Highlighted
Course for Winter Quarter 2010
Political Science 211 Introduction to Political
Theory: Approaches
MW
9:30-11:18 BE
0285
Professor
MacGilvray
Description:
This course provides an introduction to
some of the leading approaches to the normative (ethical or moral) study
of politics. We will focus in particular on three kinds of authority
that political thinkers have appealed to in defending their views: the
authority of nature, especially of human nature; the authority of
contracts, or rational agreements between free agents; and the
authority of history, understood as a process with a certain
logic or structure. Topics considered will include the role of virtue
in public life, the nature and limits of political obligation, and the
limits of human agency and freedom. Readings by Plato, Aristotle,
Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Nietzsche, and others.
Political Science 294.04 Human
Rights
TR
1:30-3:18 BO
0318
Professor Amadae
Description:
This
course covers the topic of human rights. After an introductory week,
and a week looking at the history of human rights in the form of the
United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, we will discuss the concerns
of cultural relativism and tolerance. Following this, we will discuss
the practical need for coercive enforcement of human rights through the
United Nations and through regional authorities. Next we will address
the domain areas of hunger, violence and persecution, economic rights,
and challenges of globalization. So far the course as been outward
looking, and has rested hopes for human rights on laws and institutions
with coercive power. In the latter part of the course we will discuss
failures of legally mandated power to enforce human rights in the form
of National Socialism. We continue this soul-searching voyage in
considering evidence that many of us may carry the seeds of violence
within in the form of the Milgram and Stanford Prison experiments.
Political Science 527 The Canadian
Political System
TR
2:30-4:18 SO N0048
Professor
Ripley
Description:
The purpose of the course is to analyze and understand the political
system of Canada, often in comparison with the political system of the
United States. Political systems contain institutional, behavioral,
socio-economic, cultural, and ideological components. Students should
have some knowledge of the political system of the United States. No
prior knowledge of Canadian politics is assumed. Work for the course
includes preparation for frequent class discussions through reading
and following Canadian politics online, a midterm exam [essay and
short identifications], a research paper, and a final exam [essays and
short identifications].
Political Science 540.02
Special Topics in
Latin American Politics
TR
9:30-11:18 CL 0171 Professor
Brooks
Description:
The course examines the social, economic and historical foundations of
Brazilian politics. Brazil is the world’s eighth largest economy and
seventh largest nation by population; and it is an economic and
political leader among middle income countries that has achieved energy
independence in recent years. The nation boasts vast natural resources,
significant innovations in technology, the arts, industry and sports
(including the opportunity to host the 2016 Summer Olympics). However,
Brazil is also riven by sharp inequalities and entrenched problems of
poverty, violence and deprivation for many citizens. The course explores
the foundations of Brazil’s unique social, institutional and economic
landscapes and the contemporary challenges that these structures present
for Brazil’s modern political economy. We pay special attention to the
problems associated with the rule of law, inequality of income and land
distribution, and race relations. We conclude the quarter by examining
some of the fundamental political challenges of the 21st
century, including poverty, violence and social exclusion, and assess
the policy innovations through which Brazil’s government has sought to
address them.
Political Science 543 The Politics of Immigration
MW
1:30-3:18 ML 0115
Professor Mughan
Description: This
course examines one of the most contentious political issues in the
contemporary world, immigration. Broadly speaking, it starts with an
historical perspective on patterns of international migration, proceeds
to the question of why people move to live in other countries and
finishes with consideration of how they are received there by both
governments and the native population.
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