Course Offerings by term

This course examines the nature of knowledge claims in political science: how we know what we know and how certain we are. Research schools, the nature of description and explanation in political science, and basis issues of quantitative analysis will form the core elements of this course, while substantive themes may vary each year.

Is it unjust that there are huge economic inequalities between people of different countries? If so, who is responsible for rectifying these injustices? Should individuals enjoy the liberty to move freely across countries? How fair is free trade? The course explores these and other questions of global justice from philosophical and social-scientific perspectives.

As the bridge-course for the major in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, this team-taught course offers a multidisciplinary perspective on key questions of political economy. First presenting the similarities and differences between philosophical, political and economic approaches to political and economic rationality, the course offers varied analyses of representation and government, the commons, security, inequality and debt. The overall purpose of the course is to engage students, at various levels of theoretical abstraction and empirical precision, with the fundamental issues lying between ethics, politics, and economics.

Analyzes European security issues in the post-Cold War era. Traces the evolution of NATO, as well as British, French, and German security policy. Focuses on the security issues facing Eastern Europe and the ramifications of NATO enlargement in regard to US, European, and Russian security issues.