williams college political science course catalog

Threats to the Republic: Politics in Post-Obama America. The specific disputes under these rubrics range from abortion to affirmative action, hate speech to capital punishment, school prayer to same-sex marriage; the historical periods to be covered include the early republic, the ante-bellum era, the Civil War and Reconstruction, World Wars I and II, the Warren Court, and contemporary America. Is intense security competition between major states inevitable, or can they get along, provided their main interests are protected? The course will not only show how Muslims were constructed as subjects in history, politics and society from the very beginning of the making of Europe and the Americas to the end of the Cold War to the post-9/11 era. This course focuses on questions about the public value of wealth and its accumulation, which have become more pressing now that the richest one percent of Americans own about 40 percent of privately held wealth. Senior Seminar in Human Rights in International Politics and Law. Most countries around the world have built elaborate institutions to ensure citizens' welfare by protecting some people from some risks, but not all people and not all risks. What are the forces that shape whether citizens pay attention to politics, vote, work on campaigns, protest, or engage in other types of political action? will examine multi-disciplinary texts, such as academic historical narratives, memoirs, political analyses, in critical and comparative readings of mid-late 20th century struggles. In general, the course will focus on competition between some the world's premier cyber powers, such as China, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Russia, and the United States. Yet to rest on this is too simple as it is, in part, an artifact of historical construction. How should we respond to the fact that these unbearable beings persist in existing, despite our best efforts to eliminate them? In ways often obscure to users, they structure communication or conduct in social media, education, healthcare, shopping, entertainment, dating, urban planning, policing, criminal sentencing, political campaigns, government regulation, and war. How did key leaders balance competing objectives and navigate difficult international circumstances? Do particularly aggressive states? What are the root causes of racism? How can this be? States. Where do we find continuities and where upheavals? They help us ask: What is freedom? This course examines those institutions. Is partisanship good or bad for democracy? This tutorial will examine his wide-ranging critique of American foreign policy over the last half century, focusing on his analysis of the role that he believes the media and academics have played in legitimizing imperialism and human rights abuses around the world. Should feminist theory embrace objectivity and model itself upon scientific procedures of knowledge production? The course is organized with a focus on status: which "categories" of people (i.e. CLASSES DREQ INSTRUCTORS TIMES CLASS# ENROLL CONSENT PSCI 201 - 01 (S) LEC Power,Politics,Democracy Amer Division II Matthew Tokeshi MR 2:35 pm - 3:50 pm Griffin 6 But do the people actually govern, and should they? modernity and of politics offered by such thinkers as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Mill, and Freud. Among the many specific questions we will consider are whether particular religious traditions might be incompatible with democratic values, the extent to which recent changes in higher education have affected the health of democratic politics, the effects of ideological polarization on democratic discourse, and the place of the jury system in securing democratic justice. It will address how the Palestinian nation has been defined, who has defined it, what factions and classes have controlled its organizations, and the reasons why it has failed to achieve its goals. The final module introduces students to theory and methods for analyzing media relations (how a given media connects particular groups in particular ways). For each subject, we will ask several key questions. Challenges to Neoliberalism in the United States and Europe since the Financial Crisis. With authority? Senior Seminar in American Politics: The Politics of Belonging. In particular, this course examines the relationship between political and military objectives. Safety measures are in place, and campus community members and guests are additionally advised to take personal precautions. Do the mass media and political elites inform or manipulate the public? Politics is our focus. What would Tocqueville see if he returned to America today, almost 200 years later? Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, Safiya Bukhari, Erica Garner, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Marielle Franco, Winnie Mandela. How does this idea about individual value liberate and entrap? We will engage classic texts that helped to establish political theory's traditional view of nature as a resource, as well as contemporary texts that offer alternative, ecological understandings of nature and its entwinements with politics. We then consider patterns of economic development in Africa. With this preparation, we then look more closely at major contemporary figures and movements in Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Brazil, and other countries. Mackie, Marx, Nietzsche, and Max Weber. Is it because they have an exceptional leader? Does it conform to how American politics is designed to work? Where do we find continuities and where upheavals? We will investigate the founding of Garveyism on the island of Jamaica, the evolution of Garveyism during the early twentieth century across the Americas and in Africa, Garveyism in Europe in the mid-twentieth century, and the contemporary branches of the Garvey movement in our own late modern times. U.S. Public Opinion and Mass Political Behavior. And what are their views on diversity, citizenship, and race, and how do heterodox leftists fit with conservative critiques of managerial liberalism? The title is inspired by C.L.R. The third part focuses on religion in the USA. It is multilateral institutions ruling in peacetime that is relatively new. They contend that it legitimates a view of the status quo, in which such terrible things are bound to happen without real cause. We then