This course examines how gender roles influence social position, political engagement, and allocation of power and resources in American society. Students will investigate why masculinity is often an attribute of those in power, and why "femaleness" correlates with disadvantages in affluence, value in society, and public policies. Students will also determine what changes in the conditions of men's and women's lives might change the gender dynamics of politics.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

An exploration of the historical and continuing significance of race in the American political system. The relevance and role of race in shaping political institutions, public opinion, political behavior, and public policy will be examined. Special attention will be given to theoretical debates surrounding the meaning of race and how this changes depending on political context.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

Examination of the impact that social protest movements have had on our society -and lessons that can apply to the current period. Case studies of the agrarian revolt (the Populists), the labor movement, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, the peace movement, the student movement, the environmental movement, and the consumer/neighborhood movement. Topics include: What factors lead people to participate in social movements and political protest? Why do certain historical periods seem to feature large-scale protest and upheaval, while others do not? How are social and political movements related to mainstream politics, such as elections, political parties, voting, and lobbying? What is the role of leaders, activists, and organizers? What strategies and tactics do movements employ? What does "success" mean for a protest movement? Do protest movements make a difference in achieving more social justice and changing public policy? In addition to classroom discussion, attendance at a weekly film series is required.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

The goal of the Community Law Internship is to provide students with a practical understanding of public interest law. The Community Law Internship must be taken simultaneously with Politics 241, which integrates theoretical aspects of social change, activism, organizing, and public interest law practice. The Community Law Internship allows students to learn through direct experience about the practice of public interest law in Los Angeles, as well as deeply explore issues of race, class, economic equity, and social justice. Each student will work with a community-based legal organization engaged in public interest law practice for approximately 12-15 hours each week. The unique approach of integrating Politics 240 and Politics 241 takes advantage of Occidental faculty expertise and the wide-range of community-based educational opportunities available in Los Angeles, as well as promotes a high level of engagement in the courses' curriculum. Prerequisite: Instructor permission Corequisite: POLS 241

The course will deal with the dilemmas and challenges of engaging in politics both "inside" and "outside" the system. It will discuss the growing protest around the world over globalization and the way this protest influences American politics. It will focus on such protest issues as human rights, fair trade, racial and gender justice, the environment, immigration, war and militarism, and poverty. It will also use the 2005 presidential contest to examine these issues as well as look historically at the inside/outside dilemmas.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

Exploration and analysis of elections in the U.S., including campaign strategies, role of consultants, media impacts, power of money, the role of public opinion, as well as alternative electoral systems and campaign reform options. Course includes community based learning options in current electoral campaigns, including ballot initiative campaigns as well as candidate efforts. Class will include political leaders and practitioners (elected officials, campaign consultants, etc.) as guest speakers and ongoing analysis of election process and results.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

Seminar on Political Campaigns. This course requires students to explore theoretical and applied concepts pertaining to United States campaigns. More specifically, students will examine the role of money, media, candidates, interest groups, leadership, gender, race, and political parties in who wins and loses elections. Learning will take place through assigned readings, professor lectures, guest lectures from campaign experts and candidates, and peer dialogues. Student learning will be assessed by their contribution to the classroom experience (discussion, dialogue), quizzes on assigned readings, and examinations. Enrollment limited to students participating in the Campaign Semester Program.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

Latina/a Politics. The purpose of this course is to examine the causes of the political transformation of contemporary Latino communities in the United States and to assess the various strategies for achieving political empowerment. The analysis will focus on understanding the relationships of power and interaction between institutional contexts of Latino life such as the economy, the state, and the cultural system on the one hand, and the structure of everyday life in Latino households, neighborhoods and communities on the other. This approach concentrates on the identification and examination of the relationships between the following elements: (1) the level and pattern of economic development; (2) state policies and practices; (3) the formation of identity as a function of the interaction between patterns of class, race, & gender stratification; (4) the nature and types of community, social and family networks; and (5) the range and effectiveness of different political strategies.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

Critical examination of the major substantive concerns, methods, and purposes of comparative politics, focusing on broad "macro-level" analytical concepts (e.g., modernization and political development, dependency and world system perspectives, revolution and political violence, political culture, and elites) rather than descriptive information about particular political systems. However, a few political systems will be studied and used as cases for methodological discussions.

