This course begins by reviewing canonical texts in modern political philosophy beginning with Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and ends by exploring classic questions in contemporary debates in race, gender, and identity.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room: Ames 218
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-GI, CES-RI, CES-LSO, INST-PT

This course examines the politics and policies that shape the production and consumption of food. Topics include food security, obesity, crop and animal production, and the impacts of agriculture on climate change. We will also consider the vulnerabilities of our food system to challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as efforts to transform food and agriculture through new food technologies and grass-roots movements to create a more democratic food system.

• Days/Times: MWTh 1:00PM - 3:30PM
• Instructor: Sheingate, Adam
• Room: Mergenthaler 366
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 13/16
• PosTag(s): n/a

For all the controversy surrounding the use of drones in domestic and international operations, the ramifications of their deployment are not yet clear. This course explores the theoretical and political implications stemming from the introduction of drones into various geopolitical spaces. Most simply put, we will be asking what it means to project power without vulnerability. More specifically, we will draw from recent scholarship from a variety of fields to analyze different use cases, geographic theaters, and short- and long-term impacts of their deployment. Issues of asymmetry, surveillance, precision, civilians/enemy combatants, vulnerability, chains of command, and agency will be central to our study.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Phillips, Chas.
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

In a moment in time in which our very democracy is at risk, this First-Year Seminar will investigate why democratic erosion is occurring, its ramifications, and how to address it. It is often assumed that once a country achieves a certain level of economic and political development, democratic consolidation is permanent. Recent trends in American and European politics have led some to question this assumption. Simultaneously, citizens are becoming increasingly doubtful that their government looks out for them, and actually has the ability to solve public problems. This doubt has emerged even more to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic, the January 6th insurrection, growing inequality, and the US government’s subsequent response. Put more starkly, citizens have begun to question democracy as a governance practice in general. Can the system hold? Has it ever actually worked? Our course will be discussion based, relate to current events, and will explore the dynamics and interplay between the realities of democracy in the US and around the world, social entrepreneurship, social change, and policy.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Warren, Scott L
• Room: Wyman Park N303
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): AGRI-ELECT, CES-LSO

This First-Year Seminar explores the history of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, the first American detective firm and a major force in American politics from the 1850s through the 1930s. We will follow the trail of the Pinkertons from Illinois railroads and Civil War battlefields to the bloody fights over the American West, as they chase train robbers, break strikes, and create a trail of enemies along the way. The Pinkertons’ exploits show us a changing America. We’ll consider transformations in the nature and structure of political authority and in technologies of surveillance and policing. In addition to introducing you to the history of the Pinkertons, this course has another goal: teaching you to analyze primary sources. Most weeks, we’ll examine original documents such as detective reports, memoirs, and Congressional investigations. These skills will help you hone your critical faculties, which will come in handy whatever your major. Field trips will include a visit to the B&O Railroad Museum. Students may also investigate representations of the Pinkertons in popular culture, including the video game Red Dead Redemption 2.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Luff, Jennifer D
• Room: Gilman 277
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): CES-ELECT

This seminar-style course will focus on discussing British and American political thought from the "Age of Revolutions", a period also of many critiques of Empire and of many works of Antislavery. Readings include Paine's Common Sense and Rights of Man, the Declaration of Rights, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Federalist Papers; works by Smith, Burke, and Wollstonecraft; and antislavery works by Cugoano, Equiano, Rush, Wesley, and Wilberforce.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Marshall, John W
• Room: Krieger 308
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 18/19
• PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL, CES-LSO, CES-RI

This course begins by reviewing canonical texts in modern political philosophy beginning with Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and ends by exploring classic questions in contemporary debates in race, gender, and identity.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
• Room: Ames 218
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): PHIL-ETHICS, CES-GI, CES-RI, CES-LSO, INST-PT

This course provides an introduction to Western political theory, focusing on theories and practices of power and authority. We will examine the extent to which it is possible to describe, theorize, and make visible how political power operates, and power's relationship to authority, knowledge, truth, and political freedom. A strong tradition of political thought argues that people's consent is what makes political power legitimate. But what if one of the most insidious workings of power is its ability to prevent us from telling the difference between consent and coercion? Can power allow certain authorities to effectively brainwash people? If so, does that mean that those who obey authority should no longer be held politically responsible for their actions? Does the coercive power of norms and conformity prevent any robust practice of freedom? What role (if any) should state power play in negotiating questions of morality, religion and sexuality? Lastly, we will be haunted by a related question: can political theories of power make people free, or are those theories implicated in the very coercion they profess to oppose? Classes will be a combination of lectures, critical discussions/debates, film screenings and presentations. Throughout the term, you will sharpen your ability to formulate coherent written and spoken arguments by organizing and supporting your thoughts in a persuasive manner. An important part of this skill will include the ability to wrestle with complex and controversial political problems that lack any single answer. The stakes of these problems will be brought to life by the political examples we will study, and made legible by looking through the theoretical lenses of diverse thinkers.

