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Academic Catalog 2025-26

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Your search for courses · during 24FA, 25WI, 25SP · tagged with POSI Elective · returned 35 results

  • POSC 100 Media Portrayal of Disasters 6 credits

    As climate change continues to accelerate, and as connectivity expands, natural disaster events are becoming more frequent, more intense, and also more seen. From devastating wildfires to “biblical” floods, stories of unimaginable catastrophes constantly cycle through the media. How are these disasters portrayed and how do they affect social attitudes and politics? Do they unite people, or do they exacerbate conflicts? Do they create opportunities for major improvements in society, or leave behind uncurable maladies? This course examines major natural disasters through media reports, popular portrayal, and social science literature.

    Held for new first year students

    • Fall 2024
    • AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1
    • Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

    • CL: 100 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  100.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Huan Gao 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • M, WHasenstab 109 9:50am-11:00am
    • FHasenstab 109 9:40am-10:40am
  • POSC 100 American Elections of 2024 6 credits

    This seminar introduces methods of political analysis through a case study of media and politics in the 2024 elections. Students will learn how to conduct research on election news and advertising as part of our Carleton Election Study—a content analysis project covering media and US elections of the first two decades of the twenty-first century. We analyze the activities and results from the 2024 elections by looking at trends in news coverage, political advertising, campaigns and candidate communication and public opinion. 

    Held for new first year students

    • Fall 2024
    • AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1
    • Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

    • CL: 100 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  100.02 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Barbara Allen 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • T, THHasenstab 109 10:10am-11:55am
  • POSC 122 Politics in America: Liberty and Equality 6 credits

    An introduction to American government and politics. Focus on the Congress, Presidency, political parties and interest groups, the courts and the Constitution. Particular attention will be given to the public policy debates that divide liberals and conservatives and how these divisions are rooted in American political culture.

    • Fall 2024, Winter 2025
    • IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry
    • AFST Pertinent AMST America in the World AMST Democracy Activism AMST Survey 1 CL: 100 level POSI Core POSI Elective AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity EDUC 3 Public Policy Educational Reform
    • POSC  122.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Ryan Dawkins 🏫 👤
    • Size:30
    • M, WWillis 204 11:10am-12:20pm
    • FWillis 204 12:00pm-1:00pm
    • POSC  122.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Christina Farhart 🏫 👤
    • Size:30
    • T, THCMC 306 1:15pm-3:00pm
  • POSC 190 In the News: US, China, and World Politics 3 credits

    How will Russia’s invasion of Ukraine end? Will new conflicts break out across the Taiwan Strait? How will a backsliding Turkey and a highly volatile Syria evolve in response to the devastating Kahramanmaras earthquake? This course provides a forum to discuss and analyze such important current global affairs through reading and debating news headlines. We will follow major news stories chosen by students, analyze reporting from multiple sources and perspectives, and conduct individual research. The goal of this course is to encourage students to think deliberately about current events, and to practice the research and analytical skills needed to gain a deeper understanding of global affairs. Students will also leverage course readings and discussions to produce their own editorial articles or detailed research proposal for future inquiries at the end of the course.

    2nd 5 weeks

    • Second Five Weeks, Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 100 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  190.00 Second Five Weeks, Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Huan Gao 🏫 👤
    • Size:30
    • M, WHasenstab 109 12:30pm-1:40pm
    • FHasenstab 109 1:10pm-2:10pm
  • POSC 201 Statecraft and the Tools of National Power 6 credits

    This course covers the science and art of statecraft, which is the application of the tools of national power. Students will study how nations use diplomatic, economic, and military power to achieve stated national policy objectives. The course is team-taught by three career national security professionals. Case studies are used to assess the application of diplomatic, economic, and military power in the real world. Course readings, papers, and significant classroom discussion will deliver content to students and set the stage for the International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise, which is a graded part of the course.

    Not open to first years.

    • Spring 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 200 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  201.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Jon Olson 🏫
    • Size:25
    • T, THHasenstab 105 8:15am-10:00am
    • Not open to first years. Extra Time Required for ISCNE simulation.

  • POSC 204 Media and Electoral Politics: 2024 United States Election 6 credits

    Our analysis of media influences on politics will draw from three fields of study: political psychology, political behavior and participation, and public opinion. Students will conduct a study of the effects of campaign ads and news using our multi-year data set of content analyzed election ads and news. We study a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods to learn how political communication affects U.S. elections.

