Consult department for detailed descriptions. More than one course may be taken in a given semester. Recent titles have included: Race Development and American International Relations, Hegel and Marx, and Logic of the West.

This seminar will examine the theme of power as it engages questions of sex and gender. Subsidiary themes that will be developed over the course of the semester include: the modernism/ postmodernism debate as it particularly relates to feminism; the intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality and class and how feminists can and do talk about "women"; the relevance of feminist theory to policy issues, and which theoretical approaches are the most appropriate or have the most powerful potential. The readings will start with "foundational" texts in feminist theory-- texts that anyone who wants to work in or teach feminist theory needs to have in their repertoire, they set out the background and history of contemporary feminist theory, and they operate from a variety of disciplinary frameworks. We then will move onto some newer scholarship and some more specific political issues and topics, depending on what students in the course are interested in studying. This course is open to undergraduates who have had some prior course work in feminist theory, gender and sexuality studies, and/or political theory, in consultation with the professor.

This course provides an introduction to non-cooperative game theory and its applications to political science. The goal of the course is to provide students with the background and understanding necessary to read published game-theoretic work in political science journals. To that end, the course covers the basic concepts of game theory, including Nash equilibrium and its main refinements, simultaneous and sequential games, repeated games, evolutionary game theory, and games of incomplete and private information. In addition, we will cover some of the central models used in political science, notably models of public choice (such as the median voter theorem) and models of bargaining.

This course will present an in-depth examination of political, economic and social change in post-Soviet Russia within a historical context. After a breif discussion of contemporary problems in Russia, the first half of the course will delve into the rise of communism in 1917, the evolution of the Soviet regime, and the tensions between ideology and practice over the seventy years of communist rule up until 1985. The second part of the course will begin with an examination of the Gorbachev period and the competing interpretations of how the events between 1985 and 1991 may have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will then proceed to make sense of the continuities and changes in politics, economics and society in contemporary Russia. Important topics will include the confrontations accompanying the adoption of a new constitution, the emergence of competing ideologies and parties, the struggle over economic privatization, the question of federalism and nationalism, social and political implicatons of economic reform, and prospects for Russia's future in the post-Yeltsin era. This course may also be taken as a graduate seminar (PSCI 517) with the permission of the instructor and the completion of additional requirements.

This course will present an in-depth examination of political, economic and social change in post-Soviet Russia within a historical context. After a breif discussion of contemporary problems in Russia, the first half of the course will delve into the rise of communism in 1917, the evolution of the Soviet regime, and the tensions between ideology and practice over the seventy years of communist rule up until 1985. The second part of the course will begin with an examination of the Gorbachev period and the competing interpretations of how the events between 1985 and 1991 may have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will then proceed to make sense of the continuities and changes in politics, economics and society in contemporary Russia. Important topics will include the confrontations accompanying the adoption of a new constitution, the emergence of competing ideologies and parties, the struggle over economic privatization, the question of federalism and nationalism, social and political implicatons of economic reform, and prospects for Russia's future in the post-Yeltsin era. This course may also be taken as a graduate seminar (PSCI 517) with the permission of the instructor and the completion of additional requirements.

This course will present an in-depth examination of political, economic and social change in post-Soviet Russia within a historical context. After a breif discussion of contemporary problems in Russia, the first half of the course will delve into the rise of communism in 1917, the evolution of the Soviet regime, and the tensions between ideology and practice over the seventy years of communist rule up until 1985. The second part of the course will begin with an examination of the Gorbachev period and the competing interpretations of how the events between 1985 and 1991 may have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will then proceed to make sense of the continuities and changes in politics, economics and society in contemporary Russia. Important topics will include the confrontations accompanying the adoption of a new constitution, the emergence of competing ideologies and parties, the struggle over economic privatization, the question of federalism and nationalism, social and political implicatons of economic reform, and prospects for Russia's future in the post-Yeltsin era. This course may also be taken as a graduate seminar (PSCI 517) with the permission of the instructor and the completion of additional requirements.

This course will present an in-depth examination of political, economic and social change in post-Soviet Russia within a historical context. After a breif discussion of contemporary problems in Russia, the first half of the course will delve into the rise of communism in 1917, the evolution of the Soviet regime, and the tensions between ideology and practice over the seventy years of communist rule up until 1985. The second part of the course will begin with an examination of the Gorbachev period and the competing interpretations of how the events between 1985 and 1991 may have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will then proceed to make sense of the continuities and changes in politics, economics and society in contemporary Russia. Important topics will include the confrontations accompanying the adoption of a new constitution, the emergence of competing ideologies and parties, the struggle over economic privatization, the question of federalism and nationalism, social and political implicatons of economic reform, and prospects for Russia's future in the post-Yeltsin era. This course may also be taken as a graduate seminar (PSCI 517) with the permission of the instructor and the completion of additional requirements.

Consult department for detailed descriptions. Recent topics include: Globalization; Race & Criminal Justice; Democracy & Markets in Postcommunist Europe.

Why are African Americans and some other minority groups disproportionately incarcerated and subjected to penal sanctions? What are the political, social and economic consequences for individuals, communities, and the wider society of mass incarceration in the United States? What types of reforms of the criminal justice system are desirable and possible? This advanced seminar analyzes the connection between race, crime, punishment, and politics in the United States. The primary focus is on the role of race in explaining why the country's prison population increased six-fold since the early 1970s and why the United States today has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The class will likely take field trips to a maximum-security jail in Philadelphia and to a state prison in the Philadelphia suburbs.

This upper level undergraduate seminar will consider theoretical works that focus on six issues: currently planning on intersectionality, abortion, poverty, sexual harassment and assault, disability, and climate change.