interrogate dynamics central to political life in Africa over the 60 years since independence: the role of ethnic diversity in shaping competition, the prominence of patronage politics, and the evolution of elections. One of the key questions we will seek to answer is why Kennan and Kissinger disagreed on so many important issues, ranging from the Vietnam War to the role of nuclear weapons, despite their shared intellectual commitment to Realism. This seminar focuses on how Congress organizes itself to act as a collective body. But what is Asia? Most readings will focus on contemporary political debates about the accumulation, concentration, and redistribution of wealth. Readings will be drawn from such authors as Adorno, Allen, Arendt, Berlant, Brown, Butler, Connolly, Dean, Foucault, Galli, Honig, Latour, Moten, Rancire, Rawls, Sen, and Sexton. Does power obey laws? vary. Among our questions: Is it really possible to pinpoint a moment in time when the state came into existence? Who gains and loses from the idea that people have human rights? An important goal of the course is to encourage students from different backgrounds to think together about issues of common human concern. Beliefs about music can serve as a barometer for a society's non-musical anxieties: Viennese fin-de-sicle critics worried that the sounds and stories of Strauss's operas were causing moral decline, an argument that should be familiar to anyone who reads criticism of American popular music. What explains this diverse and uneven pattern of democracy in South Asia? Polarization. Which leaders were successful in managing U.S. statecraft, and which were not? While America ultimately rejected the League of Nations, the Wilsonian tradition has continued to exert a powerful influence on scholars and policymakers. Although the study of religion and politics raises a host of deep philosophical questions, the principal aim of the course is to understand how religion affects politics (and vice versa), rather than to explore the normative dimensions of questions raised by the interaction of these two forces. Asking whether liberal thought, to borrow the famous joke about economists, assumes the can openers of liberalism and capitalism, taking as given that which is constructed historically, the course will look at leading theories about the role states play in constituting and maintaining capitalist economies, the definition and nature of power in liberal societies, and, more recently, the connection between identities, politics, classes, and states. analyses; interviews; speeches; government documents. This course begins with the premise that knowledge is embedded within, and often reproduces, power hierarchies. We consider how this history confirms or undermines influential views about U.S. foreign relations and about international relations generally. We focus on the ways in which the Silicon Valley model can threaten social welfare through economic inequality and precarious employment, and engage a variety of perspectives, including workplace ethnography, to examine these threats, as well as potential regulatory responses. Well-known contributions by feminist theorists include the conceptualization and critique of anti-discrimination frameworks, the legal analysis of intersecting systems of social subordination (particularly gender, race, class, sexuality, disability), and the theorization of "new" categories of rights (e.g. Not even the Civil War could resolve this issue, as demonstrated by the failure of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow. Here we look closely at whether it is economic development which leads to the spread of democracy. First, through a variety of readings and discussions (including, perhaps, with the assigned scholars themselves), it aims to introduce students to the challenges of original scholarly research and expose them to the range of ways political scientists approach those challenges. What economic, historical, and sociological theories have been advanced to explain poverty? Critics argue that today's media is shallow and uninformative, a vector of misinformation, and a promoter of extremism and violence. We will discuss signature liberal theorists both classic and current as well as some of their most notable critics. With each reading, our dual aim will be to confront pressing issues or controversies and to ask whether the works in question offer ways of thinking and writing that we should pursue ourselves. What conditions are necessary to sustain effective leadership in the contemporary world? What kinds of regimes best serve to encourage good leaders and to constrain bad ones? [more], America's founding documents explicitly state that the will of the people is the authority upon which our government rests. We will study past campaigns and then research and discuss contemporary reform efforts. Might developments in artificial intelligence transform our sense of the human or even threaten the species? The course surveys the electoral politics of low and middle-income democracies in the developing world, investigating its similarities and differences with the historical and contemporary politics of developed democracies. How does racism influence political choices? Politically, the course will address changes in the role of government, what governments do and do not do, the growing influence of financial interests, the role of identities in mobilizing support for and legitimating governments, and the impact of these developments on the status of citizenship and democracy. Have some periods of American democratic politics been more amenable to particular kinds of leadership than others? Who are the people, anyway? citizens, migrants, refugees) have differential access to rights, services, and representation and why. Who is equal? The bulk of the course deals with the major events in the history of great power politics, such as the causes and conduct of World War I and World War II; the origins and course of the Cold War; the nuclear revolution; and the post-Cold War period. This seminar considers our relationship with our ocean and coastal environments and the foundational role our oceans and coasts play in our Nation's environmental and economic sustainability as well as ocean and coastal climate resiliency. We will engage some of the central questions and issues in the current debate on East Asia. Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding of contemporary urban problems, a knowledge of the political structures within which those problems are embedded, and a better sense of the challenges and opportunities leaders face in contemporary urban America. Moreover, these institutions vary considerably both over time and between countries. We will begin with an analysis of primary texts by Fanon and end by considering how Fanon has been interpreted by his contemporaries as well as activists and critical theorists writing today. but dictatorships in others? This course examines the historical development of American constitutional law and politics from the Founding to the present. By the end of the semester, you will gain both a general perspective and substantive knowledge on East Asian international politics. Although we will attempt to engage the readings on their own terms, we will also ask how the vast differences between the ancient world and our own undercut or enhance the texts' ability to illuminate the dilemmas of political life for us. The region is also one of the poorest in the world and lags in human development. Political Theory and Comparative Politics. In the latter half of the course, students will have the opportunity to design, conduct, and present their own final research projects. We will explore the causes of the rise of nationalism and far-right populism in the US and Europe, discuss their relations with liberal democracy, conservativism, and authoritarian politics to study varieties of far-right populism and nationalism not only within the nominal far-right but all political parties in Western democracies. an anarchic political structure for order and justice in world politics? But social risk has not disappeared--you could lose your job, get into an accident, or find yourself plunged somehow into poverty. Thus begins the presentation of perhaps the most influential metaphor in the history of philosophy. Drawing on Freud, and challenged by his philosophical exchanges with Angela Davis, Marcuse came to the view that these movements were addressing not only material deprivations such as poverty and structural oppression, but also the effects of social alienation and a damaged psychic life. See the college's, Experiential Learning & Community Engagement, Introduction to American Politics: Power, Politics, and Democracy in America. What anti-democratic means? (Note that in 2023 this course will also fulfill the senior seminar requirement for STS) [more], Debates over American national identity, or what it means to be an American, have intensified in recent years, with a resurgent white Christian nationalism challenging progressive aspirations for a multiracial, environmentally sustainable, liberal democracy. that media convey). What accounts for the continuities, and what for the changes? How has "human rights" been deployed in international politics, and by whom? investigate the founding of Garveyism on the island of Jamaica, the evolution of Garveyism during the early twentieth century across the Americas and in Africa, Garveyism in Europe in the mid-twentieth century, and the contemporary branches of the Garvey movement in our own late modern times. dorms be named for John C. Calhoun and Woodrow Wilson? Important topics include: the colonial experience and independence; race relations and the African diaspora; national identity and authoritarian populist nationalism; war and state-building; American exceptionalism, religion, and foreign policy; criminal justice; and the origins and shape of the welfare state. How can a government of separated institutions operate and come to collective decisions given this discord? The course also will examine the arrival of Arab Jews in the 1950-60, the conflicts between them and European Jews, and the effects of their conflicts on Israeli politics. inexplicably lawless, violent, and anarchic. The course is designed to teach political science majors the nuts, and maybe also the bolts, of social science research. Where does it apply? Themes may include power, authority, freedom, justice, equality, democracy, neoliberalism, feminism, and violence, though the emphases will vary from semester to semester. Its first part examines major thinkers in relation to the historical development of capitalism in Western Europe and the United States: the classical liberalism of Adam Smith, Karl Marx's revolutionary socialism, and the reformist ideas of John Maynard Keynes. Among the questions that we will address: What is justice? The second part will take a global perspective on the relation between religion and politics. Key theorists include Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, John Rawls, Thomas Pogge, Nancy Fraser, Paul Farmer, Vandana Shiva, Majid Rahnema, and Enrique Dussel. Type in your search terms and press enter or navigate down for suggested search results. And we will ask persistently: what constitutes a "Jewish justification" for a political claim in modern Jewish political theory? Our goal is to obtain an enhanced understanding and appreciation of the salience of religion in public life. Assignments focus on crafting solutions to contemporary political challenges in the developing world. With admissions like this, Coates stoked a long-standing debate about the prospects for racial equity in liberal democracies like the United States. democracies have collapsed and longer standing ones appear to be stumbling. the people. Can public policy reverse these trends? Are these firms monopolies? This tutorial will first examine the nature of their relationship to both Realist and Wilsonian perspectives on American foreign relations. What kinds of alternatives are considered as solutions to these problems? Or ideology? (As the list suggests, the most common comparisons are with Latin America and Western Europe, but several of our authors look beyond these regions.) In this class, we will consider the promise and limits of political theory to illuminate present day environmental crises and foster movements to overcome them. There is no world government. Looming environmental catastrophes capable of provoking humanitarian crises. American Constitutionalism II: Rights and Liberties. Accompanying these interventions in the legal field is a deep and sustained inquiry into the subject of law: Who can appear before the law as the proper bearer of civil and human rights? does it mean to be an