    • Fall 2024
    • IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry
    • ACE Theoretical AMST Democracy Activism CAMS Extra Departmental CL: 200 level POSI Elective AMST Production Consumption of Culture AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity DGAH Critical Ethical Reflection
    • POSC  204.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Barbara Allen 🏫 👤
    • Size:28
    • T, THHasenstab 002 1:15pm-3:00pm
  • POSC 206 Judges and Courts 6 credits

    This course focuses on the judicial branch of government. By exploring the judiciary and the courts, we will see how law, politics, economics, and social trends combine to shape the legal system. We will examine how judges are selected; how judges’ backgrounds and views influence their decisions; the moral, emotional, and intellectual aspects of deciding cases; variations between judges in different courts and administrative settings; and how judging fits into the broader structure and operation of the courts. A special feature of this course will be a guest lectures and dialogue with judges and judicial clerks. 

    • Spring 2025
    • SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 200 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  206.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Steven Poskanzer 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • T, THHasenstab 002 10:10am-11:55am
  • POSC 221 Latin American Politics 6 credits

    This course will enable students to think critically and comparatively about the Latin American political and socio-economic reality. The course serves as an introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the contemporary history, politics, and social structures of the region. Instruction in this class, however, will go beyond a mere introduction to Latin American political history. It will challenge students to analyze complex problems in Latin American politics and development and encourage them to provide informed arguments on these matters. 

    • Fall 2024
    • IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2
    • CL: 200 level LTAM Electives LTAM Pertinent Courses POSI Elective
    • POSC  221.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Alfred Montero 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 105 12:30pm-1:40pm
    • FHasenstab 105 1:10pm-2:10pm
  • POSC 224 Political Campaigns & Electoral Behavior 6 credits

    Representative government requires the occurrence of regular elections. This course is designed to introduce you to the key issues and controversies surrounding the study of campaigns and elections in the United States. It will analyze the rules and processes that define the presidential and congressional electoral systems, the actors who engage one another within those systems, the campaign strategies candidates use to persuade and turnout voters, and the considerations Americans use to determine their vote on Election day. This course also provides insight into why (and how) campaigns and elections are normatively important for maintaining a healthy democracy.

    • Fall 2024
    • QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2
    • AMST Democracy Activism CL: 200 level POSI Elective AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity
    • POSC  224.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Ryan Dawkins 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 105 9:50am-11:00am
    • FHasenstab 105 9:40am-10:40am
  • POSC 231 American Foreign Policy 6 credits

    An introduction to the actors and processes of American foreign policymaking and to the substance of American foreign policy. The course aims to provide students with an understanding of how knowledge of the past, the global policy environment, the processes of foreign policymaking, and the specifics of a foreign policy issue come together to help determine modern American foreign policy. The course will review the structure of the international system of states, state power and interests, the historical context of American foreign policy, actors in American foreign affairs, models of foreign policy decision making, and the instruments of foreign policy. Recommended preparation: POSC 122, AP American Government or AP U.S. History.

    • Spring 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • AMST America in the World AMST Democracy Activism CL: 200 level POSI Elective PPOL Forgn Policy & Security
    • POSC  231.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Greg Marfleet 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 105 9:50am-11:00am
    • FHasenstab 105 9:40am-10:40am
    • Extra Time Required for ISCNE simulation.

  • POSC 235 The Endless War on Terror 6 credits

    In the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. launched the Global War on Terror to purportedly find, stop,and defeat every terrorist group with a global reach. Without question, the Global War on Terror has radically shaped everything from U.S. foreign policies and domestic institutions to civil liberties and pop culture. In this course, we will examine the events of 9/11 and then critically assess the immediate and long-term ramifications of the endless Global War on Terror on different states and communities around the world. While we will certainly spend time interrogating U.S. policies from the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, we will also examine reactions to those policies across both the global north and the global south.

    • Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies No Exploration WR2 Writing Requirement 2
    • CL: 200 level MEST Supporting Group 1 POSI Elective PPOL Forgn Policy & Security
    • POSC  235.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Summer Forester 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 105 12:30pm-1:40pm
    • FHasenstab 105 1:10pm-2:10pm
  • POSC 242 Middle East Politics 6 credits

    This course introduces the politics and political structures of states in the Middle East. We explore the political origins of Middle Eastern states, and investigate how regional politics are shaped by colonialism, religion, tribes, the family, and more. We examine the persistence of authoritarianism and its links to other issues like nationalism and militarism. The course covers how recent and current events like the revolutionary movements of the ‘Arab Spring’ civil society affect the states and their societies. We conclude with a consideration of the future of Middle Eastern politics, evaluating lingering concerns and emerging prospects for liberalization and reform.

    • Spring 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2
    • CL: 200 level MEST Studies Foundation POSI Elective
    • POSC  242.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Summer Forester 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WWeitz Center 133 11:10am-12:20pm
    • FWeitz Center 133 12:00pm-1:00pm
  • POSC 251 Science and Humanity 6 credits

    The modern age has been characterized by the unprecedented advance of natural science and the attempt to achieve technological mastery of nature. How did this come about? What worldview does this express, and how does that worldview affect the way we live and think? We will investigate these questions by studying classic works by some of modernity‘s philosophic founders (including Bacon, Descartes, and Hobbes) as well as some of its most penetrating interpreters and critics (including Jonathan Swift, Rousseau, and Nietzsche).

    • Winter 2025
    • HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
    • CL: 200 level FFST Social Science FREN XDept Elective PHIL Interdisciplinary 2 PHIL Social and Political Theory 1 POSI Elective
    • POSC  251.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Laurence Cooper 🏫 👤
    • Size:20
    • T, THWeitz Center 233 3:10pm-4:55pm
  • POSC 252 Theoretical Foundations of the American Regime 6 credits

    In this course we will examine the theoretical foundations of the American regime as understood by the founders (including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton); by dissenters among their ranks (the Antifederalists); by earlier thinkers on whom the founders drew (Locke, Montesquieu, and Aristotle); and by later figures, including political actors (such as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass) and philosophically minded observers (such as Alexis de Tocqueville).

    • Spring 2025
    • IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • AMST Democracy Activism CL: 200 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  252.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Laurence Cooper 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • T, THHasenstab 002 1:15pm-3:00pm
  • POSC 260 “A Savage Made to Inhabit Cities”: The Political Philosophy of Rousseau 6 credits

    In this course we will study what Rousseau considered his greatest and best book: Emile. Emile is a philosophic novel. It uses a thought experiment–the rearing of a child from infancy to adulthood–to explore human nature and the human condition, including their political dimensions. Among Emile's themes are natural goodness and the origins of evil; self-love and sociability; the differences and relations between the sexes; citizenship; and the principles of political right. The book also addresses the question of how one might live naturally and happily amid an unnatural and unhappy civilization.

    • Fall 2024
    • HI, Humanistic Inquiry
    • CL: 200 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  260.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Laurence Cooper 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • T, THWeitz Center 233 1:15pm-3:00pm
    • Majors who will use this course for the 300 level elective should notify the instructor

  • POSC 265 Public Policy and Global Capitalism 6 credits

    This course provides a comprehensive introduction to comparative and international public policy. It examines major theories and approaches to public policy design and implementation in several major areas: international policy economy (including the study of international trade and monetary policy, financial regulation, and comparative welfare policy), global public health and comparative healthcare policy, institutional development (including democratic governance, accountability systems, and judicial reform), and environmental public policy. Recommended Preparation: STAT 120 is strongly recommended.

    • Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry
    • CCST Encounters CL: 200 level POSI Elective PPOL Core EUST Transnational Support
    • POSC  265.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Alfred Montero 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 105 8:30am-9:40am
    • FHasenstab 105 8:30am-9:30am
  • POSC 266 Urban Political Economy 6 credits

    Nowhere is the tension between economic development and democratic governance more pronounced than in the politics of America’s cities. This course is designed to introduce students to the structure and operation of local government, the tensions that exist between the centralizing tendencies of federal power and the desire for local autonomy, and the unique set of policy concerns that drive the politics of local communities across the country.  Within the context of these concerns, this class will highlight the life-or-death imperative that every local jurisdiction must abide to ensure robust economic development or else risk municipal extinction, as well as the consequences that the development imperative has on democratic governance at the local level.

