged.) Consent of instructor.

PS 410/510 SELECTED TOPICS (Topics to be determined.)

*PS 412/512 THE PRESIDENCY (4) An analysis of the institution, functions, and problems of the presidency.  Special attention given to presidential elections, presidential powers, relations with media, presidential leadership.  White House staff, executive-legislative relations, and the presidential role in domestic, economic, foreign policy making and execution.  Prerequisites: PS 101 and 102.

*PS 413/513 CONGRESS (4) A study is made in this course of the structure, organization,  powers and operations of Congress.  Topics covered include:  the evolution of Congress,  congressional recruitment and elections, legislative functions, the membership, the leaders,  the committee system, the rules and procedures, executive-legislative relations, pressure groups, lobbying, and reform.  Prerequisites: PS 101 and 102.

PS 414/514 ISSUES IN PUBLIC POLICY (4) A study of selected major policies and programs of government regulation and service.  Emphasis is placed upon the formation, administration,  and substantive content of policies in such areas as transportation, public utility regulation, medical care, civil rights, education, agriculture, natural resources, and antitrust laws and the preservation of competition.

*PS 416/516 POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS (4) An examination of political parties and elections in America.  Covers such topics as: the changing role of party organizations, machine politics, electoral rules, candidate recruitment, the nomination process, campaign strategies and tactics, campaign finance, and electoral reform.  Recommended: PS 101 and 102.

PS 417/517  INTEREST GROUPS (4) This courses analyzes the role of interest groups in the political process.  Particular attention is given to why some interests are more successful at forming groups and influencing politics than others.  The course also examines techniques used to lobby legislatures, the executive branch, and the courts.  Recommended: PS 101 and 102.

PS 418/518  CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PROTEST IN AMERICA (4) Analyzes the role of social movements in recent American history.  The course blends theoretical readings with empirical research into specific movements.  Movements considered include but are not limited to: civil rights, the new left, public interest reform, the freeze movement, the women's movement, the Christian Right, and the paramilitary/skinhead movement

PS 422/522  CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (4) A study of the way in which the Supreme Court has shaped and influenced governmental structure and political power. Special attention is given to judicial decisions in the areas of federalism, separation of powers, the commerce clause, and the authority of the presidency.  Recommended: PS 321.

PS 423/523 CIVIL LIBERTIES (4) A study of Supreme Court decisions that affect individual rights and liberties.  Areas of concentration include, but are not limited to, freedom of speech and press, religious liberty, criminal justice, racial justice, gender justice,and the right to privacy.  Recommended: PS 321.

*PS 425  WOMEN AND THE LAW (4) Examines the relationship between women and the law.  The first half of the course considers sevarl theories of women's equality.  During the second half of the course students will apply these theories to a variety of problems in gender justice.  Substantive issues covered may include: sexual harassment, abortion, fetal protection policies, and pornography.  This course is the same as WS 424; course may only be taken once for credit.

*PS 426/526 THE POLITICS OF THE NEWS (4) Explores the role of the news media in political life and the political and economic forces shaping the newes.  Examines the purposes and functions of mass media in a democracy, the legal and economic structure of the American media, and the journalistic practices and communications strategies that contribute to news coverage of politics.

PS 427/527 THE POLITICS OF PUBLIC OPINION (4) Course provides students with solid foundations for understanding the nature and evaluating the role of public opinioin in American democracy.  It will also teach students how to interpret public opinion p olls intelligently. Specific topics covered will include h ow "public opinion" has been defined historically and in contemporary discourse; the various influences that shape peoples' values, beliefs, and attitudes about politics; the methods that pollsters and survey researchers use to measure public opinion and problems with those methods; and the content of Americans' views on controversial political issues.  Recommended prerequisite: PS 318.

PS 428/528 THE POLITICS OF LAW AND ORDER (4) As American crime control policies have become increasingly punitive, the criminal justice system has expanded in size and scope, crime control has become increasingly federalized, and record numbers of Americans have been incarderated.  Class explores what is political about crime control and why American crime policy takes on a particularly punitive cast.  In particular, carefully examines the social construction of the crime problem: how poular beliefs about criminals and the causes of crime interact with the media and the political system to create a style of crime policy that is uniquely American.  Recommended prerequiste: PS 221.

PS 431/531 STATE AND LOCAL POLITICS (4) Intensive examination of the role of the states and cities in the federal system.  The course pays particular attention to the importance of political culture in shaping state politics and the power relationships between the different levels and branches of government.  Oregon's political experiences are used as example and for comparison.  Recommended: PS 203.

