2005-07 Catalog - Tacoma Community College

130 Credit Course DescriptionsTacoma Community CollegePhysicsPHYS 299Independent Study (1-5)Independent observation, analysis, andreporting of a physics-related topic.Prerequisite: Instructor permission.Political SciencePOLSC 101 (Su, F, W, Sp)Introduction to Political Science (5)This course is intended to serve as acomparative introduction to the concepts,methods, and subject areas of the disciplineof political science. Students will explorevarious forms of political beliefs, behaviors,institutions, and processes at the individual,group, national, and international levels.Strongly recommended for those studentswith no prior coursework in political science.POLSC 201 (F)Political Philosophy and IdeologyThe class will cover major politicalphilosophers from ancient Greece to thepresent, including Aristotle, Macchiavelli,Locke, Rousseau, Hume and others. Topicssuch as liberty and coercion, victimlesscrime, equality and others will be examined.(Same as PHIL 290).Prerequisite: Assessment at college-level reading andENGL 101 or completion of READ 93 andENGL 91 with a grade of ‘C’ or higher in bothclasses.POLSC 202 (Su, F, W, Sp)American National Government and Politics (5)Survey of the Constitution, the threebranches of government, and processesthrough which public policy is formulated,enacted into law and executed.POLSC 203 (W)International Relations (5)Study of interrelationships among nations:power, structure, decision-making; conflictsand compromise.POLSC 205 (varies)State and Local Government and Politics (5)Study of the nature, function and problemsof state, county and city governments,including an examination of the problemsconfronting these local political units.POLSC 210 (varies)Contemporary Issues in American Politics (3)This course will examine a variety of currentcontroversial public policy issues on a weeklybasis. Students will read arguments on bothsides of the policy debate and write a seriesof short papers analyzing the respectivepositions. (multicultural content)POLSC 220 (Sp)Introduction to Constitutional Law (5)This course will introduce students to theprocess of constitutional decision making inthe U.S., with particular emphasis on the U.S.Supreme Court. The course is organizedaround three substantive areas of law:institutional powers of government,property rights and economic liberty, andequal protection. Court decisions in theseareas will be examined in a broader political,social, and economic context. (writingintensive)Prerequisite: POLSC 202 or instructor permission.POLSC 221 (Sp)Politics of Civil Liberties (5)Historical analysis of the politics of civilliberties in the United States, concentratingon three primary areas of civil liberties law:freedom of speech, religious freedom andthe rights of criminal suspects anddefendants.Prerequisite: Completion of ENGL 91 andREAD 93 with a grade of ‘C’ or higher orassessment at college-level English and reading.POLSC 222 (variable)Law and Society (5)The course will examine the intersection oflaw and politics in American society. Topicsto be covered include legal reasoning,disputing, due process, capital punishment,and others.Prerequisite: Completion of ENGL 91 andREAD 93 with a grade of ‘C’ or higher orassessment at college-level English and reading.POLSC 230 (varies)Advanced International Relations Seminar (5)The course will focus on how variousinternational conflicts get started and howthey are resolved. We will examine conflictssuch as the war in Yugoslavia, the continuingdifficult relations between Israelis andPalestinians, and past wars which stillsmolder in Congo and Somalia.Prerequisite: Completion of POLSC 203 or HIST113 recommended.POLSC 231 (varies)Politics and Film (5)This course will examine a variety of politicaland legal issues through their portrayal incontemporary cinema. Students will readrelevant political science literature as abackground for an analysis of the filmsviewed in the course. Rotating themesinclude: elections and the presidency, law andcourts, racial politics and militaryinterventions. (can be repeated.)Prerequisite: A grade of ‘C’ or higher in ENGL91 and READ 93 or equivalent assessment.POLSC 240 (varies)Women in Politics (5)This course will explore the role of genderin American politics. Students will learnabout women's political activism and theimpact of various policy decisions upon thelives of women. The role of race, class,sexuality and ethnicity in uniting and dividingwomen will also be addressed. (multiculturalcontent) (writing intensive)POLSC 290 (varies)Political Philosophy and Ideology (5)A study of the political ideas of thefollowing writers: Aquinas, Locke, Mill,Madison, Rousseau, Marx, Machiavelli,Hobbes, Benthan, Jefferson, Montesquieuand Sumner.POLSC 298 (F, W, Sp)Political Internship (1-5)Students will participate in internships witheither a political party, interest group, or anelected official and will meet periodicallywith the instructor to discuss assignedreadings and a research paper based on theinternship experience.Prerequisite: Instructor permission.PsychologyPSYCH 100 (F, W, Sp)General Psychology (5)Introduction to psychology as an academicdiscipline: the nervous system, heredity andmaturation, sensory processes, perceptionand attention, motivation, emotion,intelligence, learning and remembering,thinking and personality will be examined.Prerequisite: Completion of ENGL 91 andREAD 93 with a grade of ‘C’ or higher orassessment at college-level reading and writing.