    • Spring 2025
    • IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • AFST Social Inquiry AMST Democracy Activism CL: 200 level POSI Elective PPOL Economic Policy Making & Development
    • POSC  266.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Ryan Dawkins 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 109 9:50am-11:00am
    • FHasenstab 109 9:40am-10:40am
  • POSC 271 Constitutional Law I 6 credits

    This course will explore the United States Constitution and the legal doctrines that have emerged from it, using them as lenses through which to understand the history—and shape the future—of this country. Using prominent Supreme Court opinions as teaching tools and loci of debate (including cases on the Court’s recent and current docket), this course will explore the different kind of theoretical approaches with which to make Constitutional arguments and interpret the Constitution. It is one of two paired courses (the other being POSC 272) that complement each other. Both courses will address the structure and functioning of the United States government, and will explore in greater depth the historic Constitutional “trends” towards greater equality and more liberty (albeit slowly, haltingly, and with steps both forward and backward). This course will focus in particular on how matters of racial justice have been a Constitutional issue from the very beginning of the nation—and very much remain unfinished legal work. In exploring matters of personal liberty, this course will focus in particular on First Amendment freedom of religion. Finally, in examining governmental structures, this course will emphasize federalism and the distribution of power between the national and state governments, including the rise of a nationwide economic system and the modern administrative state. The course will require close reading of judicial opinions and other texts, and learning how to construct arguments using logic and precedent. A special feature of this course will be detailed examination and intra-class mock debate of the cases the Supreme Court will hear this fall challenging raced-based affirmative action programs at private and public universities.

    • Fall 2024
    • SI, Social Inquiry
    • AMST Democracy Activism AMST Survey 2 CL: 200 level POSI Elective PPOL Other Comparative AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity
    • POSC  271.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Steven Poskanzer 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 002 11:10am-12:20pm
    • FHasenstab 002 12:00pm-1:00pm
  • POSC 272 Constitutional Law II 6 credits

    This course will explore the United States Constitution and the legal doctrines that have emerged from it, using them as lenses through which to understand the history—and shape the future—of this country. Using prominent Supreme Court opinions as teaching tools and loci of debate (including cases on the Court’s recent and current docket), this course will explore the different kind of theoretical approaches with which to make Constitutional arguments and interpret the Constitution. It is one of two paired courses (the other being POSC 271) that complement each other. Both courses will address the structure and functioning of the United States government, and will explore in greater depth the historic Constitutional “trends” towards greater equality and more liberty (albeit slowly, haltingly, and with steps both forward and backward). This course will focus in particular on how gender equality is very much unfinished Constitutional work on our way towards a “more perfect union.” This topic will include an examination of the Court’s recent controversial decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In exploring matters of personal liberty, this course will focus in particular on First Amendment freedom of speech and other fundamental rights protected under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Finally, in examining governmental structures, this course will emphasize the separation of powers across the branches of the federal government. The course will require close reading of judicial opinions and other texts, and learning how to construct arguments using logic and precedent. POSC 271 is not a prerequisite for POSC 272. The two courses can be taken independently, although having taking POSC 271 will provide students with a broader and more nuanced foundation for exploring the themes covered of this course

    • Spring 2025
    • SI, Social Inquiry
    • AMST Democracy Activism AMST Survey 2 CL: 200 level POSI Elective PPOL Other Comparative AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity
    • POSC  272.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Steven Poskanzer 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 105 11:10am-12:20pm
    • FHasenstab 105 12:00pm-1:00pm
  • POSC 273 Race and Politics in the U.S. 6 credits

    This course addresses race and ethnicity in U.S. politics. Following an introduction to historical, sociological, and psychological approaches to the study of race and ethnicity, we apply these approaches to understanding the ways in which racial attitudes have been structured along a number of political and policy dimensions, e.g., welfare, education, criminal justice. Students will gain an increased understanding of the multiple contexts that shape contemporary racial and ethnic politics and policies in the U.S., and will consider the role of institutional design, policy development, representation, and racial attitudes among the general U.S. public and political environment.

