Course descriptions from H&S Supplement are below, after the course schedule:
NUM SECT TITLE CAP INSTR DAYS BEGIN END
POLT 10100 01 U.S. Politics 28 Arroyo, Juan MWF 09:00 AM 09:50 AM
POLT 10100 02 U.S. Politics 28 Arroyo, Juan MWF 10:00 AM 10:50 AM
POLT 10100 03 U.S. Politics 30 Stepp Breen, Jenny MWF 2:00 PM 2:50 PM
POLT 10100 04 U.S. Politics 90 Moon, Alexander MWF 01:00 PM 01:50 PM
POLT 10100 05 U.S. Politics 30 Stepp Breen, Jenny MWF 3:00 PM 3:50 PM
POLT 12200 01 Politics and Society 26 Rodriguez, Patricia MWF 09:00 AM 09:50 AM
POLT 12200 02 Politics and Society 26 Rodriguez, Patricia MWF 10:00 AM 10:50 AM
POLT 12300 01 Political Justice 30 Harris, Beth MWF 01:00 PM 01:50 PM
POLT 12800 01 Intro to International Relations 28 Inayatullah, Naeem MWF 09:00 AM 09:50 AM
POLT 12900 01 Intro to Global Studies 30 Soyinka-Airewele, Peyi TR 10:50 AM 12:05 PM
POLT 12900 02 Intro to Global Studies 30 Soyinka-Airewele, Peyi TR 02:35 PM 03:50 PM
POLT 14100 01 Power: Race, Sex, and Class 40 Eisenstein, Zillah TR 09:25 AM 10:40 AM
POLT 14200 01 Ideas and Ideologies 28 Dietz, Kelly MWF 11:00 AM 11:50 AM
POLT 14200 02 Ideas and Ideologies 28 Dietz, Kelly MWF 12:00 PM 12:50 PM
ICSM 10500 10 Ithaca Sem: "Avatar" as International Politics 22 Gagnon, Chip TR 09:25 AM 10:40 AM, W 12:00 PM 12:50PM
POLT 22002 01 Honors Sem: Shame, Apology, Reparations 20 Inayatullah, Naeem MWF 12:00 PM 12:50 PM
POLT 22003 01 Honors Sem: The Wire 20 Shevory, Thomas TR 10:50 AM 12:05 PM
POLT 23000 01 The Holocaust 30 Beachler, Donald MWF 11:00 AM 11:50 AM
300-level courses
US Politics:
POLT 30400 01 U.S. Party Politics 30 Beachler, Donald MWF 02:00 PM 02:50 PM
Comparative & International Studies:
POLT 32700 01 Politics of Development 27 Rodriguez, Patricia MWF 02:00 PM 02:50 PM
POLT 33000 01 European Politics 28 Arroyo, Juan MWF 01:00 PM 01:50 PM
POLT 33200 01 Africa through Film 25 Soyinka-Airewele, Peyi TR 04:00 PM 05:15 PM
POLT 34002 01 ST Comp/Intl: Pirates, Mercenaries & Missionaries 26 Gagnon, Chip TR 02:35 PM 03:50 PM
Political Theory:
POLT 34200 01 Liberalism and Marxism 30 Eisenstein, Zillah TR 01:10 PM 02:25 PM
Public Policy:
POLT 37000 01 ST: Politics of Wealth & Poverty 28 Beachler, Donald MW 04:00 PM 05:15 PM
400 Level courses
POLT 40101 01 Sem Comp/Intl: Witnessing War, Displacement, and Occupation: Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon 15 Harris, Beth T 06:50 PM 09:05 PM
POLT 40103 01 Sem Comp/Intl: Militarization of Everyday Life 15 Dietz, Kelly MW 04:00 PM 05:15 PM
POLT 40200 01 Sem: Toleration 10 Moon, Alexander M 06:50 PM 09:05 PM
POLT 40201 01 Sem: Elsewheres 10 Eisenstein, Zillah W 04:00 PM 06:30 PM
POLT 40500 01 Internship: Politics 5 Beachler, Donald
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Course Descriptions, Politics Fall 2010POLT 10100-01, 02 U.S. POLITICS LA SS, h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Juan Arroyo, Muller 308, Ext. 4-3969
ENROLLMENT: 28 per section
PREREQUISITES: None
STUDENTS: Open to all students.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Institutions, processes, and cultural/ideological roots of U.S. politics. We begin by studying a framework of ideologies that will help us to understand the political-economic institutions that have evolved to reflect the conditions of U.S. society: Congress, the presidency, bureaucracy, judiciary, parties, interest groups, media, and the electoral process. Throughout, we will constantly ask: how democratic is this place? What are your criteria for measuring democracy? Students will be invited to consider how money affects the ability of citizens to influence the political process. Analysis of specific policies may include social security, abortion, health care, taxes, civil liberties, foreign policy, etc.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussion/lecture
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Readings, active participation in class discussions, 2 short papers (5 pages), paper (7-10 pages)