• Days/Times: MTW 1:00PM - 3:20PM
• Instructor: Brendese, PJ Joseph
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 13/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

This introductory course seeks to examine the politics of China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan as part of a distinct region. We will seek to understand how individual polities responded to regional developments and trends, such as the tide of colonialism, socialism, regional economic developments, and democracy. The course will introduce students to the most pressing questions concerning the rise of China, the future of the innovation economy, and intra-regional tensions.

• Days/Times: MTWThF 10:30AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Yasuda, John Kojiro
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 21/25
• PosTag(s): POLI-CP

This First-Year Seminar is designed for students of all backgrounds to provide a mathematical introduction to social choice theory, weighted voting systems, apportionment methods, and gerrymandering. In the search for ideal ways to make certain kinds of political decisions, a lot of wasted effort could be averted if mathematics could determine that finding such an ideal were actually possible in the first place. The seminar will analyze data from recent US elections as well as provide historical context to modern discussions in politics, culminating in a mathematical analysis of the US Electoral College. Case studies, future implications, and comparisons to other governing bodies outside the US will be used to apply the theory of the course. Students will use Microsoft Excel to analyze data sets. There are no mathematical prerequisites for this course.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Cutrone, Joseph W
• Room: Gilman 134
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): AGRI-ELECT

This course examines the ideals and operation of the American political system. It seeks to understand how our institutions and politics work, why they work as they do, and what the consequences are for representative government in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the federal government and its electoral, legislative, and executive structures and processes. As useful and appropriate, attention is also given to the federal courts and to the role of the states. The purpose of the course is to understand and confront the character and problems of modern government in the United States in a highly polarized and plebiscitary era.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Lieberman, Robert C
• Room: Hodson 110
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT

This course examines the ideals and operation of the American political system. It seeks to understand how our institutions and politics work, why they work as they do, and what the consequences are for representative government in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the federal government and its electoral, legislative, and executive structures and processes. As useful and appropriate, attention is also given to the federal courts and to the role of the states. The purpose of the course is to understand and confront the character and problems of modern government in the United States in a highly polarized and plebiscitary era.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Lieberman, Robert C
• Room: Hodson 110
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT

This course examines the ideals and operation of the American political system. It seeks to understand how our institutions and politics work, why they work as they do, and what the consequences are for representative government in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the federal government and its electoral, legislative, and executive structures and processes. As useful and appropriate, attention is also given to the federal courts and to the role of the states. The purpose of the course is to understand and confront the character and problems of modern government in the United States in a highly polarized and plebiscitary era.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Lieberman, Robert C
• Room: Hodson 110
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

This course examines the ideals and operation of the American political system. It seeks to understand how our institutions and politics work, why they work as they do, and what the consequences are for representative government in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the federal government and its electoral, legislative, and executive structures and processes. As useful and appropriate, attention is also given to the federal courts and to the role of the states. The purpose of the course is to understand and confront the character and problems of modern government in the United States in a highly polarized and plebiscitary era.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Lieberman, Robert C
• Room: Hodson 110
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT

This course examines the ideals and operation of the American political system. It seeks to understand how our institutions and politics work, why they work as they do, and what the consequences are for representative government in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the federal government and its electoral, legislative, and executive structures and processes. As useful and appropriate, attention is also given to the federal courts and to the role of the states. The purpose of the course is to understand and confront the character and problems of modern government in the United States in a highly polarized and plebiscitary era.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: Lieberman, Robert C
• Room: Hodson 110
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 13/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

This course examines the ideals and operation of the American political system. It seeks to understand how our institutions and politics work, why they work as they do, and what the consequences are for representative government in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the federal government and its electoral, legislative, and executive structures and processes. As useful and appropriate, attention is also given to the federal courts and to the role of the states. The purpose of the course is to understand and confront the character and problems of modern government in the United States in a highly polarized and plebiscitary era.

• Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
• Instructor: Lieberman, Robert C
• Room: Hodson 110
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/20
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, CES-ELECT, AGRI-ELECT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

In the Republic, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato posed three questions: what is justice? How would a just person live? How would a just society be governed? These three questions form the basic subject matter of of political theory. In this course we will survey the history of political theory, reading a series of political theorists who took up Plato’s questions in a wide range of contexts, from Renaissance Italy and early modern England to late colonial India and the Jim Crow US South. Throughout, we’ll consider whether there are better and worse answers to these questions, or simply different answers that appear better or worse depending on the perspective from which one considers them. We’ll look closely at how the circumstances in which political theorists lived influenced their thinking, and how those circumstances should influence our own evaluation of their thinking. And we’ll ask whether Plato’s questions were the right questions to ask in his time, whether they are still relevant in ours, and whether there are other questions that political theorists would do better to spend their time considering.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Simon, Josh David
• Room: Gilman 50
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 17/20
• PosTag(s): INST-PT, CES-ELECT, POLI-PT

In the Republic, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato posed three questions: what is justice? How would a just person live? How would a just society be governed? These three questions form the basic subject matter of of political theory. In this course we will survey the history of political theory, reading a series of political theorists who took up Plato’s questions in a wide range of contexts, from Renaissance Italy and early modern England to late colonial India and the Jim Crow US South. Throughout, we’ll consider whether there are better and worse answers to these questions, or simply different answers that appear better or worse depending on the perspective from which one considers them. We’ll look closely at how the circumstances in which political theorists lived influenced their thinking, and how those circumstances should influence our own evaluation of their thinking. And we’ll ask whether Plato’s questions were the right questions to ask in his time, whether they are still relevant in ours, and whether there are other questions that political theorists would do better to spend their time considering.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
• Instructor: Simon, Josh David
• Room: Gilman 50
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-PT, CES-ELECT, POLI-PT

An introduction to international politics. Emphasis will be on continuity and change in international politics and the causes of war and peace. The first half of the course will focus on events prior to the end of the Cold War, including the Peloponnesian War, the European balance of power, imperialism, the origins and consequences of WWI and WWII, and the Cold War. The second half will focus on international politics since 1990, including globalization, whether democracies produce peace, the impact of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the prospects for peace in the 21st century. Theories of realism and liberalism will also be considered. This course was previously AS.190.209.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room: Mergenthaler 111
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GATEWY, INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-IR, AGRI-ELECT

In the Republic, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato posed three questions: what is justice? How would a just person live? How would a just society be governed? These three questions form the basic subject matter of of political theory. In this course we will survey the history of political theory, reading a series of political theorists who took up Plato’s questions in a wide range of contexts, from Renaissance Italy and early modern England to late colonial India and the Jim Crow US South. Throughout, we’ll consider whether there are better and worse answers to these questions, or simply different answers that appear better or worse depending on the perspective from which one considers them. We’ll look closely at how the circumstances in which political theorists lived influenced their thinking, and how those circumstances should influence our own evaluation of their thinking. And we’ll ask whether Plato’s questions were the right questions to ask in his time, whether they are still relevant in ours, and whether there are other questions that political theorists would do better to spend their time considering.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Simon, Josh David
• Room: Gilman 50
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-PT, CES-ELECT, POLI-PT

In the Republic, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato posed three questions: what is justice? How would a just person live? How would a just society be governed? These three questions form the basic subject matter of of political theory. In this course we will survey the history of political theory, reading a series of political theorists who took up Plato’s questions in a wide range of contexts, from Renaissance Italy and early modern England to late colonial India and the Jim Crow US South. Throughout, we’ll consider whether there are better and worse answers to these questions, or simply different answers that appear better or worse depending on the perspective from which one considers them. We’ll look closely at how the circumstances in which political theorists lived influenced their thinking, and how those circumstances should influence our own evaluation of their thinking. And we’ll ask whether Plato’s questions were the right questions to ask in his time, whether they are still relevant in ours, and whether there are other questions that political theorists would do better to spend their time considering.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
• Instructor: Simon, Josh David
• Room: Gilman 50
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-PT, CES-ELECT, POLI-PT

This course is about the interplay of democracy and capitalism. A core principle of democracy is equality. A core principle of capitalism is inequality. In democracies, the resource-poor are vote-rich. In contrast, the resource-rich are vote-poor. This helps combining capitalist economic systems with democratic political systems (“democratic capitalism”). But the sharp increase in income inequality in recent decades raises questions about the viability of democratic capitalism. What are the patterns, causes, and consequences of (income) inequality? How does inequality influence how democracy and capitalism interact? Why are there large differences in terms of redistribution between countries? For concreteness, the course compares the U.S. case to other rich democracies.