    • Winter 2025
    • IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • AFST Social Inquiry AMST Democracy Activism AMST Space and Place CL: 200 level POSI Elective AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity EDUC 3 Public Policy Educational Reform PPOL Social Policy & Welfare
    • POSC  273.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Christina Farhart 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • T, THCMC 306 10:10am-11:55am
  • POSC 276 Imagination in Politics: Resisting Totalitarianism 6 credits

    Ideological fanaticism is on the rise today. Individuals prefer the incantation of slogans and clichés to autonomous thinking, moderation, and care for the diversity and complexity of circumstances and of human beings. The results are the inability to converse across differences and the tendency to ostracize and exclude others in the name of tribal and populist nationalism, as well as of racism. Hannah Arendt called totalitarianism this form of ideological hypnosis, which characterizes not only totalitarian political regimes, but can also colonize liberal-democracies. In this class we will read some of the works of Arendt to better understand the power of imagination to enhance critical and independent thinking and resist totalitarianism.

    • Winter 2025
    • HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
    • CL: 200 level GWSS Elective POSI Elective EUST Transnational Support
    • POSC  276.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Mihaela Czobor-Lupp 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • T, THWeitz Center 133 1:15pm-3:00pm
  • POSC 281 U.S.-China Rivalry: The New Cold War? 6 credits

    This course surveys key security dynamics, actors and issues in the Asia-Pacific. We will begin with a brief overview of historical conflicts and cooperations in the region, focusing on the impact of decolonization, communism, and the Cold War. We will then proceed to discuss contemporary security issues; topics include territorial disputes, Taiwan, nuclear proliferation, the U.S. alliance system, regional organizations like ASEAN, and U.S.-China rivalry. We will also study major international relation paradigms and theories, including heterodox approaches relevant to major actors in the Asia-Pacific, to guide our investigation of these security issues. No prior knowledge required.

    • Fall 2024
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2
    • CL: 200 level EAST Supporting POSI Elective
    • POSC  281.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Huan Gao 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • M, WHasenstab 002 12:30pm-1:40pm
    • FHasenstab 002 1:10pm-2:10pm
  • POSC 282 Terrorism and Counterterrorism 6 credits

    This course focuses on the historic and modern use of violence or the threat of violence by non-state actors to secure political outcomes. We will review the strategy and tactics of various terror groups, use case studies to understand the logic of terrorism, assess why some groups succeed while others fail, and study terrorist organizations’ efforts at recruitment and indoctrination. These topics will be addressed from theoretical and practical perspectives, with input from expert guest speakers. Finally, we will assess counterterrorism measures, including the moral, ethical, legal, and practical approaches to creating security in the modern world.

    • Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 200 level FFST Social Science FREN XDept Elective MEST Supporting Group 1 POSI Elective PPOL Forgn Policy & Security
    • POSC  282.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Jon Olson 🏫
    • Size:25
    • T, THHasenstab 105 1:15pm-3:00pm
  • POSC 285 The U.S. Intelligence Community 6 credits

    This course covers the U.S. Intelligence Community, how intelligence supports national security policy development, and how intelligence is applied to execute strategy in pursuit of policy objectives (specifically, implementation of national security and foreign policy initiatives). Studying the structure, processes, procedures, oversight, and capabilities of the Intelligence Community will enhance understanding of how intelligence supported or failed policymakers in national security decision-making, including the areas of diplomatic and economic cooperation and engagement, and security challenges ranging from deterrence to conventional war. The course concludes with the study of asymmetric/hybrid warfare in our modern age and how intelligence might be used to better understand the changing dynamics of future global conflict.

    • Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 200 level POSI Elective PPOL Forgn Policy & Security
    • POSC  285.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Jon Olson 🏫
    • Size:25
    • T, THHasenstab 105 8:15am-10:00am
  • POSC 302 Subordinated Politics and Intergroup Relations 6 credits

    How do social and political groups interact? How do we understand these interactions in relation to power? This course will introduce the basic approaches and debates in the study of prejudice, racial attitudes, and intergroup relations. We will focus on three main questions. First, how do we understand and study prejudice and racism as they relate to U.S. politics? Second, how do group identities, stereotyping, and other factors help us understand the legitimation of discrimination, group hierarchy, and social domination? Third, what are the political and social challenges associated with reducing prejudice?

