Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS PO 571: Government and Politics of Contemporary Africa
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Analysis of independent black Africa; factors of continuity and change in modern Africa, problems of political order, ambiguities of independence. Case studies of individual countries selected for additional emphasis on specific issues and problems of the developing countries.
• CAS PO 572: Political Systems of Southern Africa
  Examines politics in Southern Africa focusing on issues of race and ethnicity, economic development and inequality, and struggles over authoritarianism, democratization, and human rights. Explores the legacies of apartheid, racial discrimination, and war and the politics of memory and transitional justice.
• CAS PO 576: The Foreign Policy of the People's Republic of China
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Explores China's perception of its role in the world, its evolution from a regional to a world power, and its security and economic relationships within the international system. Relationships with the superpowers, Third World, and world economy, focusing on technology and capital transfers.
• CAS PO 577: Politics of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Limited to juniors, seniors, and graduate students. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - An in-depth examination of the political, economic, and societal evolution and interactions of states and non-state actors in the Persian Gulf and Arabian. Critically assesses dominant political narratives. Considers factors ranging from politics and history to demography and resources. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 578: The United States as a Great Power
  The course material is organized along a debate format. Although the course is primarily concerned with twentieth-century U.S. foreign policy, attention is also given to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century issues. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Historical Consciousness
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 579: Political Biography and Statecraft
  Political biographies and memoir literature used to evaluate twentieth-century international relations and statecraft. Topics vary but may include biographical literature related to World War II, the Cold War, and Third World political leaders. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Historical Consciousness
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 580: Readings in International Relations in Political Science
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Topics vary. May be taken multiple times for credit providing the topic is different.
• CAS PO 582: North Atlantic/European Security Issues
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Examination of the post Cold War security environment in the North Atlantic and greater European context. Exploration of threats to security, mechanisms in place and emerging (NATO, CSCE, CFE, WEU), and challenges posed by changes since fall 1989.
• CAS PO 583: Gender and War
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Examines gender constructions in world politics. Topics include gender biases in international relations theories, female and male roles in war, and rape as an instrument of warfare. Also assesses roles of women as leaders, actors, and objects of foreign policy.
• CAS PO 589: Religion and International Relations
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Explores the role of religion in contemporary international relations in the context of questions about the common core of modernity. Reviews scholarly and policy literature, and case studies, in order to elucidate religion's intellectual and operational diversity in international relations. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing- Intensive Course, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS PO 590: Readings in Political Theory
  Topics vary. May be repeated for credit as topics change.
• CAS PO 591: Seminar in Political Philosophy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior, senior, or graduate standing. - An in-depth study of a major political philosopher, historical period, or topic in political philosophy.
• CAS PO 592: Enlightenment and Its Critics
  Explores how eighteenth-century criticisms of the Enlightenment have been taken up by twentieth-century thinkers such as Heidegger, Horkheimer, Adorno, Gadamer, and Foucault; discusses recent defenses of Enlightenment ideals of reason, critique, and autonomy by Habermas and others.
• CAS PO 593: Freedom
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or two political philosophy courses. - Focuses on conceptions of freedom put forth by selected political philosophers. Discussion of the relation of freedom to morality, law, government, commerce, religion, tradition, and education.
• CAS PO 594: Advanced Feminist Theory
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - This seminar explores advanced readings in feminist and queer theory on a focused topic or topics: for example, the politics of love and sex, reproductive politics, feminist theory and climate change, or the politics of gender and violence. This course does not carry Hub credit.
• CAS PO 599: Data Science for Politics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: any 100-level course in political science and either enrollment in the PO Honors or BA/MA program, or consent of instructor. - Data science is changing how we understand and study politics, policy, and decision-making. This course introduces students to the fundamental tools of data science, including collecting, modeling, and visualizing data, and how to apply these tools to study political and policy questions. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • Quantitative Reasoning I
• CAS PO 702: Professional Development for PhD Candidates in Political Science
  For political science PhD students in their second or third year of study and who are preparing for comprehensive exams or are working on a PhD prospectus. Addresses core issues in numerous fields and is taught by members of the GFPS.
• CAS PO 705: Special Topics in American Politics
  Topic for Spring 2022: Race at the Center of U.S. Politics. Scholarship tends to treat race and ethnic politics (REP) as an isolated subfield. This course takes a different approach, placing REP at the center. This will lead to the reinterpretation of canonical topics and claims in U.S. politics.
• CAS PO 711: Approaches to the Study of American Politics
  Graduate Core Seminar. Introduces students to major theoretical, substantive, and methodological problems in the study of American politics by examining two sets of literature: scholarly debates and discussion of theory and research, and the concrete research of leading Americanists.
• CAS PO 751: Approaches to the Study of Comparative Politics
  Graduate Core Seminar. Provides an overview of major theoretical approaches and areas of research in comparative politics, including the comparative method, statebuilding, nationalism, democratization, revolution, culture and identity, electoral and party systems, systems of government, economic development, business politics, and the welfare state.