Course offerings, including introductory courses, are divided into the following major subfields: American Politics and Public Administration, Comparative Politics and Area Studies, International Politics, Political Philosophy, and Research.

American Politics and Public Administration

Undergraduate

POLS 1110. Introduction to American Politics. (C) (3) Role of the President, Congress, Supreme Court and national administrative agencies in the American political system. Relationship between the American people and their political institutions with emphasis on political culture, the electoral process, political parties, interest groups and political communication. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

POLS 3010. Topics in American Politics or Public Administration. (1-4) An intensive study of a topic in American politics or public administration. The particular topic investigated may vary from semester to semester, and a student may take more than one course under this number. (On demand)

POLS 3103. Public Opinion. (3) A study of attitude and opinion measurement with emphasis on the techniques of survey research and public opinion polling and conservative and liberal tendencies in American public opinion and society. (On demand)

POLS 3104. Mass Media. (3) Relationship between the media in the United States and (1) the political activities of individual citizens and (2) governmental policy making. Ownership and control of the media, government regulation of the media, news programming and media impact on voter behavior and governmental policy making bodies. (On demand)

POLS 3105. Voting and Elections. (3) Psychological, sociological and political variables that influence voting behavior and that affect electoral stability and change with emphasis on studies derived from survey research. (On demand)

POLS 3109. Political Parties and Interest Groups. (3) Analysis of the role played by political parties and interest groups in the American political system. (On demand)

POLS 3110. North Carolina Student Legislature. (3) Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Practicum including workshops, seminars and guest speakers on legislative process and research, parliamentary procedure, and resolution and bill drafting; participation in an interim council debate at one of the member campuses for one weekend each month during the semester and participation in the NCSL annual session in Raleigh. May be repeated for credit. (Spring)

POLS 3111. The Congress. (3) Analysis of the role of the Congress in the American political system and its relationships with the other branches of government. Recruitment and socialization of congressmen, the committee system and roll call analysis. (On demand)

POLS 3112. The Presidency. (3) Analysis of the role of the Presidency in the American political system and its relationships with the other branches of government. Strategies of presidential nomination and election, the sources and indicators of presidential power, how those who have held the office have shaped it and been shaped by it. (On demand)

POLS 3114. Constitutional Law. (3) Studies the development of American Constitutionalism (especially federalism and the separation of powers) with a major emphasis on the role of the United States Supreme Court in national policy making. (On demand)

POLS 3115. Civil Rights and Liberties. (V) (3) (Closed to students who have completed POLS 3117.) Utilizes public policy analysis to illuminate judicial decisions and opinions relating to contemporary civil rights and liberties. (On demand)

POLS 3116. Judicial Process. (3) Introduction to the nature and functions of law; survey of Supreme Court decision making. (On demand)

POLS 3118. Law and Social Change. (3) Employs models of the interactions between law and social change to assess the strengths and weaknesses of judicial institutions as they attempt to develop policies to respond to, or promote, major societal changes. (On demand)

POLS 3119. State Politics. (3) The study of the politics of state governments in the United States using a comparative approach to analyze differences in their formal governmental structures, political climates and the processes by which public policies are adopted. (On demand)

POLS 3121. Urban Politics. (3) Analysis of the political processes in the nation's metropolitan areas and the adjustments and responses of the U.S. governmental system to cope with the urban area. (On demand)

POLS 3122. Urban Politics Simulation. (3) An urban political simulation game in which students participate as appointed and elected officials. Focus on urban political activity (city and county), the planning and passing of budgets, election campaigning, and citizen participation in local government. (Pre-Session)

POLS 3124. U.S. Domestic Policy. (3) Examination of the processes of and influences on policy making, including goals and objectives of current U.S. domestic policy. Focus on major policy areas; may include such topics as fiscal and monetary policy, education, transportation, management of national economy, and agriculture, among others. (On demand)

POLS 3126. Administrative Behavior. (3) The role of the administrator and public bureaucracy in modern democratic society with emphasis on the interplay of forces created by executives, legislators, political parties and interest groups. (On demand)

