Political Science Courses [142-172]

[001-141] [142-172] [173-199]

Political Science courses, with the exception of POLS 001, are not open to freshman students. POLS 001 will satisfy divisional studies requirements B.

POLS 142. American Judicial Process. 3 crs. Analyses of the federal courts and the relations and powers of federal and state governments. Prerequisites: POLS 001 and POLS 010.

POLS 143. Black Politics: Electoral and Nonelectoral. 3 crs. Studies the rise, fall, and reemergence of the black electorate in the United States. Satisfies English writing course requirement. Prerequisites: POLS 001 and POLS 010.

POLS 144. The American Presidency. 3 crs. Analyses of the sources, bases, and character of presidential power, with consideration of the relationships of the executive office to government, public, and private groups. Prerequisite: POLS 001 and POLS 010.

POLS 145. Introduction to Public Administration. 3 crs. Presents the basic concepts of public administration and the administrative problems of organization, procedure, personnel, financial administration, administrative law, and public relations. Prerequisites: POLS 001 and POLS 010.

POLS 146. Public Personnel Administration. 3 crs. Study of the basic principles of personnel management applicable to both public service and private enterprise. Prerequisite: POLS 010.

POLS 147. Seminar in Public Administration: 3 crs. Deals with selected problems in organization and program management, concentrating on action programs, goals and priorities, the process of creating new organizations and programs, citizen participation, special-interest control of programs, interprogram coordination, and program evaluation, with particular reference to factors governing success and failure. Prerequisites: POLS 001, POLS 145, and POLS 146.

POLS 148. Government and Politics of the District of Columbia. 3 crs. A study of the government and politics of the District of Columbia, focusing on relations between Congress and the local government during the current home rule period.

POLS 149. Introduction to Public Policy Analysis. 3 crs. Introduces students to the basic theories and concepts of policy analysis, with particular emphasis on the policy-making process at the federal level; examines such selected policy issues as welfare, health insurance, and housing; and seeks to assess the impact of policy decisions on blacks, the poor, and other minorities. (See also POLS 145, POLS 147, and POLS 148.)

POLS 150 (fall semester), POLS 151 (spring semester). Internship in Political Science. 3-6 crs. Limited internship opportunities available to political science majors in the local community, or in federal or local government. Interns work 15-20 hours per week, depending on the agreement and their schedules. Three credit hours may be awarded per semester for each internship. A maximum of six credit hours may be awarded if the student takes POLS 150 and POLS 151.

POLS 152. Internship III. 3-12 crs. Students may register for this course only with the permission of the instructor. Permission will be given to students who win national or regional internship competitions for placements in settings such as the Supreme Court, the White House, and the State Department. Credit hours will be awarded based on the hours per week required by the internship.

POLS 159. Simulation of International Organizations. 3 crs. This course examines the organization, role, and performance of regional international organizations through simulation (modeling) augmented by class lectures and briefings at various embassies and diplomatic missions. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) will be highlighted. Students from various universities will participate.

POLS 160. American Political Thought. 3 crs. A study of the origins and development of American political thought from the colonial period to the present. Prerequisite: Junior standing

POLS 162. Seminar in Survey Methods. 3 crs. Allows participants to design and implement a survey. Prerequisite: POLS 002.

POLS 163. Constitutional Law I (Theory). 3 crs. Historical development of constitutional law, demonstrating how the law has grown and changed in relationship to the political and social climate existing at the time. Prerequisite: POLS 001, 010.

POLS 164. Constitutional Law II. 3 crs. Presents the rights of individuals and groups under the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in selected landmark cases. Prerequisite: POLS 001, 010.

POLS 165. Urban Political Economy. 3 crs. Uses tools of political economy to examine critical urban problems. Concentrates on understanding the political economy perspective as well as applying this analytic approach to the study of such problems as the fiscal crisis of the cities, urban structure and movements, and the crisis in some key areas such as housing, education, employment, poverty, transportation, crime, etc.

POLS 166. Russian Politics. 3 crs. An examination of post communist Russia and the international and domestic forces that gave rise to it. The course explores Russian’s foreign and domestic policies and the CIS system. Prerequisites: POLS 003 and 1POLS 28. 

POLS 167. Socialism. 3 crs. The essentials of modern socialistic thought. Strong emphasis on the basics of Marxism.

POLS 169. Problems of Southern Africa. 3 crs. Analyzes the political problems in Angola, Mozambique, Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, and Swaziland. Prerequisite: POLS 005.

POLS 170. Government and Politics of Central America and the Caribbean. 3 crs. Presents the present political developments in Mexico, the Central American republics, and the Caribbean. Prerequisite: POLS 001.

POLS 171. Government and Politics of South American Countries. 3 crs. Studies political institutions and structures in Latin American states south of Panama. Prerequisites: POLS 001 and POLS 003.

POLS 172. Government and Politics of the Far East. 3 crs. Explores the constitutional structure and political development of Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Prerequisite: POLS 001.