Courses & Curriculum
Sample Courses & Curriculum
Campaigns and Elections
What makes a candidate successful? How do you win in local, state, and national politics today? This course will provide a survey of trends in modern U.S. political campaigns and elections, including the effects of political parties, interest groups, the media, campaign finance, election laws, and individual candidates. Special emphasis will be placed on the impact of gender on electoral success. Students will follow one current campaign in detail, comparing it to the literature on campaigning.
Women and Politics
Does gender make a difference in politics? Are women different from men in their political behavior? Do women contribute different norms, rules, and outcomes within political institutions? Students become familiar with the literature on, and conduct research projects in a specific aspect of, women’s involvement in politics.
Ethnic Conflict
This course is designed to introduce students to theories about nationalist and ethnic conflict and strategies that have been used to manage them. In the first part of class, we examine sources of ethnic identity and how governments have attempted to reinforce or deemphasize those identities. Second, we examine how domestic factors have and have not worked to suppress ethnic conflict. Finally, we examine how the international community or other third parties have attempted to bring about the peaceful resolution of conflicts.