18 - Political Science and Public Administration

This course provides students the opportunity to study topics in political science and related areas such as public administration. Subject matter will vary.

A comprehensive survey of the basic premises, permanent institutions and policy making processes of the American national government is presented.

A review of the institutions, functions and operations of state and local government, this class takes a comparative approach, examining the similarities and differences of political institutions in the 50 states.

Students examine the structure of Illinois state government and its corporate subdivisions. Taking a structural-functional and behavioral approach, the course covers the patterns of political alignment and current problems.

This course will introduce students to the research methods used in political science, including research design, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods. Students will also learn to conduct research.

This course provides students the opportunity to study advanced topics in political science and related areas such as public administration and applied sociology. Subject matter will vary.

This course will analyze the major Western European governments (Great Britain, France, Germany) along with Japan, Russia, China and several less developed countries. Students will comparatively analyze the institutional arrangements of the legislative and executive branches, political culture, and policy issues.

Participation in competitive forensics allows students to apply the legal concepts learned in other courses in actual trial competition. Techniques of testifying and rules of evidence are analyzed. This course is offered as a credit option for University team members and may be repeated for credit.

This course is an overview of the scope and principles of international law, its evolution, and its role in world affairs today.  Topics include international treaties, state jurisdiction, legitimacy of foreign policy, and legal analysis of contemporary events in world politics.

Participation in mediation helps undergraduate students understand the value of resolving disputes through mediation (peacemaking) so that they can apply these principles and methods to their personal and professional lives. All participants engage in mediation activities including tournament rounds, organizational meetings, and team practices. There are two categories of competition in the tournament: Mediation, determined by scores assigned to co-mediators; and Advocacy, determined by scores assigned to advocate/client units. Professional, ethical, and collegial behavior is expected at all times. This course is offered as a credit option for University team members and may be repeated for credit.

Students will examine the evolution of world political systems and the various methods of analysis used in international relations. In addition to examining the forces and actors that influence world politics, students will look at the prominent issues in international politics, such as national and international security, weapons proliferation, political economy, human rights, and the global environment.

This course examines both the theoretical literature and various case studies that attempt to explain why political institutions and societies undergo violent and radical change. In addition, the course addresses why some groups opt for terrorist tactics in their pursuit of revolutionary change. Therefore, students will examine the various types of terrorism, tactics used by terrorists, and strategies to respond to it.

This course will discuss the history of human rights and address the main questions in the literature regarding political, economic, and group rights.  Students will also examine the enforcement of international human rights, especially in terms of how intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations respond to abuses of human rights.

This course provides an introduction to contemporary Latin American political institutions, processes and problems. It will focus on economic policy and development, regional integration, democracy, and US-Latin American relations.

This course examines the forces that shape United States foreign policy, including interest groups, the Constitution and Congress. Issues of current importance, such as terrorism, the threat of nuclear weapons and the changing goals of foreign policy, are examined.

Students study current issues in international law, international relations, foreign affairs, governments, regions and political geography.

This course is an introduction to international political economy.  Students will learn the theories of IPE and the history of the international economic system, including the key institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and the WTO.

This courses explores both the theory and the practice of international organizations. In addition to examining formal international organizations, such as the UN, the European Union and other regional organizations, students will learn about the norms, rules, and practices of international cooperation.

The theory and practice of public administration are reviewed, including the principles and problems of administrative organization, personnel and fiscal management and bureaucratic behavior. This course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

This course provides a study of the problems and means by which governments are financed. The course covers types of taxes, tax bases, theories of taxation, the economic condition of the country, government borrowing and the role of the budget in national objectives.

Students survey the techniques used in establishing budgets in public institutions, including budget preparation, justification and legislative enactment. Various budget concepts are also examined.

A review of the basic concepts of planning that have been devised within recent years as applied to government is provided.

Students are introduced to the current problems in public administration in the United States and the approaches being taken to resolution.

This course provides an introduction to the theory and methodology of personnel administration in public bodies. The particular burdens to which public personnel administration are subject is emphasized.

This course focuses on the role of special interest groups in American politics and an examination of each type of group in terms of its structure, organization, activities and political techniques. Guest speakers are featured. This course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

Students review American political parties and their relationship to the American political system as a whole, as well as the role of elections in the political system.

This study of political behavior theory and research utilizes the behavioral approach to political science. Individuals as the basic unit of analysis, the development of precise techniques of observation, classification and measurement of political phenomena are covered. This course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

An analysis of the structure, organization, operation politics and problems of legislative bodies in the United States is provided. This course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

This course examines the learning process, which leads to acquiring beliefs, attitudes and values. Emphasis is placed on the agents of socialization, such as the family, peers and the mass media. Influences of these agents are traced throughout the life cycle.