Comparative Politics and Area Studies

POLS 1130. Introduction to Comparative Politics. (X) (3) Political comparison among nations, diverse geographical emphases, including Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

POLS 3030. Topics in Comparative Politics or Area Studies. (1-4) An intensive study of a topic in comparative politics or area studies. The particular topic investigated may vary from semester to semester, and a student may take more than one course under this number. (On demand)

POLS 3131. Political Development. (3) Comparative study of how and why political systems change, with particular emphasis on the politics and political economy of countries in the Third World. (On demand)

POLS 3135. Political Violence. (3) Designed to address four questions: (1) What is political violence? (2) Why does it occur? (3) What is its relationship to other political processes? (4) What is its impact on society? The emphasis of this course, while drawing on examples from contemporary American and foreign scenes, is on examining manifestations of violent political behavior such as pathological violence, conspiratorial violence, collective violence and government violence. (On demand)

POLS 3137. Political Corruption. (V) (3) The use of public office for private ends in comparative and historical perspective. Examples are drawn from the Third World, Western Europe, socialist systems, and the local, state, and national levels in the United States. (On demand)

POLS 3141. European Politics. (3) Comparative analysis of selected European governments including Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy. (On demand)

POLS 3143. African Politics. (3) A comparative perspective on politics in sub-Saharan Africa and on the performance of post-independence political systems there in terms of national and international integration, economic challenges, and efforts to create stable and democratic civilian regimes. (On demand)

POLS 3148. Chinese Politics. (3) The origins, development and maintenance of the Chinese political system. The organization and function of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other political groups. The impact of tradition on contemporary Chinese politics. (On demand)

POLS 3149. Japanese Politics (3) Political behavior and development of political institutions in Japan. Emphasis on nature of political change and political process--political socialization, political culture, party systems, interest groups and public policy formation. Cross-national comparison with non-Asian democratic systems. (On demand)

International Politics

POLS 1150. Introduction to International Politics. (X) (3) Analysis of politics among nations: material and psychological sources of national power; the role of law, force and diplomacy in world politics; problems of peace and disarmament; and international organization. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

POLS 3050. Topics in International Politics. (1-4) An intensive study of a topic in international politics. The particular topic investigated may vary from semester to semester, and a student may take more than one course under this number. (On demand)

POLS 3151. International Political Economy. (3) An analysis of the political dynamics of economic relation-ships among countries. Attention is focused on the political aspects of monetary, trade, and investment relationships, and the difficulties involved in coordinating policy and maintaining effective international manage-ment. (On demand)

POLS 3157. American Foreign Policy. (3) A survey of the key issues affecting the conduct of U.S. foreign policy with attention to the formulation and implementation of foreign policy decisions with particular reference to some of the more critical foreign policy issue areas. (On demand)

POLS 3162. International Law. (3) An historical and political analysis of the sources and development of international law. Particular attention is given to the role of modern international law in the relations of nation-states and its application to contemporary global problems. (On demand)

POLS 3163. Model United Nations. (3) Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Preparation for and participation in the Model United Nations (simulation of the United Nations). Includes study of the background of country to be represented; the history, structure and procedures of the United Nations; drafting of resolutions and position papers; and public speaking and caucusing. May be repeated for credit. (Spring)

POLS 3165. East Asia in World Affairs. (3) Examines the political factors governing diplomatic relations, national order, economic trade and national security in East Asia. Emphasis on China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, the Korean peninsula and the Philippines. (On demand)

POLS 3167. U.S. and Japan. (3) A survey of the key elements affecting the structure and direction of U.S. relations with Japan. Emphasis on the major issues affecting the relationship and the efforts to resolve conflicts and maintain patterns of cooperation. (On demand)

POLS 3169. Foreign Policy of African States. (3) Prerequisite: any upper division course on Africa. A theoretical approach to the study of external and internal factors influencing the development, implementation, and conduct of foreign policy of African states. Dual-listed with AAAS 4105. (A student cannot receive credit for POLS 3169 and AAAS 4105.) (Spring)