POLT 10100-04 U.S. POLITICS LA SS, h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Alex Moon, Muller 308, Ext. 4-1258
ENROLLMENT: 90
PREREQUISITES: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course has three main purposes. In ascending order of importance, it seeks to familiarize students with the role of voters, interest groups, the media, and parties in the American political system. We will examine the dynamics of American political institutions and (some of) the origins of (some of) the current political cleavages in the U.S.; it will examine the gap between the ideals and practices of American politics.
COURSE FORMAT/ STYLE: Lecture/discussion
POLT 12200-01, 02 POLITICS AND SOCIETY LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Patricia Rodriguez, Muller 312, Ext. 4-5714
ENROLLMENT: 26 per section
PREREQUISITES: None
STUDENTS: Open to all
OBJECTIVES: This politics introductory course explores the impact of social forces and societal dynamics on politics of diverse countries, as well as the influence of politics and the state on society. Students will be learning and analyzing current world political events that are not so well covered in the mainstream media, such as why/when do democracies emerge but also breakdown, why is state power wielded in repressive manners in different types of political systems, what impact does citizen activism have in global and national political and economic issues, and what role do international actors play in reconstructing governments. In the process of examining these issues we will also learn about the history and political processes and events in a variety of countries, such as Chile, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, Sudan, Rwanda, China, and others. Students will compare the political conflicts in these different countries from a political-sociological approach.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture, group discussion, speakers, films.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Lecture and discussion, films/speakers; grading: short opinion papers, exam, group discussion, presentations
POLT 12300-01 POLITICAL JUSTICE LA SS 1b, g
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Beth Harris, Muller 310, Ext. 4-3517
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITES: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION: We examine the relationships between law, politics, power, witnessing, and justice in a comparative context. The readings and films draw on a number of disciplinary and professional approaches, including law, the social sciences, the humanities, and journalism. We use case studies to analyze conflicts between nation building/national security strategies and those social and politics groups whose civil liberties are threatened by official legal and political strategies. The case studies may explore: 1) the legal dimensions of conflicts between Native Americans, American settlers, and the United States government; 2) the legal consolidation of the Third Reich in Germany and its impact on Jewish people under its rule; 3) the legal construction of Israel’s military rule over the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the impact of military occupation on the Palestinian population; 4) the transformation of law and consequences of “official” justice within the United States in response to threats to national security. If possible for two of the units students will participate in international collaborative video conferences with their peers living under occupation.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussion of readings and videos, student presentations of group research projects. Student participation is critical to the course.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Required class preparation includes assignments of readings and videos, writing case briefs and independent research. Grades are based on preparation for class, an open-note exam, written essays, and presentations of group projects in class.
