Political Science Course Descriptions

PSCI 101 Introduction to Political Science 3 Credit Hours
Required of political science freshmen.
An introduction of politics in general and the discipline of political science in particular. Attention will be given to the basic questions and methods of political science with introductions to the subfields of the discipline.

PSCI 102 American National Government 3 Credit Hours
Required of political science freshmen.
A study of the American constitution background, the rights and liberties of persons, public opinion, voting behavior, political parties, interest groups, and the organization and roles of the presidency, the Congress, and the national judiciary in policy formation and implementation.

PSCI 201 American Politics and Government 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: Freshman mathematics sequence.
Satisfies Social Science Core Course requirement.
An introduction to American government that (1) provides students with a fundamental understanding of the structure and functions of American national governmental and political institutions; (2) develops a grasp of the importance of psychological, sociological, anthropological, and economic concepts and theories for the study of political life; and (3) develops a basic knowledge of research methods in the social sciences by the requirement that students conduct several analyses of voting behavior in presidential election contests. Not open to political science majors; required of criminal justice majors. Open to all other majors.

PSCI 231 International Politics 3 Credit Hours
Required of political science sophomores.
An analysis of the international system, of the nation-state, the role of power in international politics, and the goals and instruments of a nation's foreign policy.

PSCI 232 Comparative Politics 3 Credit Hours
Required of political science sophomores.
An analysis of the various political systems in terms of institutions, structure, and function. Emphasis on the development of common criteria for the evaluation and comparison of these divergent systems.

PSCI 301 American Parties and Politics 3 Credit Hours
An analysis of the dynamics of American politics, with particular emphasis upon the factors entering into the formulation of public opinion, the role of interest groups, and the nature and operation of the party system.

PSCI 302 Urban Politics 3 Credit Hours
A study of mass participation in urban political affairs, political parties on local level, the municipal reform movement, and the alternative approaches to the study of local political systems. Emphasis placed on the problems of local government in metropolitan areas.

PSCI 303 State and Local Government 3 Credit Hours
A study of the role of the states in the American constitutional system, the institutional organization of state governments, and the relationships both between the states and the national government and among the various levels of state government.

PSCI 304 American Political Thought 3 Credit Hours
A study of the basic political ideas which have developed in response to American constitutional, social, and economic conditions.

PSCI 305 American Presidency 3 Credit Hours
A study of the modern presidency with attention to its origin and its historical and constitutional development. Emphasis placed on the examination of the various roles and functions of the president and on an analysis of presidents in action.

PSCI 306 Legislative Process 3 Credit Hours
A study of the organizations and procedures of a legislative body with attention to its role in policy formation and its relationships with other parts as a political and governmental system.

PSCI 307 Southern Politics 3 Credit Hours
A study of politics in the South in both regional and national contexts. Attention given to the politics of individual states and to an analysis of regional developments in such areas as race relations, political behavior, and party competition.

PSCI 308 Public Opinion and Political Behavior 3 Credit Hours
A systematic analysis of political attitudes and behavior in relation to techniques of opinion survey design and analysis, voting behavior, and mechanisms for influencing options.

PSCI 309 Religion and Politics 3 Credit Hours
A survey of the relationship between religion and politics in the U.S. with emphasis on political and theological cleavages between and within Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and Judaism.

PSCI 331 International Law 3 Credit Hours
A survey of international law as developed through treaties, customs, usages, and decisions of national and international tribunals.

PSCI 332 National Security Policy 3 Credit Hours
An examination of the components of United States security policy. Consideration given to factors, both internal and external, affecting national security.

PSCI 333 International Organization 3 Credit Hours
A survey of the development and functions of international organizations, including the League of Nations, the United Nations, and other international agencies seeking to promote harmony among nations.

PSCI 334 Problems in International Law and Organization 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: PSCI 331 (International Law) or permission of course instructor.
An advanced survey of the elements of the application of the basic principles of international law with additional attention given to selected problems of international organization. Emphasis given to an in-depth study of jurisdiction over aliens, state liability for official acts, international reclamations, the regulation of hostilities, treaties, war, and diplomacy.

PSCI 335 Comparative Foreign and Defense Policies 3 Credit Hours
A comparison and analysis of the foreign and defense policies of the Soviet Union, China, Britain, France, and selected Third World states, including an introduction to the defense strategies of the state and the relationship between foreign and defense policy in today's world.

PSCI 336 Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States 3 Credit Hours
A selective survey of the European and Asian countries that were republics of the late Soviet Union as well as the European nations that were members of the Soviet bloc.

PSCI 337 Far Eastern Affairs 3 Credit Hours
A survey of China from 1911 to the present, with emphasis on the rise of communism in China, on the structure and operation of the Chinese People's Republic and on contemporary Chinese foreign policy.

PSCI 338 Southeast Asian Affairs 3 Credit Hours
A study of the development of selected countries in the area with emphasis on the problems of transition, ideological orientations, roles in the Soviet-American competition, and the importance of the area to the national interests and foreign policy of the United States.