• Days/Times: M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
• Instructor: Rehm, Philipp
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/16
• PosTag(s): INST-ECON, CES-LC, CES-RI, CES-GI, POLI-CP

This course provides an introduction to climate solutions by reviewing the politics and technologies in all major sectors: electricity, transportation, biofuels, hydrogen, buildings, heavy industry, and agriculture. In each area, we will first understand the existing technologies and potential solutions. But to understand decarbonization, we also have to study the political economy of these technologies. What role do the technologies play in the broader economy? Who will win or lose from the transition? What firms and countries dominate and control current and emerging supply chains? What makes a climate solutions project bankable? How can states design policies, regulations, and programs to successfully manage the politics of technology change?

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Allan, Bentley
• Room: Gilman 50
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 77/80
• PosTag(s): INST-IR, INST-ECON, ENVS-MAJOR, ENVS-MINOR, ENGY-SCIPOL, CES-LE, CES-TI, POLI-IR

Over the past several decades, the power and importance of America’s presidency have greatly expanded . Of course, presidential history includes both ups and downs, some coinciding with the rise and fall of national party systems and others linked to specific problems, issues, and personalities. We should train our analytic eyes, however, to see beneath the surface of day-to-day and even decade-to-decade political turbulence. We should focus, instead, on the pronounced secular trend of more than two and a quarter centuries of American history. Two hundred years ago, presidents were weak and often bullied by Congress. Today, presidents are powerful and often thumb their noses at Congress and the courts. For better or worse, we have entered a presidentialist era.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Ginsberg, Benjamin
• Room: Shriver Hall Board Room
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): POLI-AP, INST-AP

This course examines Latinos and the American political landscape – taking seriously the political lives of Latinos to sharpen accounts of American political development. In Part I: Latinos and American Empire, we will examine how American state building, American racial capitalism, and American empire created a varied set of racialized citizenship regimes that shaped the legality and membership of Latinos – depending on the interplay between domestic racial hierarchies and international projects. In Part II: Latinos and the Administrative State, we will examine how the regulation of Latino immigrants and asylum seekers from Latin America and the Caribbean have been an engine for American political development – including the making of border bureaucracies, networked policing that harnesses the institution of federalism, and the development of ocean-spanning detention infrastructure. In Part III: Latinos as Targets, we will examine how Latinos became racialized as ‘illegals’ and became the prime targets of state action – and how state efforts have led to the suppressing of political agency, mobilization of collective action, and even integration of Latinos into the enforcement apparatus. In Part IV: Latinos, Hierarchies, and Power, we will examine the political power of those most marginalized among the Latino population – including Black, Trans, Queer, Immigrant, and Undocumented Latinos – to learn about how these groups contend with intragroup and intergroup hierarchies, their role in intersectional movements, and their organizing under repressive conditions. In Part V: Latinos and Placemaking, we conclude with Latino placemaking across the United States to examine how Latinos – in relation with and to, and in coalition with Black, Indigenous, and Asian organizing – are cultivating and asserting political and policy influence in the face of climate change, policing, detention, and gentrification.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Bautista-Chavez, Angie M.
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/19
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, CES-LSO, CES-PD, CES-RI, POLI-AP

This seminar will address the role of violence–both domestic and international–in political life. Though most claim to abhor violence, since the advent of recorded history, violence and politics have been intimately related. States practice violence against internal and external foes. Political dissidents engage in violence against states. Competing political forces inflict violence upon one another. Writing in 1924, Winston Churchill declared–and not without reason–that, "The story of the human race is war." Indeed, violence and the threat of violence are the most potent forces in political life. It is, to be sure, often averred that problems can never truly be solved by the use of force. Violence, the saying goes, is not the answer. This adage certainly appeals to our moral sensibilities. But whether or not violence is the answer presumably depends upon the question being asked. For better or worse, it is violence that usually provides the most definitive answers to three of the major questions of political life--statehood, territoriality and power. Violent struggle, in the form of war, revolution, civil war, terrorism and the like, more than any other immediate factor, determines what states will exist and their relative power, what territories they will occupy, and which groups will and will not exercise power within them. Course is open to juniors and seniors.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Ginsberg, Benjamin
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 14/15
• PosTag(s): INST-IR, CES-LSO, POLI-CP, POLI-AP

Federalism has become an increasingly widespread constitutional form in the world — in America, but also in Europe, the "cradle of the nation-state," and on other continents. While it typically resolves political problems, it also raises many questions about the nature of states and of sovereignty. This course will discuss scholarship that addresses federalism, sovereignty, and the state, both in contemporary politics and in historical perspective.