    • Spring 2025
    • IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • AFST Social Inquiry AMST Democracy Activism AMST Space and Place CL: 300 level POSI Elective AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity EDUC 2 Social Cultural Context
    • POSC  302.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Christina Farhart 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • T, THHasenstab 109 1:15pm-3:00pm
  • POSC 313 Legal Issues in Higher Education 6 credits

    This seminar will explore pressing legal and policy issues facing American colleges and universities. The course will address the ways core academic values (e.g., academic freedom; the creation and maintenance of a community based on shared values) fit or conflict with legal rules and political dynamics that operate beyond the academy. Likely topics include how college admissions are shaped by legal principles, with particular emphasis on debates over affirmative action; on-campus speech; faculty tenure; intellectual property; student rights and student discipline (including discipline for sexual assault); and college and university relations with the outside world.

    • Fall 2024
    • SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 300 level POSI Elective PPOL Education Policy
    • POSC  313.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Steven Poskanzer 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • T, THHasenstab 109 3:10pm-4:55pm
  • POSC 315 Polarization and Democratic Decline in the United States 6 credits

    The United States is more politically polarized today than at any time since the late nineteenth century, leaving lawmakers, journalists, and experts increasingly concerned that the toxicity in our politics is making the country vulnerable to political instability, violence, and democratic decline. Moreover, citizens are increasingly willing to call into question the legitimacy of this country’s core electoral and governing institutions. How did the U.S. get to this point? What can be done about it? This course will examine political polarization as a central feature of American politics and the consequences for American democracy.

    • Spring 2025
    • IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry
    • AMST Democracy Activism AMST Space and Place CL: 300 level POSI Elective AMST Race Ethnicity Indigeneity
    • POSC  315.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Ryan Dawkins 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • M, WHasenstab 109 11:10am-12:20pm
    • FHasenstab 109 12:00pm-1:00pm
  • POSC 322 Polarization and Populism in Latin America 6 credits

    Polarization and populism have shaped Latin American politics and development for much of the region's history. These forces have re-emerged in the post-Cold War period in acute and powerful ways in threatening democracy and systems of accountability. This course will examine these forces and adjacent phenomena such as democratic backsliding, the aggrandizement of presidential powers, socio-economic conflicts, contentious politics, and the continuation of state crises in Latin America. Students will work on their own research projects. 

    • Spring 2025
    • IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2
    • CL: 300 level LTAM 300 HIST/SOAN/POSC LTAM Electives POSI Elective
    • POSC  322.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Alfred Montero 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • M, WHasenstab 002 12:30pm-3:00pm
  • POSC 324 Rebels and Risk Takers: Women and War In the Middle East 6 credits

    How are women (and gender more broadly) shaping and shaped by war and conflict in the Middle East? Far from the trope of the subjugated, veiled, and abused Middle Eastern woman, women in the Middle East are active social and political agents. In wars and conflicts in the Middle East region, women have, for example, been combatants, soldiers, activists, spies, homemakers, writers, and political leaders. This course surveys conflicts involving Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Iraq–along with Western powers like the U.S., UK, and Australia–through the wartime experiences of women.

    • Fall 2024
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 300 level GWSS Elective MEST Supporting Group 1 POSI Elective
    • POSC  324.00 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Summer Forester 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • T, THHasenstab 002 10:10am-11:55am
  • POSC 328 Foreign Policy Analysis 6 credits

    Foreign policy analysis is a distinct sub-field within international relations that focuses on explaining the actions and choices of actors in world politics. After a review of the historical development of the sub-field, we will explore approaches to foreign policy that emphasize the empirical testing of hypotheses that explain how policies and choices are formulated and implemented. The psychological sources of foreign policy decisions (including leaders' beliefs and personalities and the effect of decision-making groups) are a central theme. Completion of a lower level IR course and the stats/methods sequence is recommended preparation.

    • Winter 2025
    • QRE, Quantitative Reasoning SI, Social Inquiry
    • CL: 300 level POSI Elective PPOL Forgn Policy & Security
    • POSC  328.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Greg Marfleet 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • T, THHasenstab 002 10:10am-11:55am
  • POSC 348 Strangers, Foreigners, and Exiles 6 credits

    All over the world today, right-wing parties are winning the electorate with their anti-immigrant rhetoric. We are told that national identity, cultural heritage, civilizational values and even our jobs are threatened by the growing presence of the immigrants. In this course we will explore the complex and multifaceted reality of strangers’ and foreigners’ presence in modern societies. We will also try to understand what being an exile means for the human condition and what moral obligations we have toward refugees and other displaced people. Among others, our partners of conversation will be Hannah Arendt, Jacques Derrida, Tzvetan Todorov, Zygmunt Bauman, and Edward Said.

