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Political Science (POLI)


POLI 100. INTRODUCTION TO US POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Satisfies: a BACR for social sciences.
This course is an introduction to the workings of the United States government from an historical, theoretical, and institutional point of view. Subjects of study include the founding of the United States, federalism, civil rights and civil liberties, political parties and interest groups, and American political institutions such as Congress, the Presidency, the Judiciary. The course also addresses fundamental concepts such as power, ideology, and the citizen role in democratic politics.

POLI 202. INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THEORY. 5 Credits.

Satisfies: a BACR for social sciences.
This course is an introduction to major thinkers and ideas within Western political thought. Authors may include Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Themes discussed include power, human nature, rights, political legitimacy, and the ideal form of government. The course is also a primer on how to think and write theoretically. Through the essay composition process, students will refine their critical thinking skills and their ability to construct arguments of their own.

POLI 203. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course provides an introduction to concepts such as state, power, ideology, and to political phenomena, emphasizing similarities and differences in selected political systems.

POLI 204. INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
A basic introduction to the study of politics in the international arena from a historical, theoretical and pragmatic perspective. Topics of study include the basic concepts of realism, idealism constructivism and questions of national power, diplomacy, international institutions and alliance systems. From a historical reading of international politics with World Wars and Cold war, the course addresses contemporary issues of U.S. order, globalization, terrorism, climate change and human rights.

POLI 295. INTERNSHIP. 1-5 Credits.

Internship.

POLI 299. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Subjects studied vary according to faculty and student interest.

POLI 300. U.S. JUDICIAL PROCESS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
This course examines the relationship of judicial behavior to structure, politics and the behavior of other actors in the judicial process. This includes examination of judicial processes from the trial court level through the Supreme Court of the United States.

POLI 302. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. 5 Credits.

This course in an examination of the philosophic and legal bases for the protection of the rights of the criminally accused, with emphasis on Supreme Court decisions on the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments and on the due process clause of the 14th amendment.

POLI 304. U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
This course examines the history and development of civil rights and liberties in the constitutional context of the United States. It emphasizes the problems of racial, religious, economic, political and sexual discrimination and their remedies under the law.

POLI 305. JURISPRUDENCE. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100 and POLI 202.
This course examines the philosophical underpinnings of the idea of law by examining the evolution of legal thought from Natural Law thinkers through Postmodern conceptions of legal reasoning. It includes discussion about the concepts of rules and justice as well as the nature and possibility of legal reasoning.

POLI 306. BASIC CONCEPTS OF CRIMINAL LAW. 5 Credits.

A survey of the basic concepts and content of the American substantive criminal law, including consideration of the purposes of the criminal law, the basic concepts utilized to define criminal offenses, defenses to criminal charges, and examination of selected substantive offenses; e.g., assault, homicide, larceny.

POLI 307. U.S. CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100 and POLI 300.
This course examines the principal structural features of the U.S. governmental system, primarily through the study of decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Particular attention is paid to the structural realities of separation of powers and federalism and to the development of the specific powers of the national government in the light of the powers retained by the states.

POLI 313. ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 202.
This course engages thinkers and themes from the political theory of ancient Greece. Authors read include the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, and Seneca, among others. Questions concerning the nature and purpose of politics, the ideal political order, the definition of justice and virtue, and classical conceptions of knowledge, among others, will be pursued in detail. In addition to comparing various authors on these questions, students will spend some time considering the relationship between ancient views and more contemporary attitudes.

POLI 314. MODERN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 202.
This course is a detailed encounter with various thinkers of the Western political theoretical tradition, including Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and John Stuart Mill, among others. Ideas discussed include human nature, the rise of the modern state, the role of the individual and the people, the role of law, and the origins and nature of political power.

POLI 317. AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100 and POLI 202.
This course examines the major works which have influenced the political debate and the creation of institutions in the United States. Emphasis will be on America's liberal tradition and those values which are in competition with the liberal philosophy in the United States. Other topics in the tradition of American political thought include democracy, liberty, individualism, localism and equality.