POLT 12800-01 INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LA SS 1b, g
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Naeem Inayatullah, Muller 325, Ext. 4-3028
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: None
STUDENTS: Open to all
COURSE DESCRIPTION: We ask the following types of questions about the world: How do we begin to think about the world? Why is the world divided territorially? How do religious beliefs affect world politics? How do we find out what’s going on in the world? How do nation-states work? Do colonialism and slavery belong to the past? How is the world organized economically? Why are some people better off than others? How can we end poverty? Why does world politics turn to violence? What makes the world dangerous? What can we do to stop people harming others? Can we move beyond conflict? What can we do to change the world?
We also pose the following types of questions about how we learn: How can we think, rigorously, creatively, purposefully and precisely about the relations between nations, states, cultures, and individuals? How can each of us better understand our role in participating in the central global problems of our times? How can we respond to ways of thinking that strike us as politically or ethically repulsive, that are alien to our thinking, or that threaten to undermine our way of life?
Within the context of these themes we have three goals: (1) To better understand why we hold our specific values, (2) to start recognizing the themes that characterize our way of thinking; and (3) to assess the ethics of our actions in the world. Thinking and understanding are fulfilling but they can also be dangerous. Learning can bring a change in our life style, our worldview, and our relations with others. In combination, these goals amount to the idea that along with "covering" things altogether new, we also hope to "uncover" things we already know.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussion
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Three papers; standard grading
POLT 12900-01, 02 INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES LA SS, g
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, 314 Muller, ext. 4-3508
ENROLLMENT: 30 per section
PREREQUISITES: None
STUDENTS: Open to those who are interested in the subject matter. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: POLT 12900, ANTH 12900, HPS 12900.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will expose participants to critical global challenges such as the protection of human security in a competitive marketplace; questions of sovereignty and state violence; and globalization and its socio-political and economic consequences. It will foster critical thinking and writing skills and provide fundamental analytical frames through which students can address on-going debates on representation, identity, Eurocentrism and global histories. We will seek to facilitate dialogue that engenders global citizenship and contributes to the growth of all participants.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Regular attendance, full participation, presentations, tests, essays and project.
POLT 14100-01 POWER: RACE, SEX AND CLASS LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Zillah Eisenstein, Muller 316, Ext. 4-3554
ENROLLMENT: 40
PREREQUISITES: None
STUDENTS: Majors and non-majors alike.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: We will deal with the distribution of power in the U.S. according to economic class, sex, and race hierarchies. We discuss what power is, where it comes from, where it is located. This involves the analysis of power in terms of issues of capitalism, globalism, patriarchy, and racism, as well as the specific issues they raise for policy making, persons, the family, and corporate power. The analysis will hopefully help us understand the relations of power defining black working class women, white male workers, white middle class women, etc. The premise of the course is that in order to understand capitalist society one must understand the racialized aspects of sexuality as a form of power, as well as the sexualized aspects of race. Some specific topics discussed are: the present global and national economic crisis; changing aspects of the nation-state; Bush/Cheney’s wars of/on terror; the Gulf Wars 1991-2010; the Chilean 1973 Coup; Obama’s politics of hope; the changing realities of the middle/working class; the global racialized sexual division of labor; the rise of China in the global market; the continued aftermath of the O.J. Simpson trial, and so on.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Students will read a variety of books and see several films. They write two 7-page analytical papers based on the course readings and films. Grading is based on the two writing projects and class participation. Both essays must be completed for course credit.