    • Spring 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • CCST Encounters CL: 300 level FFST Social Science FREN XDept Elective POSI Elective
    • POSC  348.00 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Mihaela Czobor-Lupp 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • T, THWeitz Center 231 10:10am-11:55am
  • POSC 372 Mansions and Shantytowns: Politics of The Spaces We Live in 6 credits

    This course explores theories about spaces/places and investigates the impact of our physical environment on a broad range of social and political issues. We will look at how parks, monuments, residential communities, and other features of our cities and towns are made, who makes them, and in turn, their effects on our daily lives. Students will engage with important contemporary issues such as residential segregation, public space management, protest policing, etc. Most of the course will focus on urban politics, with a brief foray into rural issues. The goal of this course is to encourage students to think about everyday environmental features in a more systematic and theoretic manner and design social scientific inquiries into spatial issues.

    • Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • ACE Theoretical CL: 300 level POSI Elective
    • POSC  372.00 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Huan Gao 🏫 👤
    • Size:15
    • M, WHasenstab 109 9:50am-11:00am
    • FHasenstab 109 9:40am-10:40am
  • POSC 378 Political Economy & Ecology of Southeast Asia: Social Changes in Southeast Asia 6 credits

    Informed by the assigned readings, students will visit markets, factories, farms, and various cultural and natural sites to see first-hand the changes and challenges occurring in these areas. The course covers: (1) issues of livelihood transition from rural to urban; (2) the interaction between market systems and social relations; and (3) the impact on society of changes in physical infrastructures such as roads and telecommunication. Students will keep a journal and produce three thematic short essays, a 20-25-minute video, or a well-organized blog to document their learning.

    Participation in Carleton OCS Political Economy and Ecology in Southeast Asia Program

    • Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • Acceptance in the Political Economy and Ecology in Southeast Asia Program.

    • ASST South Asia CCST Encounters CL: 300 level POSI Elective ASST Social Inquiry SAST Support Social Inquiry
    • POSC  378.07 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Tun Myint 🏫 👤
    • Open only to participants in Carleton Political Economy and Ecology in Southeast Asia program

  • POSC 379 Political Economy and Ecology of S.E. Asia: Diversity of Social Ecological Systems in Southeast Asia 6 credits

    Connecting the first and the second components, this course examines key actors, issues, and interests in the political economy of and ecology of Southeast Asia. Students will connect economy to ecology in Southeast Asia by connecting field experiences and observation to real data, facts, and cases that illustrate the interaction between economy and ecology. This course requires students to identify a topic of interest based on their field experience, research it using techniques taught in the field research and methods course, and write a research report in the form of a term paper. 

    Participation in Carleton OCS Political Economy and Ecology in Southeast Asia Program

    • Winter 2025
    • IS, International Studies SI, Social Inquiry
    • Acceptance in the Political Economy and Ecology in Southeast Asia Program.

    • ASST South Asia CCST Encounters CL: 300 level ENTS Society, Culture and Policy POSI Elective ASST Social Inquiry SAST Support Social Inquiry
    • POSC  379.07 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Tun Myint 🏫 👤
    • Size:25
    • Open only to participants in Carleton Political Economy and Ecology in Southeast Asia

  • POSC 394 Directed Research in Political Science 1 – 6 credits

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

    Register for this course by submitting the Directed Research form which requires approval from the project faculty supervisor and your adviser.

    • Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, Second Five Weeks, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026
    • No Exploration
    • CL: Faculty Research POSI Elective
    • POSC  394.11 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Greg Marfleet 🏫 👤
    • Credits:3
    • POSC  394.12 Fall 2024

    • Faculty:Barbara Allen 🏫 👤
    • Credits:3
    • POSC  394.11 Winter 2025

    • Faculty:Barbara Allen 🏫 👤
    • POSC  394.11 Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Barbara Allen 🏫 👤
    • Credits:3
    • POSC  394.12 Second Five Weeks, Spring 2025

    • Faculty:Barbara Allen 🏫 👤
    • Credits:3

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Phone: 507-222-4094
Academic Catalog 2025-26 pages maintained by Maria Reverman
This page was last updated on 10 September 2025
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