An examination of the powers and responsibilities of the executive branch, this course offers an analysis of the relationship of the presidency to the Congress and the Supreme Court, as well as the relationship to the forces in the private sector that influence the development of the presidency. The way the office is shaped by individual presidents is also studied.

This course examines elections in American politics through a combination of standard academic analysis and practical experience. Students serve on the staff of a candidate of their choice and then relates their experiences to the academic literature on campaigns.

Students explore the shared beliefs, attitudes and values, as well as political symbols, that help give meaning and structure to political life. Key cultural concepts, such as individualism, materialism and belief in technology, are considered and their connections to contemporary popular culture explored.

This course investigates the Internet as a research tool for the study of political science. It seeks to teach students about the World Wide Web, showing them how to take advantage of the information available there. It also examines the Internet as a political resource used by interest groups, candidates and individuals to communicate messages and acquire political power.

This course examines various contemporary national or international political issues that have recently become great public concerns.

This course examines the history of political thought from the ancient Greeks through Machiavelli. Students will learn various political theorists' understanding of the world and human behavior, the political crises they addressed, and their proposed solutions for these crises. This course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

This course is a continuation of 18-361. Students will examine various political theorists from the modern Western period to the 21 century, such as Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Mill and John Rawls. This course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

This course examines the ideas and people who have helped shape American political thought from colonial times to the present. Students will examine various writers who discuss the themes of democracy, liberty, equality, rights, and the role of government.

This course examines various ideologies that have impacted world politics, including liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, and ideologies of liberation. Students will compare and contrast these ideologies in terms of their approaches to democracy.

This course examines the development of feminist political theory beginning with the suffragist movement to the late twentieth century contributions of liberal, radical, socialist and post-modern feminists. In addition to studying changes in the perception of women, this course examines how women are involved in politics and how politics impacts their political, social, economic, and personal lives.

Students will examine the tensions between individual rights and the common good in the contemporary debates over policy decisions that involve both life and death. Topics to be examined include just war theory, abortion, assisted suicide, and capital punishment.

This course examines contemporary reproductive technologies, such as IVF, surrogacy, stem cell research, and cloning, in terms of how these emerging technologies fit and sometimes challenge our political values. Students will look at these technologies in terms of individual rights and how they are regulated by government.

This course explores non-Western approaches to politics, exploring African, Latin American, Islamic, Confucian, and Hindu political thought and texts.  Students will learn about how non-Western societies approach human nature, politics, and justice.

Students study the theory of constitutionalism, the federal system, judicial review, the nature of legislative power, the Commerce Clause, federal regulatory power, executive power and constitutional construction. This course fulfills the advanced writing requirement.

This course examines various civil liberties through a review of U.S. Supreme Court cases and the evolving interpretations of the freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, and the right to privacy.

This course will analyze the ways the mass media influences politics in the U.S. In addition to exploring how the media provides information about elections, policies and government, students will learn about how new media technologies influences politics.

This course provides an overview of the field of political sociology, including the role of government in society and how political institutions relate to social structure. Specific topics discussed include power politics, the political elite, democracy, social movements, and nationalism.

This course explores what constitutes public policy, how it is determined, factors influencing the determination of public policy, means of implementation, reaction and modification of public policy, and evaluation of the effectiveness of policies.

This course analyzes various policy issues in detail in terms of the policy-making process: agenda setting, policy formation, implementation, and evaluation. In addition to examining the key actors and institutions, students explore the political factors and policy problems that affect each stage of the policy-making process. Policy topics may include social welfare programs, drug control policy and gun control policy.

This course begins with an analysis of environmental decision making from both the institutional and behavioral perspective. We study the role that the public, media, political parties, interest groups, executive branch, congress, and the courts play in environmental politics. We move to a more focused perspective - environmental policy - by examining various environmental policies through case studies. We touch briefly on environmental law and specific environmental acts. Lastly, we examine debates on current controversial environmental issues.

Work in a government agency is assigned. Students are required to relate practical experience to academic literature.

Students develop research abilities in a specialized topic in Political Science. This class is open to only Juniors and Seniors.

This course gives political science majors the opportunity to analyze and evaluate political issues, utilizing the skills and knowledge acquired during their years of study.  This should be one of the final courses taken by students in the major. This course is an intensive advanced writing course that satisfies the advanced writing requirement for General Education.

This course integrates all aspects of the learning experience for those students taking the international business concentration, and should be one of the final courses taken in the program and would normally be taken in the senior year. The course offers advanced analysis and application of knowledge evaluation. This course is an intensive advanced writing course that satisfies the advanced writing requirement for General Education.