POLT 14200-01, 02 IDEAS AND IDEOLOGIES LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly Dietz
ENROLLMENT: 28 per section
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course explores the philosophical and ideological roots of political life and political inquiry. Through readings, film, art, music and your own observations, the course focuses on key political ideas and the ideological debates over their meaning and practice. We will examine a range of views on concepts such as liberty, equality, democracy, security, authority, and community. We will consider how these and other political ideas developed historically, why certain ideas endure, and why they remain important to understanding politics today. Ideological perspectives we will explore include liberalism and conservatism (and their “neo” variants), socialism, anarchism, and fascism. The course encourages critical reflection on aspects of political life that we take for granted. Encounters with political theories different from our own subjective views help bring to light our unconscious assumptions and also what is distinctive about our political views.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: lecture and discussion
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: active participation, weekly blog, two papers and a final project
POLT 23000-01 THE HOLOCAUST LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Don Beachler, Muller 333, Ext. 4-1249
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITES: One social science or humanities course
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is an introductory survey of major issues related to the Holocaust. We will examine the role of Anti-Semitism in Western Culture and the rise of the racial anti-Semitism that animated Nazi hatred of the Jews. Among the topics to be covered are: The rise of Hitler to power; the initial policies of persecution and dispossession of the Jews and Jewish responses to these policies; the evolution of Nazi policy from expulsion of the Jews to extermination; the role of Jewish community leadership in attempting to cope with a murderous onslaught by establishing Jews in vital industries; the cooperation of many German bureaucrats in the final solution; the relationship of the Holocaust to the Nazi’s overall racial views and their war of racial supremacy in eastern Europe; the ongoing controversy over whether more Jews could have been rescued by the nations opposing Hitler and his regime.
POLT 29900-01 FIELD STUDY NLA
(SEE 310-40500 INTERNSHIPS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION)
1 TO 6 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Don Beachler, Muller 333, Ext. 4-1249
ENROLLMENT: 5
PREREQUISITES: 310-10100, one other course in the social sciences, and permission of instructor.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Opportunity for students to explore and experience facets of political life through work experience and/or field research. Academic credit is contingent upon completion of study design with departmental faculty member. (Course may not be used to satisfy 100-level distribution requirements.)
POLT 30400-01 PARTY POLITICS LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Don Beachler, Muller 333, ext. 4-1249
ENROLLMENT: 30
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in the social sciences
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course covers several important themes in American party politics. The dynamics of presidential and congressional elections are explored. The role of money in politics will be considered. We will also cover the impact of the electoral college and the single member plurality electoral system. Considerable attention will be devoted to the development of the party system from the 1930s to the present. The thesis that elections play a decreasing role in American politics is investigated. We will follow the 2010 midterm elections closely, though this is not a primarily a current events class.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture and discussion
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Two exams, two short papers. Letter grades
POLT 32700-01 POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Patricia Rodriguez, Muller 312, Ext. 4-5714
ENROLLMENT: 27
PREREQUISITES: One course in social sciences
STUDENTS: Open to all
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course explores the political, social, and economic challenges of Third World development. It covers a wide range of development approaches aimed at reducing poverty and inequality adopted in different developing countries, with particular attention to the ways in which governments, non-governmental agencies, international aid agencies, and social movements envision and implement development assistance programs. Students will study and research how a broad range of grassroots organizations have challenged “top-down” projects and have produced programs that have transformed the daily lives of under-served populations. The course will examine policies in the areas of environment, water management, urban planning, and rural development throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The course will be designed with the objective of engaging students in a critical look at current development and policy issues around the globe, thereby enhancing students’ research and analytic skills for class and future work in international and national political and economic development issues.
Some of the books we will read include:
1. Opposing Currents: The Politics of Water and Gender in Latin America. Vivienne Bennett, Sonia Davila-Poblete, and Maria Nieves Rico, eds. 2005
2. Snakes in Paradise: NGOs and the Aid Industry in Africa. Hans Holmen. 2010
3. The Art of Not Being Governed. An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia. James Scott. 2009
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture, group discussion, speakers, films.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: participation, policy and response papers, group or individual project
POLT 33000-01 EUROPEAN POLITICS LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Juan Arroyo, Muller 308, Ext. 4-3969
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in social sciences or the equivalent.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: We start with the question of European identity: do we only mean the EU or something more general? Who is included or excluded, and how is this decided? This will lead to a discussion of “European” values. We will address tensions affecting the creation of a new geo-political entity called Europe out of many separate European countries. We consider the structures and selected policies of the European Union. The focus will be on the ideals of such a union, as contrasted with the reality of including different nations with very different policy priorities.