• Days/Times: W 12:00PM - 2:00PM
• Instructor: Jabko, Nicolas; Mazzuca, Sebastian L
• Room: Mergenthaler 366
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): POLI-CP, INST-CP, CES-LSO

This course introduces students of politics to international law. We will explore historical roots and current problems, recognizing along the way persistent contestation over the participants, sources, purposes, and interests associated with international law. The course situates formal aspects of law—centered on international treaties, international organizations, the World Court (ICJ), and the International Criminal Court (ICC)—within a broader field of global governance consisting of treaty-based and customary law, states and transnational actors, centralized and decentralized forms of legal authority. We will place special emphasis on the significance of international law to colonialism, decolonization, and contemporary forms of imperialism, keeping in mind that the law has been experienced differently in the Global South and by actors not recognized as sovereign by states in positions of power. Students will be exposed to a range of approaches, including rational choice, various species of legalism, process-oriented theories, critical legal studies, and postcolonial critiques.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Ross, Andrew
• Room: Gilman 75
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 18/19
• PosTag(s): POLI-IR, INST-IR, CES-LSO

Race has been and continues to be centrally important to American political life and development. In this course, we will engage with the major debates around racial politics in the United States, with a substantial focus on how policies and practices of citizenship, immigration law, social provision, and criminal justice policy shaped and continue to shape racial formation, group-based identities, and group position; debates around the content and meaning of political representation and the responsiveness of the political system to American minority groups; debates about how racial prejudice has shifted and its importance in understanding American political behavior; the prospects for contestation or coalitions among groups; the “struggle with difference” within groups as they deal with the interplay of race and class, citizenship status, and issues that disproportionately affect a subset of their members; and debates about how new groups and issues are reshaping the meaning and practice of race in the United States.

• Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Weaver, Vesla Mae
• Room: Bloomberg 168
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 24/25
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, POLI-IR, CES-LSO

Nationalism ties powerful organizations to political mobilization, territory, and individual loyalty. Yet nationalism is typically studied in isolation from other social formations that depend upon organizational – individual linkages. Alternative types of identity category sometimes depend similarly upon organizations that collect and deploy resources, mobilize individuals, erect boundaries, and promote strong emotional connections among individuals as well as between individuals and institutions. In this class, we study classic and contemporary works on nationalism, drawn from multiple disciplinary and analytic traditions, in the comparative context of alternative forms of identity. The focus of the class will be primarily theoretical, with no regional or temporal limitations.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Kocher, Matthew Adam
• Room: Latrobe 107
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 18/18
• PosTag(s): INST-CP, INST-PT, CES-BM, CES-RI, POLI-CP, POLI-IR

Most wealthy countries are democracies, but not all democracies are wealthy—India, Costa Rica, and Mongolia are prominent examples. This course explores three fundamental questions: 1) What political institutions promote economic prosperity? 2) Under what conditions does democracy promote prosperity? 3) What are the mechanisms connecting political institutions and economic performance?

• Days/Times: MWF 3:00PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: Mazzuca, Sebastian L
• Room: Gilman 10
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): INST-CP, INST-ECON, POLI-CP, CES-LSO, CES-PD

Humans have long dreamed of leaving Earth and venturing into the vastness of cosmic outer space. During the 20th century space travel became a real possibility, stimulating an extraordinary outpouring of visionary space projects. Space Expansionists claim these projects are increasingly feasible and desirable. Advocates assert that human expansion into space will fundamentally improve the human situation by enabling perennial human goals (improved security from violence, expanded and protected habitat, and ultimately survival of the human species). In the first steps beyond the atmosphere, a variety of military, scientific, and utilitarian activities have been conducted. The history of space activities has been marked by sudden and unexpected spurts of activity, followed by periods of relative stagnation. Recent developments point to another period of rapid expansion: renewed military tensions, new space private sector initiatives, renewed interest in Luna, and growing efforts to divert and mine asteroids. A core part of the arguments for the desirability of space expansion are geopolitical in that they claim broadly political effects will result from humans interacting with extraterrestrial material environments composed of particular combinations geographies and human-built artifacts. Space expansionist arguments are advanced through analogies to Earth geographies (e.g. space is an ocean), as well as large-scale historical trends and patterns. Space expansion is advanced as the opening of a new frontier, reversing the contemporary global closure brought about by rising levels of interdependence. The goal of space expansionists is to make humanity a multi-world species, and it is anticipated that biological species radiation will occur. This course explores the causes and consequences of space activity; how space activities reflect and effect world political order; and whether human expansion into space is desirable, as its fervent advocates believe.