POLI 318. MARX AND MARXISM. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 202 and POLI 203.
This detailed examination of the political, economic, and social theory of Karl Marx begins with a discussion of the ideas of G.W.F. Hegel, perhaps the most important European philosopher of the 19th Century and a major influence on Marx's thinking. Students subsequently read a large number of primary texts by Marx himself with excerpts from the writings of Vladimir Lenin, the protagonist of the 1917 Russian Revolution.

POLI 319. NATIONS, NATIONALISM AND PATRIOTISM. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100 and POLI 202.
This course is a detailed inquiry into nations, nationalism and patriotism, with specific emphasis on the United States. Authors read include Benedict Anderson, Anders Stephanson, and David Campbell among others. Topics explored include the conceptual predicates upon which nations depend, the idea of citizenship, violence and warfare, national identity, manifest destiny and more.

POLI 320. INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
This course is a focused study of contemporary theories, debates and major scholarly traditions in the study of international politics. By studying and analyzing contending perspectives in world politics, the course covers how scholars of international relations differ from each other in their conceptualization of what the system is or ought to be. The course enables students to have a comprehensive appreciation of the global issues, difficulties and challenges that states and non-state actors face as they interact in the global arena.

POLI 321. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204 or permission of instructor.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
The course engages students in a study of the history, structures and processes of international organizations within the world community. Focusing primarily on the United Nations system and its role in shaping global, national, group and state-society relations, the course also addresses other organizations such as the European Union and the World Trade Organization, as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

POLI 322. INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
This course examines international economic systems and their relation to world political realities. Students will examine theories of state political-economic relations and the history of international efforts to manage trade, monetary and financial systems by applying theories to contemporary global political economics, such as North-South issues and the political economy of oil and war.

POLI 323. U.S. FOREIGN POLICY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
In this course students analyze important cases in U.S. foreign policy formulation since WW II with particular emphasis on the bureaucratic factors that shape foreign policy decisions.

POLI 324. COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL WATER POLICY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
If the 20th century was all about oil, the 21st century is about water. Issues that include privatization, water markets, transboundary conflicts, loss of indigenous water rights and water governance, dams and river basin management, and a host of habitat and water quality issues dominate contemporary water policy in the United States and international arenas. Knowing the issues and the policies that guide the distribution of water will form the basis of the course. Case studies will include privatization in Chile; the upcoming Columbia River Treaty and indigenous claims to the river and its tributaries; treaty negotiations over the Nile and Indus Rivers; the loss of fish species, such as the salmon; and the water quality of several major rivers. The course material will be interdisciplinary drawing from political science, law, geography, history and natural resource economics.

POLI 326. EUROPEAN POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course is an in-depth study of political life in European states beginning with the origins and contemporary practices of parliamentary democracy in Europe. It addresses contemporary challenges and opportunities for European states, including European integration through the EU and NATO, the broadening of the West toward the former Soviet states and the social, political and economic implications of immigration and international crime and violence.

POLI 327. POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
This course explores major theories and practices of unsustainable economic growth models, which have created various forms of ecological, political, social, economic, and security crises. These crises have affected both the rich and poor nations, though in different ways. They have also produced a series of destabilizing resource, knowledge, technology, and capital gaps between and within the global north and south. This course examines these ecological crises and the varied responses to them.

POLI 328. POLITICS OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
This in-depth study of the modern political history and contemporary political system of China includes the fall of imperial China; the origins, development and victory of the Chinese Communist revolution; the rule and legacy of Chairman Mao Zedong, particularly the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution; economic reform, governance and political repression (especially the Tiananmen crisis) in the era of Deng Xiaoping; and current Chinese politics in the post-Deng China. The course focuses on China's domestic politics as well as China's position in the region and its role in the world.