The course will introduce further tools for understanding European politics by looking at some of the key European ideological/political groups that are less familiar in the U.S. (Social Democracy, Christian Democracy, the Greens, post-Communism and the far right). Similarly, the course will look at the ideas and practices behind welfare state policies: education, welfare, immigration, employment policy, and the environment.
Finally, students will examine the political systems of selected European countries, with their distinct sets of actors and policy priorities. The emphasis will be on institutional and policy variations in how each country responds to the same needs or issues, such as economics, civil rights, regional identity, and nationalism. Students will also consider Europe’s interaction with the rest of the world, both at the level of a union and of the individual countries.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture and discussion
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Readings, active participation in class, 2 medium papers (7-9 pages), 1 final paper (8-12 pages).
POLT 33200-01 AFRICA THROUGH FILM: IMAGES AND REALITY LA SS g, h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, Muller 314
ENROLLMENT: 25
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in social sciences or equivalent.
STUDENTS: Open to those who fulfill prerequisites and are interested in the subject matter.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: To examine popular representations of the African continent through a study of image and reality and to interrogate the foundation of these constructs. The course emphasizes the need for exposure to counter-narratives in the study of African countries and explores politics, historiographies, resistance, socio-political change, gender and contemporary issues through extensive readings and a comparative analysis of diverse films from Hollywood, radical African filmmakers, and popular African cinema. Students apply sociopolitical analysis to the subject matter, uncovering for instance, apartheid ideology behind the portrayal of Africans in the film "The gods must be crazy."
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: LECTURE
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Regular attendance and active participation, presentations/essays/exams/ projects. Participants must be willing to do extensive reading and analysis.
POLT 34002-01 SELECTED TOPICS: COMPARATIVE-INTERNATIONAL STUDIES LA SS
TOPIC: Pirates, Mercenaries, and Missionaries: Sovereignty in the International System
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Chip Gagnon
ENROLLMENT: 26
PREREQUISITES: 3 courses in social sciences or equivalent
STUDENTS: Open to all students
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Are today's pirates in any way related to the pirates of the past? Is the increasing use of mercenaries a good thing for world peace? Do missionaries (both religious and secular, for example NGOs) threaten the sovereignty of countries? We'll explore these and other questions, focusing in particular on how pirates, mercenaries and missionaries fit into the international system and its rules. We'll also explore their histories and their relationship to the concept of sovereignty. These groups also help us understand how today's rules evolved over the past several hundred years. They are still active today, and we'll take a look at contemporary pirates, mercenaries, and missionaries to get an understanding of how the international system and its rules continue to evolve. Parrots and eye patches optional.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: lecture and discussion
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Attendance and participation in class discussions; variety of readings, written reactions to readings.
POLT 34200-01 LIBERALISM AND MARXISM LA SS
TOPIC: HISTORICALLY THEORIZING CAPITALISM, SLAVERY, AND PATRIARCHY
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Zillah Eisenstein, Muller 316, Ext 4-3554
ENROLLMENT: 30
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course intends to open students to thinking theoretically and within historical contexts in order for you to develop your own questions about the viability of politics. I provide contemporary examples for the historical dilemmas posed in these historical classics. We will dialogue with the past through the present. We examine and query the relationship between liberalism and marxism in terms of sexual, racial, and economic class hierarchies. The course deals with the capitalist division of labor and its relation to the racist and patriarchal sexual division of labor in slavery. The theorists studied are: John Locke, JJ Rousseau, Karl Marx, JS Mill, Sri Aurobindo, Rosa Luxemburg, and Maria Stewart. Our study looks to significant conflicts between marxism and liberalism with in their theories of private property and individuality. And, we look to the similarities within these theories on masculinist privilege and slave-trade relations. Constructs of nature, natural, democracy, civilization, rationality, inclusivity, and humanity are explored.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lectures and class discussion of the readings
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Serious commitment to the readings and to your own creativity. There are two 8-page analytically developed papers based on the course readings. Grading is based on the two papers and class participation. Both essays must be completed for course credit.