A careful examination of contemporary Russian foreign policy. The focus will be on the complex of foreign policy relationships that have developed in the geographical space and sphere of influence formerly occupied by the Soviet Union. Russia's relations with the United States, with Western Europe, with the Far East and with Central Europe will receive special attention. NATO expansion, arms control, the Balkan conflict, and Russian policy toward the new states of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and Russia's relations with international financial institutions will all be evaluated.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: CENTRAL, SOUTH, AND EAST ASIA

An introduction to 20th Century Chinese politics. The course will explore the historical background to the current Chinese situation. Students will also examine the politics of China under Mao and during the subsequent reform period, including the role of China in global politics.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: CENTRAL, SOUTH, AND EAST ASIA

Politics and Political Economy of Mexico and Latin America. This seminar is a survey of theoretical approaches and contemporary issues in the politics and political economy of Mexico and Latin America, focusing particularly on political history and change, government institutions and electoral politics, political economy of development, and public policy challenges in the context of globalization. The course is divided in three sections: 1) the first section provides an overview of the politics and political economy of Latin American development focusing on the history of Latin American colonization and independence, state formation, economic underdevelopment and development policies, political culture, authoritarianism and democracy, political institutions and electoral politics, democratic consolidation and neo-liberal politics, socialist revolutions, and contemporary challenges from the political left to neo-liberal development policies; 2) the second section examines closely the politics and political economy of Mexico, paying particular attention to political change, economic development, market reforms and social inequality, globalization and North American regional integration and trade, and the politics of social movements and interest groups representing indigenous people, women, business and labor; and 3) the third, and final, section addresses the historical and contemporary cultural bonds and socio­economic conflicts which shape U.S-Mexico political relations, and the public policy challenges confronting the U.S-Mexico border region. Several major public policy challenges are examined: border urbanization, economic development and labor conditions; environmental degradation; drug trafficking, undocumented immigration, violence and citizen security. We conclude the seminar by exploring the possible future of U.S-Mexico and U.S-Latin America relations in light of contemporary political and economic challenges. By the end of this course, students will be able to understand and analyze Latin American politics and political economy, contemporary Mexican politics and economic development, and the most pressing public policy issues in U.S-Mexico relations. In addition, students will be well-prepared to undertake advanced coursework in comparative politics and public policy, comparative political economy of developing countries, and the politics of inter-American affairs. Prerequisite: Politics 101 or DWA 101, or permission of instructor.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: LATIN AMERICA

The Politics of India. The purpose of this course is to understand the relationships between democracy, citizenship and difference, specifically ethnic, gender, and caste difference, within the context of the post-colonial India. We will focus on explaining: (1) the relationship between democracy, citizenship, and civil society; (2)
how democracy, citizenship, and civil society are understood in post-colonial India; (3) how these understandings relate to ethnic, gender, and caste differences in determining the meaning of citizenship, community membership, and political participation; and (4) the challenges that these combined factors pose for a democratic society. Topics to be considered will include: Hindu and Muslim
conflict in postcolonial India, gender and the law in India, and caste and voting behavior in North and South India.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: ASIA

Minority Politics in Latin America. This course will examine a wide range of issues regarding race, ethnicity, and gender in Latin America. It will begin by exploring the basic sociological, political and cultural concepts of race, ethnicity, and gender with emphasis on how they are used in the region. Indeed, race and ethnicity have taken on special meanings in Latin America and much of the course will focus on how that came about and how race is manifested. By special meanings, we mean that comparative race and ethnicity are distinct from other regions, particularly the United States, which most students will be familiar with. Thus, comparisons to the United States will be emphasized in the course, as will comparisons across countries within Latin America, in particular Mexico, Brazil, and Cuba. The course will cover populations of African and indigenous origins.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: LATIN AMERICA

Everyday Forms of Political Resistance. This course adopts a more expansive definition of the "political" to understand the often-overlooked "politics of the people." To understand political behavior among subordinated groups, the course uses the work of political theorists, James Scott and Michael Hanchard, who argue that the politics of subordinated groups is best understood as neither overt collective defiance nor complete hegemonic compliance, but as everyday forms of political resistance. Topics to be considered will include: squatter movements in South
Asia, participation in the black market, female artistic expression, and hip-hop movements in the U.S. as manifestations of everyday political resistance.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: INTERCULTURAL

Dilemmas of Democracy. Has the “Third Wave” of democratization ended? Will democracy continue to be the model for the future? This course will look at the dramatic increase in the number of democracies worldwide over the last thirty years, and at case studies that illustrate the political and economic factors behind the increasing number of "illiberal," "populist" and semi-authoritarian democracies; the impact of gridlock and corruption in contemporary democratic systems, including the United States; and the challenges democracies are facing in integrating formerly marginalized populations, including women, poor and the indigenous. It will examine the US policy of "democracy promotion," and the implications of these trends for the United States in a globalized world. Prerequisite: DWA or POLS 101

Gender and Politics in the Developing World. This course will explore the role of women in politics throughout the globe, with an emphasis on case studies from the developing world. Students will examine the development of policy changes that advance gender equality, paying attention to how the international system, domestic institutions, and social movements play in this process. Students will also study how women attain and wield power in local and national politics. The course will further emphasize how gender politics intersects with other forms of identity politics, including race, ethnicity, and sexuality. The course is grounded in the study of comparative politics, and will draw primarily on examples from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Prerequisite: POLS 101
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: LATIN AMERICA

