The graduate courses being offered by the Political Science Department for Fall 2009 semester are listed below, followed by course descriptions for the Fall 2009 classes.

Fall 2009 Courses

POL 580	001	METH POLITICAL INQUIRY	W	3:30 PM	5:50 PM	S SCI	332	MISHLER
POL 582	001	RESEARCH + METHODOLOGY	MW	11:00 AM	12:15 PM	S SCI	332	WESTERLAND
POL 582	001	RESEARCH + METHODOLOGY	F	10:00 AM	11:50 AM			WESTERLAND
POL 595D	001	COMPARATIVE POLITICS	R	3:30 PM	5:50 PM			WILLERTON
POL 595E	001	INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS	M	3:30 PM	5:50 PM			GOERTZ
POL 596A	001	AMERICAN POLITICS	T	3:30PM	5:50 PM			BERARDO
POL 596E	001	INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS	T	3:30 PM	5:50 PM			VOLGY
POL 601	001	PROFESSION OF POL SCI	F	3:00 PM	4:15 PM			DIXON

FALL 2009 Graduate Course Descriptions

• POL 580 - Meth. Political Inquiry
Wednesday – 3:30-5:50
Professor William Mishler

This seminar introduces students to the theory and practice of research in Political Science.  The seminar begins at a high level of abstraction by engaging the twin questions: “how do we know what we think we know,” and, “how can we communicate that knowledge to others in ways they will accept/believe?” We draw upon a rich but sometimes difficult literature on the philosophy of science to try and understand the nature of science, the difference between good science and pseudoscience, and whether social and political phenomena can be studied scientifically. As part of this discussion we consider a brief  history of Political Science focusing on the main schools of research in Political Science from the late 1800s through today.  The seminar then examines the basic elements of empirical (positive) research including theory construction, concept formation, observation and measurement, and causal inference.  A mixture of readings, both theoretical and applied, are assigned in an effort to prepare you both to evaluate existing research and to design a significant piece of original research on their own.  By the end of the course, you are expected to be able to understand and apply the basic concepts of research design to political science research.  You also are expected to be able to read the existing literature in Political Science with a critical but sympathetic eye and to be able to design an independent research project capable of answering important, theory relevant, nomothetic questions in Political Science.

• POL 582- Research and Methodology
Wednesday – 3:30-5:50 (LAB-Friday 11:00-11:50
Professor Chad Westerland

The goal of this course is to provide students with a basic understanding of statistical techniques used in the empirical analysis of research questions in political science. The course will focus on a theoretical understanding of basic statistics, along with their substantive applications. We will concentrate on the uses, limitations, and interpretations of statistics. Although this is not a highly mathematical course, some comfort with mathematical procedures, mostly at the high school algebra level is necessary. Further, we will discuss basic probability mathematics. Computers will be used to do much of the statistical calculations; the use of statistics packages will also be covered.

• POL 595D – Comparative Politics

Thursday 3:30-5:50
Professor Pat Willerton
This survey and readings course is intended to expose participants to a diversity of topics and findings related to Comparative Politics. We will explore, among other topics, the literature on democratization, development, the state and its institutions, political economy, political elites, and party and electoral systems. The survey is not limited to any particular area or subfield and aims to introduce participants to the broad field of Comparative Politics. Attention will also be given to the intersection between political science disciplinary and area studies scholarship. Course participants will, among other tasks, craft and present to the seminar a research prospectus that I hope may serve as a basis for a future 900 paper or dissertation. Our sessions will involve our collective review and discussion of assigned readings as well as periodic consideration of one another's emerging research project and the planned prospectus. I put a lot of weight in assessing seminar members' performance on their weekly preparation and active participation. Participants will be able to complete all required assignments during the course of the 15-week semester; I intend that no incompletes will be given. This course is designed to provide a comprehensive -- yet manageable -- presentation of the Comparative Politics field both to participants with a primary professional interest in this area and to participants whose primary interests are grounded in other fields of the discipline.

• 595E – International Relations
Monday 3:30-5:50
Professor Gary Goertz
Political Science 595e serves as an introduction to international relations at the graduate level. The main approaches to international relations such as realism, neorealism, social constructivism, rational actor, etc., are covered in the course. The course covers substantively a wide range of topics from international political economy to international conflict. The philosophy of the readings is to provide one or two general discussions of the literature or ideas and then one or two actual applications to some empirical phenomenon. A major theme of the seminar will be translating theoretical ideas into actual research. One goal of the seminar is to prepare the student to conduct actual research of his or her own.

• POL 596A – American Politics - The Institutions of Federalism
Tuesday 3:30-5:50
Professor Ramiro Berardo
The U.S. federal system is widely known for its complex and unique nature, with multiple governmental and nongovernmental actors interacting to reach diverse goals that can rarely be realized in concert. This complexity has affected (but also been affected by) many formal and informal institutions that rule the behavior of these actors –from courts, to fiscal arrangements among different levels of government, to informal networks of exchange of resources. The institutions in question have evolved and continue to be shaped in particular ways, and so in this seminar we will explore how this evolution occurs from both a historical and legal perspectives. At the end of the term, students should understand better how the institutions of American federalism affect the actions of a multitude of players that partake in the decision-making process in diverse policy areas in the U.S.

• POL 596E – International Realtions
Tuesday 3:30-5:50
Professor Tom Volgy
Assuming that the international system has been and continues to be characterized by both anarchy (the absence of centralized governmental structures responsible for global governance) and inequality (disparate capabilities and abilities of actors to influence the course of international affairs), it should be of little surprise that much research in international politics has focused on the salience and role of major powers. Unlike most other actors, major powers have the wherewithal to create mechanisms that minimize anarchy and make governance more plausible; conversely, they can seek to upturn existing rules and norms of conduct (or exploit them, see Drezner, 2009) and make anarchy more problematic. Unfortunately, there is much confusion in the literature over the concept of major power and its operationalization. This research seminar will focus on a) what are major powers; b) how can we identify them; c) how can we differentiate between them (especially about the extent to which there is status consistency in international politics); and d) probe the implications of these findings for both previous literature and potential new findings on major powers (both global and regional). Successful completion of this seminar should yield two outcomes: 1) a better appreciation of the dynamics operating in international politics regarding order and governance issues; and 2) publishable quality research for members of the seminar.

• POL 601  – Profession of Political Science
Friday 3:00-3:50
Professor William Dixon

Two Year Prospective Course Offerings

A = American Politics
C = Political Theory
D = Comparative Politics
E = International Relations
*601 = The Profession of Political Science (1 hour, overload)
*602 = Teaching Political Science (2 hours, overload)
*603 = Writing Political Science (2 hours, overload)

ACADEMIC YEAR 2008-2009
FALL 2008
580, 582, 595E, 595A, 596C, 596E, 601
SPRING 2009
595C, 595D, 596A, 681, 602*, 603*, 682

ACADEMIC YEAR 2009-20010
FALL 2009
580, 582, 595A, 595E, 596C, 596D, 601*
SPRING 2010
595C, 595D, 596A, 602*, 603*, 681, 682