POLT 37000-01 SELECTED TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY LA SS
TOPIC: Politics of Wealth and Poverty
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Don Beachler, Muller 333, Ext. 4-1249.
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in social sciences or the equivalent.
STUDENTS: Open to all interested student who meet the prerequisites.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will focus on the politics of wealth and poverty. After an extensive consideration of various policy approaches to the global economy, the course will focus on domestic problems. Among the topics to be covered are economic inequality, the attack on America’s modest welfare state, the working poor, and welfare reform.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture and discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: 5-6 books, in-class midterm and final exam, research paper on a policy issue. Standard grading.
POLT 40101-01 SEM: WITNESSING WAR, OCCUPATION & DISPLACEMENT: PALESTINE, LEBANON, IRAQ LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Beth Harris, Muller 310, Ext. 4-3517
ENROLLMENT: 15
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in social sciences or equivalent; permission of professor.
STUDENTS: Most students in the class are seniors or juniors. Sophomores who have met the prerequisites should get permission from the professor.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will explore the role of law in the creation of the administrative infrastructure, legal norms and political dynamics governing the war, occupation and displacement in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon. We will also examine various theories of “witness” and multiple strategies of witness, including litigation, reporting, film-making, religious practices, creation of art and non-violent direct action. If possible one or more units of this course will be studied in the context of a global collaborative classroom, where students will work closely with their peers who are either living under occupation or as refugees. Students will be responsible for serving as witnesses to injustices under occupation in a final project. Students may work individually or in groups for these projects.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Classes will include discussions and student presentations.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Students are required to complete assignments, which include readings, films and independent research; participate in and lead classes; complete a final witnessing project related to Iraq, Palestine or Lebanon; and complete all written assignments, including a final paper that evaluates the potential and limits of witnessing as a strategy to challenge injustices in conditions of war, occupation or displacement.
POLT 40103-01 SEMINAR: MILITARIZATION OF EVERYDAY LIFE LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly Dietz, Muller 315, Ext. 4-3581
ENROLLMENT: 15
COURSE DESCRIPTION: From fashion trends, Hollywood films and video games, to military recruitment in public schools, privatization of the military and the politics of US bases overseas, this course examines the ways in which people and social relations become objects of militarization. We will pay particular attention to how and why this is embraced by some and resisted by others. The course takes a broad view of militarization as an everyday, “peacetime” process in order to better understand our relationship to state power as individuals, as citizens, and as members of local and global communities. The course begins by looking at some of the central ways American culture and institutions are militarized. We then broaden our scope to explore how these taken-for-granted processes intersect with the militarization of social, political and economic relations globally. Through readings, films and your own experiences, we will critically examine the processes that give rise to and sustain militarization--and the ways in which we are all complicit in the militarization of everyday life.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: seminar/discussion
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: active participation, weekly blog, two papers and a final exam
1POLT 40200-01 SEMINAR: THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TOLERATION LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Alexander Moon
ENROLLMENT: 10
PREREQUISITES: At least one course in political theory or philosophy
COURSE DESCRIPTION: What are the limits of toleration? Why have most societies in the history of the world not been tolerant? Course covers history of the concept of toleration from its development in the 16th and 17th centuries; different regimes of toleration in Europe and the Middle East; justifications of it based on the value of public order, autonomy, happiness, moral skepticism, and political rationality; criticism of it as incoherent, repressive, ethnocentric, or inegalitarian; and contemporary issues such as hate speech, pornography, and the Salman Rushdie case. Throughout we will try to answer questions about what toleration actually requires: Does it require simply leaving different groups and people alone? Does it require enabling all groups to enjoy some measure of equality? Does it require recognition, maybe even affirmation, of tolerated groups and their ways of life?
