This course is designed to give advanced undergraduates and graduate students exposure to the literature on political behavior in American politics (the course is part of the departments 3-course graduate sequence in American politics). The course will cover both the classics of public opinion and political behavior from the Columbia, Michigan, and Rochester schools, as well as more current topics and debates in the literature. Topics include (but are not limited to) the early voting studies, the role of partisanship, the nature and origins of ideology, mass-elite interactions, heuristics and low information rationality, the nature of the survey response, campaign and media effects, framing effects, and the role of institutions in structuring behavior. Undergraduates are welcome in the class, but they should know that the class assumes familiarity with quantitative approaches to studying politics.

This is a mandatory seminar for all students planning to submit an honors thesis for the purpose of possibly earning distinction in Political Science upon graduation. The course is aimed at helping students identify a useful and feasible research question, become familiar with the relevant literatures and debates pertaining to that question, develop a basic understanding of what might constitute "good" and "original" research in different subfields, and set up a plan for conducting and presenting the research. The course is also aimed at building a community of like-minded student researchers, which can complement and enrich the honor student's individual experience of working one-on-one with a dedicated faculty thesis advisor. Students apply in the spring of their junior year for admissions to the honors program and enrollment in PSCI497.

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.

Social movements and political protest have become some of the most effective tools for citizens and non-citizens to influence the political system. This course is designed to introduce students to the theoretical and methodological approaches taken in understanding these behaviors. Analyzing social movements that range from civil discontent to contentious political protest, the course will address a variety of questions: What is the origin of movement behavior and why do individuals turn to these actions in lieu of simply engaging in institutional modes of political action such as voting? What were the strategies of these movements? What are the political conditions that allow social movements to resonate with the American public? In addition to addressing these topics, this course surveys the policy successes of major social and political movements. From the Civil Rights and Women's Right Movement to the recent Tea Party movement and Hong Kong demonstrations over democracy, this course explores the various public policies that have resulted from citizens' protest actions. While state level and local level government responsiveness will be addressed, special attention will be given to how political protest influences public policy in all three branches of the federal government.

Media and Politics will examine multiple issues specific to the past and present political media environment in the United States. Focus will be primarily, though not exclusively, on the contemporary news media. Topics covered will include political primaries, how elections have been influenced by the rise of partisan media, selective exposure, freedom of political speech as it relates to elections, the theoretical purpose of elections, money and media, political targeting, etc. We will also explore the quantitative and qualitative methods underlying what is and is not known about how elections work. Reading expectations will be relatively heavy, and under the supervision of the professor, students will write an original research paper examining a specific topic in greater depth.

Consult department for detailed descriptions. More than one course may be taken in a given semester. Recent titles have included: Sustainable Environmental Policy & Global Politics; Shakespeare and Political Theory.

Consult department for detailed descriptions. More than one course may be taken in a given semester. Recent titles have included: Sustainable Environmental Policy & Global Politics; Shakespeare and Political Theory.

Consult department for detailed descriptions. More than one course may be taken in a given semester. Recent titles have included: Sustainable Environmental Policy & Global Politics; Shakespeare and Political Theory.

Consult department for detailed descriptions. More than one course may be taken in a given semester. Recent titles have included: Sustainable Environmental Policy & Global Politics; Shakespeare and Political Theory.