POLI 329. POLITICS OF SOUTH ASIA. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204 or permission of instructor.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course examines the complex and dynamic regions of South Asia. The course introduces students to the political evolution of the region and to the major scholarly debates on the countries of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Particular emphasis is placed on colonial legacies, nationalism and histories of state formation as well as political institutions and their evolution.

POLI 330. FEDERALISM, STATE AND LOCAL POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
This course examines the theory, history and functioning of the U.S. federal system of government. Emphasis is placed on the structure of the system as well as the interrelationships that exist. State and local governments are examined and emphasis is placed on policy formation, dispersion and implementation as well as the consequences of those policies.

POLI 332. THE U.S. PRESIDENCY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
This course examines the role of the President in the government of the United States and in international relations. It considers the dynamics of presidential power in the U.S. government as well as relations between the President and other branches of government as well as with the people.

POLI 333. PUBLIC MANAGEMENT. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
The course examines the fundamental concepts, approaches and leading theories of policy analysis. From a linear conception of policymaking to a more complex understanding of policy, this course provides both critical and practical understanding of public policy issues, including those in the realm of social welfare, health, energy, environment, food and agriculture, and national and global security. The course content encompasses the development, formulation, implementation and evaluation of policy. While dealing with substantive sectors and institutional aspects of public policy analysis the course also includes consideration of the complex interplay of power, knowledge and agency in the making of policy.

POLI 335. U.S. CONGRESS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
This course examines the role of representative governance in the United States by exploring the theoretical underpinnings of the U.S. Congress as created by the Founders, as well as its functions and how those have evolved. It also studies relations between the Congress and the other branches and how members of Congress interact, both institutionally and individually.

POLI 336. U.S. POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
This course examines two of the ways that people can affect the political system, by voting and joining political parties, and it considers ways to link those through political campaigns. It will analyze and evaluate party systems and explore the functions of modern U.S. political parties. Students will explore how and why people vote, the nature of modern elections and the evolution of campaigning in the United States.

POLI 350. CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PROBLEMS. 1-5 Credits.

Notes: May be cross-listed with CHST 320. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
A topical course designed to accommodate the interest of the general student and the department faculty. Topics vary from quarter to quarter and are listed in the quarterly Course Announcement. Recent offerings include Citizen and Law, and Pacific Rim. Analysis of contemporary problems may be under the guidance of one or more department members.

POLI 360. STATE LEGISLATIVE POLITICS EXPERIENCE. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor.
This course is designed to be a guided field experience with students in Olympia during the winter legislative session. It will connect the practical experiences students receive while interning in the Washington State legislature with theoretical models of legislative behavior and case studies of legislative action. Course requires instructor approval and acceptance into the Washington State Legislative Internship Program.

POLI 370. MOCK TRIAL I. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of instructor.
Mock Trial I exposes students to courtroom procedures in civil or criminal cases, studying a trial as one form of dispute resolution. Working in teams, students receive a fictional legal case and prepare and argue both sides of that case by applying rules of evidence in a simulated courtroom. Students play the roles of attorneys and witnesses as they prepare and present their case to a panel of judges. POLI 370 focuses on the basics of preparing and building a fictional legal case and introduces students to trial advocacy.

POLI 395. INTERNSHIP. 1-15 Credits.

POLI 397. WORKSHOP, SHORT COURSE, CONFERENCE, SEMINAR. 1-5 Credits.

Notes: may be repeated for credit.
Specialized offerings in a workshop-type situation of materials emphasizing current topics and problems in the political arena.

POLI 399. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-5 Credits.

Directed Study.

POLI 400. TOPICS IN AMERICAN POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Notes: may be repeated for credit.
An intensive examination of selected questions in the arena of American political institutions, processes, and public policy. Topics vary from quarter to quarter and include executive reorganization, congressional reform, politics and the press, post-partisan politics and various policy impact studies that cover the values of individual choice and problems of political economy.

POLI 401. TOPICS IN POLITICAL THEORY. 5 Credits.