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussion
GRADING REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Two eight-page papers with standard grading
POLT 40201-01 SEMINAR: ELSEWHERES LA SS
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Zillah Eisenstein, Muller 316, ext. 4-3554
ENROLLMENT: 10
PREPREQUISITES: Two politics courses
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course asks you to think deeply about what you see and the way you see it; what you look at and what you don’t, and why. I HOPE TO UNSETTLE THE INTELLECTUAL BORDERS THAT HAVE BECOME NATURALIZED AND NORMALIZED; SAME/DIFFERENCE; SELF/OTHER; NATURE/CULTURE; WHITE/BLACK; SEX/GENDER, ETC. The course continues to evolve with new historical sites and political events. It evolves out of, and along with my newest research, travel, and writing related to the deconstruction and reconstruction of the so-called WEST/NON-WEST divide. I ask students to rethink their thinking about what this divide invokes, both historically and contemporarily. Some questions we will entertain are: ARE THE ORIGINS OF DEMOCRATIC THEORY TRULY OR SIMPLY OF THE WEST? WHAT ROLE DOES THE SLAVE TRADE PLAY IN THESE FORMULATIONS? HOW DO THE EVENTS OF Sept 11, 2001, AND THEIR AFTERMATHS INFORM AND IMPACT THIS DISCUSSION? HOW DO NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY CREATE NEW WAYS OF KNOWING AND BEING? Some of the authors we will read: M. Bernal, G. Deleuze, A. Roy; A. Rashid, S. Rushdie, W.E.B. Dubois, H. Zinn, Z. Eisenstein.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: There will be two eight-page analytic papers and students are expected to participate fully in discussion each and every class. Grading is based on class participation and the two writing projects, both of which must be complete for course credit.
POLT 40500-01 INTERNSHIPS NLA
Variable Credit
INSTRUCTOR: Don Beachler, Muller 333, Ext. 4-1249
ENROLLMENT: 10
PREREQUISITES: Permission of instructor and three courses in social sciences or equivalent.
STUDENTS: Interested students should see Don Beachler to register for an internship.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The Politics Department offers a wide variety of internship opportunities for students in different fields. Faculty will work with students to find internships that meet their needs. Internships are available in Ithaca and the surrounding areas. Internship/Field Study can be used to meet both 300 and 400 level requirements. Possible internship sites include: Tompkins County Environmental Management Council; Citizen's Environmental Coalition; Offender Aid and Restoration (working with jail inmates); Planned Parenthood; Assemblyman Marty Luster; Congressman Maurice Hinchey; Community Dispute Resolution Agency; Dispositional Alternatives (Youth Bureau); Red Cross; Human Services Coalition; Mayor's Office; City Attorney's Office; Prisoner's Legal Services; Loaves and Fishes; Alternatives Credit Union; Women's Community Center; Cornell Environmental Law Society; Eco-Justice Task Force; City of Ithaca, Dept. of Planning and Development; Tompkins County Planning Department; Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Division; Rune Hill Earth Awareness School; New York Public Interest Research Group; Science Center; Battered Women Task Force; GIAC; Downtown Business Council; Day Care Council; Human Rights Commission.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Students receive one hour credit for every 60 hours of internship-related work. Students are required to keep a journal and undertake internship-oriented research and writing.
POLT 49900-01 DIRECTED STUDY LA SS
Variable Credit (1 – 5)
Must be arranged with individual politics faculty
ENROLLMENT: 3
PREREQUISITES: Permission of instructor and dean; three courses in social sciences or equivalent.
STUDENTS: Interested students should see the instructor for more information.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The program of study may be a reading program of materials of special interest to the student, or involve development and execution of a research project on a specific topic. Reading or research is undertaken under faculty direction.