PS 432/532 GREAT TRIBAL LEADERS (4) Course is based on videotaped interviews with contemporary American Indian leaders discussing the personal and social forces that shaped them and the roles they played in shaping federal Indian policy, law, and natural resource management.  Key areas of study include historic erals of federal Indian policy; the exercies of power by federal legislative, judicial, and executive branches and ther effectgs on tribal lives and societies; the continuing survival of tribes; and the evolution of tribal governments to meet unforeseen and overwhelming challenges.  Recommended prerequisite: PS 101.

PS 441/541  WORLD POLITICS (4) This course introduces students to the various levels of analysis used in explaining world political events.  Examines are a number of conceptual elements of world politics, e.g., power, interdependence, integration, and levels of analysis, as well as certain substantive elements, e.g., international law and organization.  Contrasts are drawn between power-seeking and order-seeking behaviors of nation-states.  Prerequisite: PS 205.

PS 442/542  CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF WORLD POLITICS (4) This course presents an examination of the major theories and methodological techniques employed in the analysis of world politics.  Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used, evaluated, and applied to problems of research on world politics.  Techniques of research design construction will be emphasized.  Prerequisite: PS 441.

PS 444/544 U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY (4) Focuses on the regional context that influences American national security strategy. The course provides a structured framework for analysis that is used to examine national security issues in the major regions of the world.  Students will not only learn US national security interests and objectives that focus on those regions but how the strategists in those countries view the US.  This course is only offered in two Universities in the United States.

PS 446/546 NATIONAL-INTERNATIONAL SECURITY POLICIES  (4) A comparison of national and international security systems, strategies, and policies. Emphasis will be on the current issues arising in these security systems and on the problems that arise when their needs conflict. Particular emphasis will be placed on contending theories of national and international security. Prerequisite: Recommended - PS 205 or 441

PS 448/548 INTERNATIONAL LAW (4) Introduction to public international law.  Particular emphasis is placed on the interplay of politics and law in the international system.  Types of law, sources of law, law creating agencies, law applying agencies are considered.  Contemporary substantive issues in international law will be discussed.  Prerequisite PS 205 or 441.

*PS 449/549 INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (4) Explores various environmental problems and issue areas that exist between and among nation-states.  There will be an exploration of the political difficulties that impede solutions and the various pathways that may lead to environmental cooperation.  There will also be a focus on the international legal regimes and international institutions designed to regulate environmental problems.

PS 452/552 THE EUROPEAN UNION (4) Focuses on how the EU has evolved since its begininings in the 1950s, on its present-day organization and functions, and on how the member countries interact with one another in making EU policies for jointly regulating their internal economies and societies as well as their external policies; i.e., how the EU members also try to manage their relations with the rest of the world.  This course is the same as Intl 452; course may only be taken once for credit.

PS 453/553 POWER TRANSITIONS (4) Global politics are dominated by global powers.  Over time, the list of global powers changes.  International wars rearrange the distribution of power and bring into existence new rules and norms imposed by the victors. These massive changes in global politics, or power transitions, are the subject of this class and its underlying theory, Power Transition theory. This course examines the broad sweep of history to explore what elements contribute to global war.  It creates a foundation for understanding why nations fight, when they fight, the outcome of wars, and the relationship between global and regional conflicts.

PS 454/554 INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY (4) A study of the contending theories of international political economy: power and interdependence.  Regime Theory; dependency, integration, and functionalism. as well as the ideologies of political economy—the liberal,, national, and Marxist perspectives.  Also considered are the politics of trade,  aid, and investment.  Prerequisite: PS 205 or 441.

PS 460/560 POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN MODERN TURKEY (4) Designed to provide students with an indepth study of political development literature with a focus on modern Turkey.  Examines how the modern Turkish republic emerged from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire and evaluates stages of political development during the first, second and third republic.  Finally, assesses the implications of Turkey's new geopolitics (since the end of the Cold War) on Turkish political and economic development in a global perspective.  This course is the same as Intl 460/560; may only be taken once for credit.

*PS 462/562 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST (4) Examination of the external dimension of Middle East politics; the role of the great powers; brief analysis of the British and French roles since 1945; extended analysis of American and Soviet/Russian policy in the Middle East.  Special attention will be given to new patterns of international relations in the Middle East in the post-Cold War, post-Gulf War era.  Prerequisite: PS 361.

PS 466/566 POLITICS OF EAST ASIA (4) Analysis of the principal developments and institutions, formal and informal, that shape government and politics in China, Japan and Korea.