Notes: may be repeated for credit.
Pre-requisites: POLI 202.
Each of the topics chosen for this course explores in some depth the fundamental relationship between such common political phenomena as obligation, consent, freedom, law, authority, etc. The course is structured so that even when the particular topic is quite narrow, its development touches on the major nodes in the web of relationships these phenomena have with one another.

POLI 402. TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Notes: may be repeated for credit.
Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
The topic of this course varies from quarter to quarter, depending on student and faculty interests. Topics in the past have included international law, international organizations (especially the European Union), problems of the international political system, comparative analysis of West European gender regimes, causes of political change and political stability, modernization and political development, causes and results of revolutions, the impact of social forces on the political system. The course may cover other topics as faculty and student interests change.

POLI 420. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 320, POLI 321 or POLI 322.
This course examines the dynamics of environmental politics through the politico- economic international system that includes states, civil society, corporations, international institutions and treaties. Moving beyond technical fixes to environmental problems it discusses questions of power, agency, the relationship of state and society and sovereignty over natural resources. It is inclusive of alternative discourses on sustainability, ecological justice, environmental security and development.

POLI 421. FEDERAL INDIAN LAW AND POLICY I. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: IDST 421.
This is the first course in a two course series on federal Indian law and policy. Federal Indian law is the body of law that regulates the relationship between Indian tribes and the United States. Federal Indian policy consists of the various doctrines underlying federal legislative and executive actions affecting Indian tribes. This course will introduce students to laws, regulations and case law that comprise federal Indian law as well as the policies underlying those laws. Topics will be further explored through the use of case studies.

POLI 422. FEDERAL INDIAN LAW AND POLICY II. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: IDST 422.
This course is a continuation of IDST 421. Topics covered include Modern Trust Doctrine, the Federal-Tribal Relationship, congressional plenary power, tribal land and sovereignty issues and tribal justice systems. These topics are explored through the use of case studies.

POLI 425. POLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
The course examines the trends and transformation of the Middle East as a region full of unfulfilled national aspirations for independence, democracy, economic development, social justice, and human dignity. To these ends, the course beings with a history of the modern Middle East by briefly tracing the rise, the weakening, and the fall of the Ottoman and Persian Empires, which led to rise of modern states like Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and the Persian Gulf states.

POLI 470. MOCK TRIAL II. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 370 or permission of instructor.
Mock Trial II exposes students to more advanced courtroom procedures in civil or criminal cases. Working in teams, students work with a fictional legal case to prepare and argue both sides by applying rules of evidence in a simulated courtroom. Students play the roles of attorneys and witnesses as they prepare and present their case to a panel of judges at local and regional competitions. Students may also engage in negotiation competitions as an alternate form of dispute resolution. This course follows POLI 370 with more emphasis on conducting competitive mock trials.

POLI 490. SENIOR CAPSTONE. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: INST 490.
Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204 and senior standing or permission of instructor.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–senior capstone.
This course functions as a qualifying course for graduating students majoring in International Affairs, Political Science, Public Administration, and Environmental Policies and Planning. Designed to integrate and refine the analytical, writing, and presentation skills of students, the course requires students to conduct original research.

POLI 493. PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT. 1-2 Credits.

Pre-requisites: senior standing or declared major POLI or INST or permission of instructor.
Advised by a member of the Political Science faculty, the student compiles an assessment portfolio of academic assignments completed in program specific courses at EWU. Taken during the term in which the student expects to complete the requirements for a program of study, this course provides the student with an opportunity to undertake guided academic/career planning as well as to participate in summative assessments.

POLI 495. PUBLIC AFFAIRS INTERNSHIP. 1-15 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Guided field experience designed to acquaint you with the formation and instrumentation of public policy; involves actual work with a political party, interest group, legislative body or administrative agency.

POLI 498. SEMINAR. 1-5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of instructor.
An in-depth analysis of particular political phenomena, with emphasis on student research. Usually offered on an interdisciplinary basis in cooperation with other departments offering similar courses.

POLI 499. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-15 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Projects in selected fields of government.

POLI 599. INDEPENDENT STUDY. 1-10 Credits.