2013-2014 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

144 POLITICAL SCIENCEPOLITICAL SCIENCE145303 Urban Politics (4)Students examine scholarly perspectives on theevolution of political processes, institutions, theintergovernmental context, key actors andcontemporary issues in urban politics such as urbansprawl and economic development. A major part ofthis class is a six-week simulation of a city governmentwhere students take roles of city councilors, lawyers,business leaders, and citizen activists in makingimportant decisions about the city’s future.Prerequisite: junior/senior status. Offered spring ofodd-numbered years.307 The Presidency and theAmerican Political System (4)Examines the institutions and processes ofAmerican government in regard to the presidency.Offered spring of even-numbered years.308 Elections in American Politics (4)Examines the dynamics of the American electionssystem. Students explore theoretical literature thatseeks to explain elections and their outcomes, andengage in practical activities associated with therunning of electoral campaigns. Prerequisites: juniorstatus or consent. Offered intermittently.315 Politics in the Media (4)Explores recurring themes in studies of the massmedia, including the interplay between newsproducers, consumers, and politicians. Students willexamine the role of mass media within a democracy,the media’s effects on the citizens who consume it,and how the economic needs of news producersshapes their product. Prerequisites: POLS 111 or112. Offered on demand.317 Comparative Politics:Asian Pacific Rim (4)HExamines political systems and the dynamics ofpolitical change in the eleven East and SoutheastAsian nations of the Pacific Rim, a region that hasassumed a commanding presence in world politicsand the world economy. Includes study of Japan,China, and selected nations from among Korea,Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam,Cambodia, Laos and Burma. Offered fall of evennumberedyears.318 Comparative Politics: South Asia (4)Highlights the confrontation of Western politicalforms with traditional non-Western and pre-colonialcultures and alternative strategies for political andeconomic development in an analysis of the politicsof nation-building in the South Asian portion of theThird World. India and Pakistan are the main casesstudied, although examples may be taken from Iran,Afghanistan, and perhaps Bangladesh and Malaysia aswell. Offered on demand.320 Comparative Politics:Latin America (4)Examines major problems of political andeconomic modernization by considering LatinAmerican political systems in their variousapproaches to development. Focuses on key examplesof the successes and failures of the variousdevelopmental strategies: e.g., Cuba, Chile, Peru,Brazil, and Mexico. Gives special attention to theimpact of United States’ policies upon the region as awhole. Offered spring of odd-numbered years.321 Politics and Literature ofLatin America (4)Focuses on readings from the political writings ofselected Latin American thinkers. Students analyzewritings that range in time from the SpanishConquest to the present, providing a historicaloverview of the development of the political thoughtin Latin America. Offered spring of even-numberedyears.323 Topics in Public Policy Analysis (4) S,WUsing policy analysis models students examine aset of substantive public policy issues to establish theissue context, define the policy problems, andevaluate alternative solutions. Topics may differ eachsemester and may include the environment, healthcare, crime, urban policy, poverty, and welfare.Offered on demand.326 Environmental Policy Analysis (4) S,WExamines environmental politics and policy bystudying a set of substantive environmental policyissues to establish the issue context, define the policyproblems and evaluate alternative solutions. Identicalto ENVS 326. Offered each spring.334 Comparative Politics:Contemporary Africa (4)Introduces students to the significant issuessurrounding the politics, economics, sociology, andforeign relations of modern Africa. Focuses on thecore theoretical and conceptual ideas that underpinthe study of Africa, as well as the primarycontemporary problems facing African nations.Offered spring of odd-numbered years.335 American Government (4) SAcquaints students with the workings of oursystem of federal government. The Constitution, thepresidency, Congress, the Supreme Court, politicalparties, and the regulatory agencies are treated asseparate units of a unified focus upon our institutionsof national government. Offered each fall.337 American Legislative Process (4)Examines the structure and function of lawmaking in Congress and the state legislatures,including consideration of such topics as committees,representation, policy making, leadership, andinterest group influence. Also examines the impact ofCongress and state legislatures on vital issues of publicpolicy ranging from foreign policy to urban policy, orfrom taxation to energy policy. The role of partypolitics and campaigns in the legislative process arealso considered. Offered intermittently.338 Comparative Politics:Middle East and North Africa (4)Offers students a basic understanding of broadtrends of social change, state building, and economicdevelopment in the modern Middle East and NorthAfrica (MENA) during the post-World War I period.Attends to distinctions across MENA states alongthese three major dimensions, with special attentionto public and private responses to modernization,democratization, and globalization. Offered fall ofeven-numbered years.343 Public Administration (4) SReviews contemporary approaches to policymakingand decision-making techniques in light ofthe values represented in them and their promises forserving the public interest. Examines classic andmodern theories of bureaucracy; the history,development, and philosophical assumptions of thescience of administration; the structure andfunctioning of American federal, state, and localadministration; the budget-making process;government regulations of business and society; andthe major challenges facing governmentalprofessionals in our time. Offered each spring.344 European Union in World Politics (4) SExamines the foreign policies of Europeancountries, both individually and collectively throughthe European Union, toward one another, regionaland intergovernmental organizations, and otherregions of the world. Explores other issues related toEurope economic and political integration, includingnational identities, democratic accountability, theUnion’s expansion, U.S.-European relations, theEuropean Constitution, Turkey’s bid to join theUnion, and immigration and Islam in Europe.Prerequisite: junior status or consent. Offered fall ofodd-numbered years.345 International Law andOrganizations (4)SIntroduces rules and institutions providing thecontext for global politics. Examines howinternational and non-governmental organizationsattempt to establish and protect internationalstandards of political behavior. Special focus is placedon the United Nations, equipping students forparticipation in the National Model United Nationsin New York City. Prerequisite: consent. Offered eachfall.346 Model United Nations (1)Provides further understanding of the operationsof the United Nations, including the UN’sbureaucratic structure, resolution writing, multilateraldiplomacy, and specific issues in contemporaryinternational politics. Guides students’ preparationfor and participation in the annual National ModelUnited Nations conference. Pass/fail grading.Prerequisite: consent. May be repeated for credit.Offered each spring.348 International Human Rights (4) S,WExamines the practical and philosophicalquestions surrounding civil, political, social, andeconomic rights, self-determination, and minorityrights. Explores the contemporary practice of humanrights in policy-making and law, with specialemphasis on the role of politics in theirinterpretation, implementation, and enforcement.Prerequisites: ENG 105 with a grade of C or higherand junior status or consent. Offered spring of evennumberedyears.350 Immigration and Citizenship (4) S,WExplores the causes and consequences ofinternational migration, how governments regulate it,and how it transforms our ideas of citizenship.Migrants contribute to their native and adoptedlands, but also exacerbate inequality, enflamenationalist sentiments, and carry with them valuesand attitudes that may threaten existing socioculturaland political orders. Offered fall of even-numberedyears.353 Globalization and Its Discontents (4) SStudies the theoretical, political, economic, andinstitutional foundations and practices of free trade.Students develop case studies from Internet data onthe issues and stakeholders in the globalization debateand the impact of their activities. Included amongthese are human rights, environmental, and laborgroups; the World Bank; the World TradeOrganization; and global corporation. Offered inselected Winter Sessions.