PS 468/568 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS OF EAST ASIA (4) Examination of the foreign policy motives, objectives, and systems of the major East Asian states: China, Japan, and Korea.  Attention is paid in particular to the political economy of regional and extra-regional relationships.

PS 470/570 THEORIES OF COMPARATIVE POLITICS (4) Examines the evolution of the theories and methods of comparative politics, addressing both the recent history of the discipline and the current state of its practices.  Topics include: the behavioral revolution. political development, the role of state, the new institutionalism, and the state-in-society approaches.  Recommended prerequisite: PS 204.

PS 482/582 LIBERALISM AND ITS CRITICS (4) Critical examination of the theory and practice of liberalism as an ongoing tradition.  The basic elements of liberalism are identified and discussed and criticisms of the liberal tradition, as offered by communitarians, classical republicans, feminists and postmodernists, are examined.  Liberal responses to these criticisms are also explored.  Recommended: PS 381.

PS 483/583 JUSTICE IN THE MODERN WORLD (4) Critical analysis of the nature and  meaning of social justice.  Special attention is given to liberal theories of justice, questions of distributive justice, justice and the rule of law, inter-generational justice, and political alternatives to the liberal vision of social justice.  Recommended: PS 381.

PS 486/586 AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT 1600 TO 1820 (4) The development from 1600 to 1820 of American  political thought about government and its proper relation to the individual and society.  Specific topics considered include the English background; the colonial mind; the  ideas informing the revolution, the creation of the Constitution, and the ratification debates; the Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian conflict; John Marshall and the expansion of national power.  Attention given to bringing to the surface t he fundamental, often inarticulate, patters, and presuppositions of American thought about political things.

PS 487/587 AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT: 1820 TO THE PRESENT (4) The development from 1820 to the present of American political thought about government and its proper relation to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness.  Topics considered include democratization and the Jacksonian period, slavery and the nature of the Union, social Darwinism and industrialization, the Progressive period, the coming of the welfare state, and contemporary concerns.  Attention given to bringing to the surface the fundamental, often inarticulate, patterns, and presuppositions of American thought about  political things.

PS 495/595 RESEARCH METHODS FOR POLITICAL SCIENCE (4) Introduction to an examination of methodological issues and statistical techniques for empirical political research, survey research, the role of hypothesis testing, and the major statistical tools commonly employed in empirical political analysis.

PS 503 THESIS (Credit to be arranged.) Pass/no pass option.

PS 530 PROSEMINAR IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (4) Graduate seminar surveys the main theorectical and analytical approaches encountered in the study of international relations.  Themes include the grand theoretical traditions of liberalism, realism, and readicalism; analytical and methodological perspectives, like behavioralism and rational choice theory; as well as the normative, critical, and postmodern challenges to the mainstream.

*PS 543/PAP 643 RESOLVING INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS (4) A seminar that explores diffent kins of international disputes and actual conflicts in order to identify and assess theories, analytical frameworks, and methods of conflict resolution, management, and prevention.  Emphasis is on understanding the roots of conflicts and techniques that may be appropriate to different levels and dimensions of conflict.

PS 545/PAP 645 AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY (4) Contemporary foreign relations of the United States; objectives, world, and domestic factors affecting American foreign policy; government institutions concerned with development an execution of foreign policy; major issues and problems.

PS 556 ADVANCED POLITICAL ECONOMY (3) REadings seminar provides a review of the literature in theories and selected issues in international political economy.  Core requirement for graduate students in the PAP doctoral program and for master's students in political science who select international relations as their primary field of specialization.

PS 557 POLICY TOPICS IN ADVANCED POLITICAL ECONOMY (4) This readings seminar provides a review of the literature in theories and selected issues in international political economy.  Core requirement for graduate students in the PAP doctoral program.

PS 559 POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DECISION-MAKING (3) Examines the philosophical and conceptual assumptions embodied in alternative decisionmaking theories in the fields of economics and politics.  Designed to show students the differences in individual and collective decisionmaking processes in the marketplace and the realm of politics.  Examples cover local, national, and international policy topics.  Recommended prerequisite: USP 515/615.  This course is the same as USP 636; it may be taken only once for credit.

PS 593  PHILOSOPHY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (4) An analysis of the central problems associated with the idea of a "science of society" ot a "science of politics."  The philosophical foundations of empirical social science are critically examined and discussed along with the foundations of interpretive social science, critical social science, feminism, postmodernism, and rational choice theory.  Recommended: PS 381