This course is an introduction to international security and strategic studies. This field is fundamentally about both the use of force by and violent conflict among states and non-state actors. The course will be guided by general theoretical questions regarding security: How does violent conflict, or competitions shaped by the lurking possibili¬ty of such conflict, affect international relations and individual societies? How has the role of violent conflict in international politics changed since the end of World War II? What is the nature of security today? These general questions will frame explorations of more specific strategic questions. Such questions will include: How do states and non-state actors use force to persuade their enemies to take (coercion) or refrain from taking (deterrence) a particular action? How can nations best prepare to prevent violent conflicts or to win them if they occur? What has determined success and failure, the intensity, duration, and consequences of military action? We will have a particular focus on emerging transnational security issues, intra-state security, and the relationship among security, development and state failure. Pursuing answers to these questions will require an approach that integrates theory, history and current events. Same as DWA 250

This course will address the theory and practice of war. In so doing, it will also explore the dimensions of peace-how it is broken, how it is re-established, how conflicts are resolved, or not. It will also explore the consequences of war: what war does to soldiers, civilians, and the politics of a country at war; race and class in war; just war theory, and women and war. Students will read some of the basic theoretical texts concerning these important issues-from Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Kautilya, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Marx, Lenin, and modern thinkers like Samuel Huntington and Kenneth Waltz. Case studies will vary but may include the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam or Iraq Wars. Prerequisite: Politics 101, DWA 101, or permission of instructor.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: INTERCULTURAL • PRE-1800

Traditional, aristocratic society as described by Bodin; "self-seeking," the state of nature, obligation, and natural law in Hobbes and Locke; Rousseau on freedom and equality; utilitarianism and liberty in Bentham and Mill; the dialectical method, history, and self-consciousness in Hegel; alienation, historical materialism, and class struggle in Marx. Closed to first year students
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: EUROPE • PRE-1800

In this course we will try to understand American politics by looking at such important American writers as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Susan B. Anthony and W.E.B. Du Bois.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

This seminar surveys the historical roots of modern conservative and libertarian political ideas, with particular attention to the persistent tension between tradition and innovation. The purpose of the seminar is to enable students to recognize recurring themes that have shaped political thought and action over several thousand years. Students will be graded on weekly essays and seminar participation.

Each member of this course will undertake a close reading of some works by Plato, Machiavelli, and Hobbes. The seminar will meet one evening a week for an hour and a half in the professor's home on the edge of campus. Prerequisite: one political theory course or one philosophy course.
2 units

This course is an intensive exploration of black political thought from a variety of perspectives. Emphasizing conceptual diversity and continuity across time and geography, we will examine a wide range of authors including, but not limited to Angela Davis, W.E.B. DuBois, Frantz Fanon, Marcus Garvey, bell hooks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Glenn Loury, Booker T. Washington, Ida B Wells, Cornell West, and Malcolm X. The range of ideological perspectives under review will include liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, feminism, Marxism and pan africanism. Prerequisite: Politics 101. Closed to first year students
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

This course will immerse students in the theory and practice of "rebellious lawyering," the name given to both a particular vision of problem solving practiced by growing numbers of lawyers and the broad movement championing this vision. Practitioners pursuing the rebellious vision aim to collaborate well with others, to frame and address problems from different perspectives, to design and implement a wide range of strategies, to monitor execution and enforcement, to evaluate the overall impact of strategic interventions, and to manage offices and organizations and systems.  Pursuing effective change, particularly in today's complex world, requires creative collaborative efforts to identify and implement solutions to achieve a more radically participatory democracy.  Rebellious Lawyering has a unique linked course design between theoretical and experiential academic experiences. Seminar (Politics 241): Students participate in a weekly seminar, where readings related to law, social change, movements activism, and public interest law practice are discussed. Community Law Internship (Politics 240): Students will work weekly as law clerks for community-based public interest legal service organizations. Speaker Series: Rebellious Lawyering will bring rebellious advocates and lawyers from throughout Los Angeles to discuss their work. Prerequisite:  permission of instructor.
Co-requisite: POLS 240
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

This course provides an introduction to constitutional law and constitutional theory, examining the ways in which the Constitution distributes power among the branches government in the American political system, and limits the exercise of those powers. The course will also consider the role of the judiciary in creating legal and political boundaries for society. Throughout the semester, this course will focus not only on legal doctrine, but also on the broader intellectual and political context in which it evolves. Using constitutional law cases and moot courts, the course will explore the role of the United States Supreme Court as a civil liberties policymaker, and the process through which decisions are reached. Prerequisite: Politics 101 or permission of instructor and not open to 1st year students.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

This course is a critical analysis of the civil liberties and civil rights in the United States established by the Bill of Rights. The course will focus on fundamental rights, including, but not limited to privacy, marriage, reproductive autonomy, and freedom of expression. The goal of the course is to provide students with a framework for understanding what rights have been historically deemed fundamental by society, remedies for infringement of fundamental rights, and current controversies in the area of civil liberties and civil rights. Throughout the course students consider the role of the law in creating political boundaries within society. This course is intended to develop critical thinking skills, as well as discuss broad questions of law, individual rights, social morality, and justice. Prerequisite: Politics 244 or permission of instructor.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES