2007-2008 Academic Catalog (4-Aug-2007).indd - AUK

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY of KUWAIT
2007-2008 ACADEMIC CATALOG
PLSC 303 Politics of Postindustrial Societies (3) [S]
Comparative study of postindustrial society; public policy and policy-making; domestic
and foreign policy; politics and economics of welfare states; and political participation
and oppositional movements in postindustrial societies. The course assesses the impact
of technology, science, the information revolution and national and international social
movements on politics. Prerequisite: PLSC 200.
PLSC 304 Arab Politics (3) [S]
The course investigates contemporary Arab political culture, its historical, economic,
geographic, ideological and social roots, dynamics of Arab nationalism and political Islam.
Prerequisite: PLSC 200.
PLSC 315 American Government (3) [S]
Structure and function of the American governmental system; the constitutional bases of
government; federal, state and local government systems; intra-governmental relations; the
Presidency and the Executive Branch, the Supreme Court and Congress, and the role of
business, industry, non-governmental agencies and interest groups. Prerequisite: PLSC 200.
PLSC 316 Political and Social Forces in the U.S (3) [S]
An overview of the social bases of politics in the U.S.; political participation and elections;
political parties, special interests, the role of religion in politics; public opinion and the major
national institutions influencing the making and implementation of domestic and foreign
policy. Prerequisite: PLSC 200.
PLSC 317 Government and Politics of Kuwait (3) [S]
Analysis of the contemporary political institutions and behavior of the Kuwaiti political
system; an overview of political participation and elections; the relationship among the
executive, legislative and judicial branches; the major national institutions involved in domestic
and foreign policy-making. Prerequisite: PLSC 200.
PLSC 321 Islamic Political Philosophy (3) [S]
A survey of Islamic political thought from the time of the Prophet Mohammad until the
present. Investigation of the development and evolution of institutions in the Islamic state;
Ibn Khaldoun’s views on history, society and the state. Theories of the state, including
contemporary Shi’i and Sunni thought are also addressed.
PLSC 322 Western Political Theory (3) [S]
A survey of Western political thought from ancient times to the present. Analysis of major
themes such as the relationship of the individual to the state, political authority, political
legitimacy, cooperation and conflict, and political change through the works of Plato, Aristotle,
Rousseau, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and contemporary political theorists such as Rawls.
Prerequisites: PHIL 101 or previous INST/PLSC and ENGL 101. [Cross listed with PHIL
322].
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