• Days/Times: M 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Deudney, Daniel Horace
• Room: Gilman 55
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 39/40
• PosTag(s): INST-IR, CES-TI, CES-LE, POLI-IR

This course examines the politics of food at the local, national, and global level. Topics include the politics of agricultural subsidies, struggles over genetically modified foods, government efforts at improving food safety, and issues surrounding obesity and nutrition policy. Juniors, seniors, and graduate students only. Cross-listed with Public Health Studies. A student who takes AS.190.223 (Understanding the Food System) in Summer 2021 cannot also enroll in this course.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Sheingate, Adam
• Room: Gilman 119
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/19
• PosTag(s): ENVS-MAJOR, ENVS-MINOR, CES-LE, CES-BM, CES-CC, POLI-AP

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Marlin-Bennett, Renee E
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Over the last quarter millennium, the United States of America has been the most successful state in world politics. It has had the world’s largest economy since 1870, and was on the winning side of the three great world struggles of the 20th century. During these struggles, the fate of liberal capitalist democracy in the world has been closely connected with the rise and success of the USA. This course examines the rise and impacts of the USA in comparative and international perspective. What factors account for the success of the USA during the late modern era? How has the rise and influence of the USA shaped world politics? The course focuses on the causes, consequences and possible alternatives of three founding moments (1776-88, 1861-67 and 1933-36), the role of wars against illiberal adversaries in strengthening American liberal national identity, the ways in which the internal logics of the Philadelphian states-union (1787-1861) and the liberal international order among advanced industrial democracies (1945-) as alternatives to Westphalian state-systems, the role and consequences of the US as an anti-imperial power, and the internal dual between liberal America dedicated to the Founding principles and an ‘alt-America’ of slavery and white supremacy.

• Days/Times: T 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Deudney, Daniel Horace
• Room: Krieger 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 14/15
• PosTag(s): POLI-IR, INST-CP, INST-IR, CES-PD

This course will explore the classic question, “What is justice?” While we will entertain several different answers to the question, the course will focus on how these answers speak to and past one another, illuminating contemporary quandaries related to intergenerational justice, global justice, and the justice of resistance. Guided by Nietzsche, we will read texts by authors including, among others, Plato, Kant, Bentham, Marx, Rawls, Nozick, and West. Over the course of the semester, students will write three papers. There will also be a final exam.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Culbert, Jennifer
• Room: Bloomberg 172
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/12
• PosTag(s): POLI-PT, INST-PT

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Freedman, Robert
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Brendese, PJ Joseph
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Zackin, Emily
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: David, Steven R
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

This undergraduate seminar will explore the mysteries of money. We will focus on a central and straightforward, but vexing question: what is money? Pursuing this question will take us from deep philosophical explorations of the nature of money, through the diverse history of money and theories of money, to today’s complex and dynamic financial instruments – from securities, to derivatives, to crypto.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Chambers, Samuel Allen
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 14/15
• PosTag(s): POLI-PT, INST-PT, INST-ECON, CES-FT

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Shilliam, Robbie
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Open to and required for Political Science majors writing a thesis. International Studies majors writing a senior thesis under the supervision of a Political Science Department faculty member may also enroll. Topics include: research design, literature review, evidence collection and approaches to analysis of evidence, and the writing process. The course lays the groundwork for completing the thesis in the second semester under the direction of the faculty thesis supervisor. Students are expected to have decided on a research topic and arranged for a faculty thesis supervisor prior to the start of the semester. Seniors. Under special circumstances, juniors will be allowed to enroll. Enrollment limit: 15.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Sheingate, Adam
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

How do we assess research in the social sciences? What makes one study more persuasive than another? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the main methods used in research in the social sciences? What are the elements that go into designing a research project? This course considers these questions, introducing students to the basic principles of research design.

• Days/Times: T 2:00PM - 4:30PM
• Instructor: Lawrence, Adria K
• Room: Mergenthaler 366
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): POLI-CP

Considers global and comparative politics of information, information technologies, and the Internet. Examines governance of information (ownership of information, rights to information, privacy) and governance of information technologies (domain names, social media websites, etc.).

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Marlin-Bennett, Renee E
• Room: Krieger 308
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-IR, POLI-IR, CES-LSO, CES-TI

This course is designed to help students better understand the politics of China. Lectures will focus on the tools of governance that China has employed to navigate its transition from plan to market, provide public goods and services to its citizens, and to maintain social control over a rapidly changing society. The course will draw heavily from texts covering a range of subjects including China's political economy, social and cultural developments, regime dynamics, and historical legacies. Students interested in authoritarian resilience, governance, post-communist transition, and domestic will find this course particularly instructive.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Yasuda, John Kojiro
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 18/20
• PosTag(s): INST-CP, CES-PD, POLI-CP

This course provides an overview of public opinion in the United States. We will explore what affects people’s political opinions, how opinions change, and how opinions affect (and are affected by) politics. Some of the questions we will discuss are: What is public opinion? How much do Americans know about politics? How do the issue positions of leading politicians affect public opinion? How do race relations affect public opinion? What role does partisanship play in all this? When and how do people change their minds about politics? How can my voice be heard in politics? The class will read papers that include quantitative/statistical work; a prior knowledge of statistical methods would be helpful but it is not required for success in the course. The final paper will be based on an original research project, the successful completion of which does not require any statistical training.

• Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Trump, Kris-Stella
• Room: Gilman 17
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 28/30
• PosTag(s): INST-AP, POLI-AP

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Chung, Erin
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Culbert, Jennifer
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Sheingate, Adam
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Ginsberg, Benjamin
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Barkawi, Tarak Karim
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Simon, Josh David
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Phillips, Chas.
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

The course will focus on the origin and development of the Arab-Israeli conflict from its beginnings when Palestine was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, through World War I, The British Mandate over Palestine, and the first Arab-Israeli war (1947-1949). It will then examine the period of the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982, the Palestinian Intifadas (1987-1993 and 2000-2005); and the development of the Arab-Israeli peace process from its beginnings with the Egyptian-Israeli treaty of 1979, the Oslo I and Oslo II agreements of 1993 and 1995, Israel's peace treaty with Jordan of 1994, the Road Map of 2003; and the periodic peace talks between Israel and Syria. The conflict will be analyzed against the background of great power intervention in the Middle East, the rise of political Islam and the dynamics of Intra-Arab politics, and will consider the impact of the Arab Spring.

• Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Freedman, Robert
• Room: Bloomberg 168
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): INST-IR, INST-CP, POLI-IR

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lieberman, Robert C
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Teles, Steven Michael
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Deluca, Stefanie
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Weaver, Vesla Mae
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Yasuda, John Kojiro
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

What if waste—something we often overlook as mere garbage—held significant political and social power? This course invites students to explore waste as a complex and deeply political subject, examining how pollution and discarded materials impact ecological and social systems in ways that are both profound and frequently unnoticed. Through interdisciplinary perspectives from political science, anthropology, philosophy, and the natural sciences, students will critically engage with issues such as plastic and food waste, nuclear waste, waste colonialism, and the concept of “wasteland.” Course activities, including lectures, discussions, film screenings, and virtual art exhibits, will delve into themes like the intersections of waste, racism, environmental justice, and the role of art in responding to pollution. By the end of the course, students will develop critical thinking, research, and writing skills to better understand and address contemporary environmental challenges.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Croteau, Jessie Mary
• Room: Gilman 377
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 14/15
• PosTag(s): ENVS-MAJOR, ENVS-MINOR, CES-LE, POLI-PT, MSCH-HUM

This course will explore the evolution of Russian Foreign Policy from Czarist times to the present. The main theme will be the question of continuity and change, as the course will seek to determine to what degree current Russian Foreign Policy is rooted in the Czarist(1613-1917) and Soviet(1917-1991) periods, and to what degree it has operated since 1991 on a new basis. The main emphasis of the course will be on Russia's relations with the United States and Europe, China, the Middle East and the countries of the former Soviet Union--especially Ukraine, the Baltic States, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. The course will conclude with an analysis of the Russian reaction to the Arab Spring and its impact both on Russian domestic politics and on Russian foreign policy.

• Days/Times: W 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Freedman, Robert
• Room: Krieger 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/20
• PosTag(s): POLI-IR, INST-IR, INST-CP

Just how well equipped is academia to answer the most challenging questions of US national security policy? From Henry Kissinger, to Zbigniew Brzezinski and Condoleezza Rice, it seems to be an American tradition to appoint well-trained academics to the highest ranks of U.S. national security decision-making. Academics have much to say about the questions that keep policymakers awake at night: How dangerous is the spread of nuclear weapons? Should the United States come to the defense of Taiwan in the event of an attack on that island? In this course we will take up a major topic related to U.S. national security policy each week, examining the existing arguments put forth by leading academics and policymakers alike.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Lahiff, Colin Patrick
• Room: Hodson 315
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 18/18
• PosTag(s): POLI-IR

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Barkawi, Tarak Karim
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

How is democracy doing around the world? This course will help students to answer this question and ask their own questions about political systems by examining a variety of quantitative measures of facets of democracy in the U.S. and internationally. We consider general indices as well as those that focus on specific normatively-appealing aspects—the absence of fraud in and broader integrity of the electoral process itself, the guarantees of fundamental human rights to all, governments’ effectiveness and accountability to the public, the equity of both representation and policy outcomes for minority groups and those historically disadvantaged or excluded, and the possibility and extent of civic engagement in non-government institutions. Wherever possible, the course will present evidence about the kinds of institutions and policies that seem to bolster democracy. Students can expect to gain hands-on experience with publicly-available subnational and national indicators of electoral and democratic quality.

• Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
• Instructor: Corrigan, Bryce
• Room: Wyman Park N325F
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/16
• PosTag(s): AGRI-ELECT, POLI-AP

Did you know that Brazil is very similar to the United States? This course is intended as an introduction to the culture and civilization of Brazil. It is designed to provide students with basic information about Brazilian history, politics, economy, art, literature, popular culture, theater, cinema, and music. The course will focus on how Indigenous, Asian, African, and European cultural influences have interacted to create the new and unique civilization that is Brazil today. The course is taught in English. No Prereq. THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: De Azeredo Cerqueira, Flavia Christina
• Room: Hodson 305
• Status: Reserved Open
• Seats Available: 19/20
• PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL

How is the so-called “AI Revolution” altering the landscape of work? This course takes up this question through the lens of underemployment, migratory labor, and diasporic communities. We will read a variety of key works on migration and imagined communities, precarity and alienation, labor, automation, and empire—as well as texts produced in the margins of globalization. In conversation with these texts, we will investigate the dynamics of diasporic communities, migration, and solidarity vis-a-vis the future of work in a global society increasingly automated by AI models such as DeepSeek, ChatGPT, and Qwen 2.5, and the entities that own them. Through a variety of writing assignments and presentations, students engage issues such as race, class, gender, the border, citizenship, and community as they exist for diasporic and migratory workers. This course explores themes relevant to students of Critical Diaspora Studies, as well as the history of science and technology, political science and political economy, international studies, literature, film, and sociology. Readings may include works by Ruha Benjamin, Audre Lorde, Harry Braverman, Benedict Anderson, David Harvey, Edward Said, Mary L. Gray, Octavia Butler, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Todarello, Josh
• Room: Maryland 309
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): CES-BM, CES-LC, CES-RI, CES-TI

Did you know that Brazil is very similar to the United States? This course is intended as an introduction to the culture and civilization of Brazil. It is designed to provide students with basic information about Brazilian history, politics, economy, art, literature, popular culture, theater, cinema, and music. The course will focus on how Indigenous, Asian, African, and European cultural influences have interacted to create the new and unique civilization that is Brazil today. The course is taught in English. No Prereq. THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: De Azeredo Cerqueira, Flavia Christina
• Room: Hodson 305
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL

The global political and security landscape of the 21st century will be shaped by the rivalry between two superpowers -- China and the U.S. For the foreseeable future, the geographic focus of that contest will be Southeast Asia and the surrounding maritime space, particularly the South China Sea. Southeast Asia is a complex, highly differentiated region of ten-plus nations, each with its own unique history and relationship with China. This course will introduce Southeast Asia as a key region -- geographically, economically, and strategically -- often overlooked by policymakers and scholars. It will also focus on the craft of national security strategy as the best tool for understanding the multi-sided competition, already well underway involving China, the U.S., and the Southeast Asian states.

• Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Ott, marvin C
• Room: Mergenthaler 266
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 13/15
• PosTag(s): INST-CP, INST-IR

Seniors also have the opportunity to write a senior research thesis. To be eligible to write this thesis, students must identify a faculty sponsor who will supervise the project.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Han, Hahrie
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Knowing who or what counts as a person seems straightforward, until we consider the many kinds of creatures, objects, and artificial beings that have been granted—or demanded or denied—that status. This course explores recent debates on being a person in culture, law, and philosophy. Questions examined will include: Should trees have standing? Can corporations have religious beliefs? Could a robot sign a contract? Materials examined will be wide-ranging, including essays, philosophy, novels, science fiction, television, film. No special background is required.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Siraganian, Lisa
• Room: Gilman 208
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/12
• PosTag(s): CES-LSO, CES-ELECT, MSCH-HUM

In this course, students learn from experts in the field as connected to the semester’s theme. The practitioners will present on their field of expertise thus providing students substantive engagement with a variety of perspectives relating to the central theme. Discussions with Hopkins Semester faculty will provide connection and framing for engagements with external stakeholders. Additional skills potential for development in this course include enacting policy in the world (networking, negotiations, public speaking, project management, (Political) Risk Analysis, Lobbying and Advocacy, Applying for Federal Jobs, Consulting), and others relevant to subsequent themes.

• Days/Times: T 2:30PM - 5:00PM
• Instructor: Wright Rigueur, Leah M
• Room:  
• Status: Approval Required
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): AGRI-ELECT