PSCI 339 Middle Eastern Affairs 3 Credit Hours
A survey of the Middle East with emphasis on the role of the area in a foreign policy of the United States.

PSCI 340 Latin American Affairs 3 Credit Hours
A study of Latin America with emphasis on the traditional power elements and on the importance of the area to the foreign policy of the United States.

PSCI 341 African Affairs 3 Credit Hours
An analysis of the politics and modernization of Africa with emphasis on the newly independent states of the continent with their political, cultural, demographic, and historical characteristics and on tribal factors influencing the process of modernization.

PSCI 342 Terrorism, Political Ideology, and Violence 3 Credit Hours
A study of selected contemporary ideologies and political violence, focusing on radical ideologies, revolutionary movements, and domestic and international terrorism, and other subjects which have important political consequences both domestically and internationally.

PSCI 343 Introduction to Non-Western Studies 3 Credit Hours
The core course for the non-Western studies minor, this course is a multidisciplinary introduction to the history and politics of the societies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Attention is addressed to their experiences with colonialism and confrontations with modernization as well as to their current international relations.

PSCI 361 Law and Legal Process 3 Credit Hours
A general survey of the American legal process (except for the criminal justice process) with emphasis on the nature and function of law, the organization of legal institutions (primarily the state and federal judiciaries), an introduction to civil law and the civil justice process, the roles of judges and lawyers, the judicial decision-making process, and the impact of court decisions.

PSCI 392 Political Theory 3 Credit Hours
Required of political science juniors.
Major theoretical writing from the ancient Greeks to the present day; emphasis on a comparison of ideas and on the relationships between theories and contemporary problems.

PSCI 393 Scope and Methods in Political Science 3 Credit Hours
May be used as a subfield elective.
An examination of methods in the scientific study of political phenomena with emphasis given to the systematic study of politics and contemporary research problems in political science, including research design, data collection, data analysis, and computer applications.

PSCI 394 Contemporary Political Analysis 3 Credit Hours
Cannot be used as a subfield elective.
An introduction to some of the more important approaches to contemporary political science. Emphasizes the importance of concept formation in developing general strategies for the study of political phenomena. Some of the approaches studied include group theory, politics as process, the power approach, systems theory, structural-functional analysis, communications theory, game theory, and the individualistic-psychological approaches.

PSCI 396 Politics and the Media 3 Credit Hours
An examination of theories of communication, of the relationships between the various types of media and the political world, of the impacts of media on political decision-making, and of political themes found in films, television, literature, and other media forms. Specific topics include the nature and impact of television journalism, the context and political themes of selected films and novels, and the political roles performed by electronic and other forms of media.

PSCI 401 Political Issues and Public Policy 3 Credit Hours
An introduction to political analysis through consideration of important contemporary American political issues as they relate to public policy; attention given to specific issues as well as the policy process (formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policy).

PSCI 402 Politics of Bureaucracy 3 Credit Hours
An introduction to the role of administration in the governmental process with emphasis on the principles of administrative control, personnel, and fiscal management.

PSCI 403 Topics in American Government and Politics 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: PSCI 102 (American National Government) or permission of course instructor.
Selected special topics or problems in the general area of American government and politics; offered periodically as the special interests of faculty and students permit.

PSCI 431 American Foreign Relations 3 Credit Hours
A study of American foreign policy with emphasis on the institutions and processes in the making of foreign policy and on important problems and developments in the postwar years.

PSCI 433 Topics in International Politics 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: PSCI 231 (International Politics) or permission of course instructor.
Selected special topics or problems in the general areas of international politics and military affairs; offered periodically as the special interests of faculty and students permit.

PSCI 461 Constitutional Law: Powers of Government 3 Credit Hours
A study of the underlying and basic principles of the Constitution as reflected in the leading decision of the United States Supreme Court with special attention directed to judicial review as it has shaped the powers of Congress, the presidency, and the federal judiciary itself.

PSCI 462 Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties 3 Credit Hours
Required of political science seniors.
A study of the underlying and basic principles of the Constitution as reflected in the leading decisions of the United States Supreme Court with special attention directed to the Bill of Rights and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

PSCI 463 Topics in Law and Legal Studies 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: PSCI 361 (Law and Legal Process) or permission of course instructor.
Selected special topics or problems in the general areas of public law and legal process; offered periodically as the special interests of faculty and students permit.

PSCI 492 Topics in Political Philosophy and Theory 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: Political Theory, PSCI 392, or permission of the course instructor. Cannot be used as a subfield elective.
Selected special topics in the general area of political philosophy and theory; offered periodically as the interests of faculty and students permit.

PSCI 498 Senior Research Project 3 Credit Hours
Required of all seniors as a prerequisite to graduation; an approved departmental elective may be substituted.
An independent research project resulting in a formal paper, the project must be approved by the department head in consultation with an appropriate member of the faculty who will supervise the project. Virtually any aspect of politics may be investigated. Especially recommended for those considering graduate or professional study.

PSCI 499 Internship 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: permission of director of internships.
Internships with government and other agencies are offered to combine academic training with professional experience.