American? [more], "Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders. The course will begin--by focusing on the Manhattan Project--with a brief technical overview of nuclear physics, nuclear technologies, and the design and effects of nuclear weapons. What role do moral and legal considerations play in world politics? Two questions will anchor the tutorial: how is the nation defined and what, if any, class interests are folded into various definitions? We will then use our investigation of how different authors, and different traditions, understand the nation to help us assess contemporary politics and come to our own conclusions about what animates conflicts. Topics include the founding of the American system and the primary documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers), the primary institutions of national government then and now (Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court), and the politics of policy-making in the United States. Primary papers are due to respondent/professor 48hrs before the tutorial meets; response papers are emailed to the professor 2hours before the weekly tutorial meets. Why does Congress not act, especially when the U.S. confronts so many pressing problems, and how do legislators justify inaction? We will analyze texts and audio-visual works on the political economy of late colonial Jamaica, core Rastafari thinking, political theology, the role of reggae music, the notion of agency, and the influence of Rastafari on global politics. What are the powers and obligations of citizenship? How does the mass media and campaigns influence public opinion? Sanders' slogan reflects a vision of a robust welfare state, defined by a widespread commitment to solidarity, where citizens share social risks as well as economic rewards. From there, we analyze the causes, achievements and limitations of the recent wave of political liberalization across Africa. How can a government of separated institutions operate and come to collective decisions given this discord? We then consider patterns of economic development in Africa. sell! [more], Must we choose between "socialism or barbarism?" Or should feminists reject objectivity as a myth told by the powerful about their own knowledge-claims and develop an alternative approach to knowledge? We will examine factors that shape election outcomes such as the state of the economy, issues, partisanship, ideology, social identities with a special focus on race, interest groups, media, and the candidates themselves. But there are other examples of treating the body as property that seem more ambiguous, or even benign: the employment contract in which bodily services are offered in exchange for payment; the feminist slogan "my body, my choice"; or even the every-day transfer of bodily properties into creative projects that then become part of the things people own --- chairs, tables, houses, music, art, and intellectual property. Should this coincide with the cultivation of a distinctively Jewish modern language? [more], The pursuit of wealth is an important feature of American political identity, captured by the ideas of the American dream and the Protestant work ethic. Women studied include: Mamie Till Mobley, Anne Moody, Ella Baker, Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, Bettina Aptheker, Assata Shakur, Yuri Kochiyama, Denise Oliver, Domitilia Chungara. If the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, why is immigration reform so difficult to achieve? The UN Security Council, alongside national governments, decides on legitimacy and punishment. She wrote luminously about the darkness that comes when terror extinguishes politics and the shining, almost miraculous events of freedom through which politics is sometimes renewed. This course introduces students to the dynamics and tensions that have animated the American political order and that have nurtured these conflicting assessments. It also creates status for other actors, such as international organizations, soldiers, national liberation movements, refugees, terrorists, transnational air and sea shipping companies, and multinational corporations. How, if at all, do nuclear weapons affect how political disputes run their course? In this class we explore the dark side of democracy. The readings include Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Karl Polanyi, Barrington Moore, Robert Putnam, Michel Foucault, and Edward Said. In this tutorial, we will investigate what Arendt's vision of politics stands to offer to those struggling to comprehend and transform the darkest aspects of the contemporary political world. James' famous book, Black Jacobins, about the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804). It will examine the various explanations that scholars have offered for why the conflict has persisted for so long, how it has evolved over time, the role that outside powers have played in shaping it, and how its perpetuation (or settlement) is likely to impact Middle East politics in the future. Yet for all our focus on long-term and subtle causal mechanisms, events often serve as political turning points in ways that vary over time, last for extended periods of time, and are not always entirely predictable at the time. In repeatedly examining the allegory over the centuries, later thinkers have elaborated their approaches not only to Plato but also to the nature of politics and the tasks of thinking. We study techniques to politically use media as well as research techniques to uncover political practices and relations. The course will be divided into three parts. was a poster child of urban crisis, plagued by arson and housing abandonment, crime, the loss of residents and jobs, and failing public services. Political dissent has taken various forms since 1979 but the regime has found ways to repress and divert it. Democratic collapse. that used to be the prerogative of human actors. Importantly, this course is. America First? Beginning with the evolution of the field, this course will equip students with the methodological tools to critically navigate their own specific regional, inter-regional, or interdisciplinary tracks in the Asian Studies concentration. The tutorial is open to all students. Our focus is both contemporary and comparative, organized thematically around common political experiences and attributes across the region.
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