POL 380 - Global Politics Seminar

FDR: SS2
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.

Prerequisite: Normally POL 105 or instructor consent, though prerequisite may vary with topic. Open to majors and non-majors of all classes. Meets the global politics field requirement in the politics major. Examination of selected topics dealing with international and comparative politics. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Fall 2014 topics:

POL 380-01: Seminar: George H. W. Bush (3). Prerequisite: POL 105. This seminar focuses on the presidential administration of George H. W. Bush and explores the domestic and foreign policy issues that he encountered in the White House including: the savings and loan crisis, mounting deficits, legislation on clean air and the treatment of Americans with disabilities, the end of the Cold War, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the transformation of regimes in Eastern Europe, and military interventions in Panama, Somalia and the Persian Gulf. Students evaluate the Bush presidency after the passage of a quarter century and use recently opened archives of presidential oral history interviews in writing research papers on topics related to this presidency. (SS2) Strong.

POL 380-02: Seminar: Science and Religion in the Courts (3). Prerequisite: POL 105. An investigation into the manner in which courts address questions of fact, proof, knowledge, and evidence in cases dealing with science and religion. What constitutes a religious belief? When does science provide “proof” as opposed to conjecture? The course examines cases in the United States and other countries. (SS2) Rush.