This course will examine the theoretical, historical and political foundations of contemporary human rights debates. The course will cover not only broad conceptual issues, but also specific issue areas (e.g., civil rights, economic rights, women's rights, business and human rights), as well as the question of how new rights norms emerge and diffuse in the international arena. Undergraduates are not permitted.

This is an advanced course on the main issues of contemporary China's political economy. There is a strong focus on the reform period (post 1978). We will spend considerable time and energy on understanding the major themes and challenges of China's reforms, including the political system, the legal system, the inequality, foreign direct investment, village elections, lawmaking, environmental degradation, social opposition, corruption, and religion. We also investigate the many political and social consequences of reform and changing landscape of Chinese politics. A prior course on Chinese politics (for example, PSCI219) is highly recommended.

How do the Constitution's checks and balances work in practice? And where are they not working? This course examines the fault lines between Washington's two most powerful institutions - Congress and the President - how they clash, and where they work together. Students learn how Congress and the President share and compete for power in lawmaking, spending, investigations, nominations, foreign policy, and impeachment. The course is designed to foster skills in formulating strategies for conducting policy in an environment of institutions competing for power.

The goal of this class is to expose students to the process by which quantitative political science research is conducted. The class will take us down three separate, but related tracks. Track one will teach some basic tools necessary to conduct quantitative political science research. Topics covered will include descriptive statistics, sampling, probability and statistical theory, and regression analysis. However, conducting empirical research requires that we actually be able to apply these tools. Thus, track two will teach us how to implement some of these basic tools using the computer program R. However, if we want to implement these tools, we also need to be able to develop hypotheses that we want to test. Thus, track three will teach some basics in research design. Topics will include independent and dependent variables, generating testable hypotheses, and issues in causalit You are encouraged to register for both this course an PSCI 107 at the same time, as the courses cover distin but complementary, material. But there are no prerequi nor is registering for PSCI 107 necessary, in order to take this course. The class satisfies the College of A Science Quantitative Data Analysis (QDA) requirement.

Consult department for detailed descriptions. More than one section may be given in a semester. Recent titles have included: Interpreting the Canon; State, Self, & Society; U.S. Policy in Europe; and Dissertation Writing.

Consult department for detailed descriptions. More than one section may be given in a semester. Recent titles have included: Interpreting the Canon; State, Self, & Society; U.S. Policy in Europe; and Dissertation Writing.

This course continues the exploration of statistical methods for analyzing political science data. It is a continuation of PSCI-692, although some of the topics covered in PSCI-692 are covered again in greater detail. We will cover the following topics: sampling, sampling distributions, expectation, basic linear algebra, multivariate regression, hypothesis testing, instrumental variables, non-standard standard error and data issues, quantile regression, maximum likelihood, limited dependent variables, selection models, and treatment effects. The class also focuses on teaching students programming skills using R.

This seminar is an introduction to principles of research design and to the collection and analysis of qualitative data in the social sciences. It is worth noting that many of the methods traditionally considered to be qualitative actually employ quantitative data, and vice versa; and that many of the principles underlying research design, case selection, and the process of data collection are common across empirically-oriented research methods, whether qualitative, quantitative, or formal. Hence, the course should be useful to students planning to utilize a variety of different kinds of research tools. Readings encompass theory, how-to, and examples drawn from political science and cognate social science disciplines. There are no prerequisites for the course, but some background in statistics and/or an idea of the substantive research questions you would like to pursue will be helpful.

Why are some countries rich and some poor? Why are some households rich and some poor? This course introduces students to the intellectual tools for understanding why development varies across the globe and the practical tools for designing and evaluating policies aimed at alleviating poverty. To that end, the course is organized into three parts. The first part focuses on the big picture: the macroeconomic and political foundations for sustained economic growth, including historical legacies, technological innovation and political institutions. The second part focuses on the micro-picture: the household-level dynamics of poverty and development, including access to food and credit, the role of health and education, the transition from village to city life, and day-to-day governance. The third part of the course introduces students to the practicalities of designing and evaluating the efficacy of governance and poverty relief interventions and policies. The focus will be on the use of field experiments to study interventions to promote better governance and household wellbeing.

Examination of the relationship between the international, political, and economic systems from a variety of theoretical perspectives that have emerged in the postwar period, including liberalism, transnationalism, statism, Marxism, and dependency.