Political Philosophy

POLS 3070. Topics in Political Philosophy. (V) (3) Analysis of a selected problem in contemporary political philosophy or in the history of political philosophy. Includes moral and ethical evaluation of political and social practices and institutions. Readings from classic texts or contemporary works. Topic for consideration changes from semester to semester. Course may be repeated with permission of instructor. (On demand)

POLS 3171. History of Classical Political Philosophy. (V) (3) Major concepts and systems of political philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome. (On demand)

POLS 3172. African-American Political Philosophy. (3) Prerequisite: 3000 level course on Africa from AAAS, HIST, or POLS. Major competing ideologies in African-American political philosophy. Dual-listed with AAAS 3179. (A student cannot receive credit for POLS 3172 and AAAS 3179.) (On demand)

POLS 3173. History of Modern Political Philosophy. (V) (3) Major concepts and systems of western political philosophy from the 16th-19th century. (On demand)

POLS 3174. Democracy. (V) (3) Examination of two conceptions of the nature and justification of democracy: liberal democracy and participatory democracy through the use of contemporary political and social research. (On demand)

POLS 3175. Law, Justice and Morality. (V) (3) Introduction to ethics with a focus on such contemporary ethical issues as abortion, suicide and euthanasia, capital punishment, and war and terrorism. (On demand)

POLS 3177. Social and Political Philosophy. (C) (3) Philosophical concepts involved in understanding and evaluating the basic structure of societies (e.g., economic, educational, legal, motivational and political) including equality, fraternity, freedom and rights. Relevance to contemporary social and political issues stressed. Readings from classical and contemporary sources. Same as PHIL 3226 and taught by the Philosophy Department. (On demand)

Research in Political Science

POLS 3220. Research Methods in Political Science. (W) (4) Prerequisites: junior standing; and nine hours of political science, three each in American Politics or Public Administration, International Politics, Comparative Politics and Area Studies; and STAT 1222. An introduction to research methods in political science to include a brief consideration of the following topics: philosophy of science; the place of research methods in the discipline of political science; research design; research strategies and techniques; data interpretation. Three lecture hours and a one-hour lab period per week. (Fall, Spring)

POLS 3990. Senior Thesis. (W) (3) Prerequisite: POLS 3220. The student completes an article-length research paper under the supervision of a member of the faculty. The paper must involve quantitative or other methods of modern political analysis. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

Internship and Independent Study

POLS 3400. Internship in Political Science. (3-6) Practical experience in politics by working for a party, campaign organization, political office holder, news medium, government agency or other political organization. Minimum of 150 working hours for three hours credit; minimum of 300 working hours for six hours credit. No more than six credits may be received through this course. Pass/No Credit grading only. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

Undergraduate/Available for Graduate Credit

Additional work required for graduate credit.

POLS 4610. Challenges of Democracy. (3) (3G) Seminar on a current challenge to democratic practice in the United States to examine sources and consequences of the challenge and possible solutions. The topic changes from year to year. The class conducts a public forum on the challenge at the end of the semester. Graduate students are expected to prepare a research paper, lead the forum, and otherwise perform above the level of undergraduates. (Fall)

POLS 4800. Independent Study. (1-3) (1-3G) Prerequisite: consent of the instructor. Supervised investigation of a political problem that is (1) of special interest to the student; (2) within the area of the instructor's special competence; and (3) normally an extension of previous coursework with the instructor. A student may take more than one course under this number but not more than three hours a semester. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

Graduate Only

POLS 6000. Topics for Graduate Study in Political Science. (1-4G) Intensive study of a topic in Political Science. The topic of investigation may vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit. (On demand)

POLS 6195. Robert A. Taft Institute of Government. (3G) Open under special arrangement on a Pass/No Credit basis. (Summer)

POLS 6196. Urban Systems for School Administrators. (3G) Corequisite: HIST 6196. An interdepartmental, team-taught course which consists of a survey of the courses and consequences of urbanization in the United States with particular attention to the urban South. Urbanization is treated as a system linking historic, political, economic and social factors, particularly since 1945. (Summer)