the last year. Transportation will be provided by the college. What does "religion" mean in this formulation? international system of sovereign states--the core foundation of international relations--presumes the process of dismantling systems of domination, extraction, and exclusion ended long ago. The first is historical and mostly lecture. Then, we will look at some important factors that shape how followers approach would-be leaders: inequality and economic precarity; identity and group consciousness; notions of membership, community, and hierarchy; and declining local institutions. sexuate rights). Indeed, a central concern of the founders was that democracy would invite demagogues who would bring the nation to ruin. How does racism influence political choices? Attention will focus largely on the modern, twentieth and twenty-first century, presidency, though older historical examples will also be used to help us gain perspective on these problems. We will explore answers to these questions through seminar discussion, analytic essays, and independent research culminating in the writing of a longer (15 to 20 page) research paper. [more], Martinican psychiatrist, philosopher, and revolutionary Frantz Fanon was among the leading critical theorists and Africana thinkers of the twentieth century. What makes American political leadership distinctive in international comparison? Attention to the writing process and developing an authorial voice will be a recurrent focus of our work inside and outside the classroom. At the core of feminism lies the critique of inequitable power relations. The readings will address the politics, policies, and composition of the African National Congress (ANC), the growth of black economic elites and the black middle class, the persistence of poverty and extreme inequality, expanding corruption, and why the ANC continues to prevail politically and electorally in spite of on-going poverty and worsening inequality, governmental failures, and corruption. With each reading, our dual aim will be to confront pressing issues or controversies and to ask whether the works in question offer ways of thinking and writing that we should pursue ourselves. Social unrest over the definition of American morality and over who counts as an American. The question, an important part of political theory at least since Socrates, has taken on renewed significance in recent years, as theorists have sought to rethink the political in response to twentieth century dictatorships and world wars; feminist, queer, anti-racist, post- and decolonial struggles; the transformations wrought by neoliberal globalization; the emergence of "algorithmic governance"; the recent resurgence of populist nationalism; and deepening recognition of climate crises. Is intense security competition between major states inevitable, or can they get along, provided their main interests are protected? comparative politics to explore that premise. Indeed, in the study of American political development, we often look to complex processes and underlying causes as explanations for how and why ideas, institutions, and policies both emerge and evolve. what type of government people believe to be acceptable and desirable, but international actors also rule directly on the legitimacy of a regime's policy or on the regime itself. We will examine factors that shape election outcomes such as the state of the economy, issues, partisanship, ideology, social identities with a special focus on race, interest groups, media, and the candidates themselves. Contributions to theory include the writings and activism of Langston Hughes, W.E.B. First, it will consider the the terms of American foreign policy after the Cold War, how it sets these, and continuities and discontinuities between the Clinton and Bush administrations. Who might change it, and how? Who benefits from the idea of universal human rights? Important topics include: the colonial experience and independence; race relations and the African diaspora; national identity and authoritarian populist nationalism; war and state-building; American exceptionalism, religion, and foreign policy; criminal justice; and the origins and shape of the welfare state. Is this right? Does Thomas Jefferson's statue belong on a university campus? Beliefs about music can serve as a barometer for a society's non-musical anxieties: Viennese fin-de-sicle critics worried that the sounds and stories of Strauss's operas were causing moral decline, an argument that should be familiar to anyone who reads criticism of American popular music. In investigating these topics, we explore questions such as these: How is power allocated? But social risk has not disappeared--you could lose your job, get into an accident, or find yourself plunged somehow into poverty. But what do we mean when we claim to want freedom? Lyndon Johnson also feared the consequences of a massive American commitment, but he eventually sent over half a million men to Vietnam. The course will show how Muslims were constructed as subjects in history, politics, and society from the very beginning of the making of Europe and the Americas to the end of the Cold War to the post-9/11 era. Under what circumstances has positive leadership produced beneficial outcomes, and in what circumstances has it produced perverse outcomes? In practice, not only do pervasive international, foreign and universal standards influence what type of government people believe to be acceptable and desirable, but international actors also rule directly on the legitimacy of a regime's policy or on the regime itself. Yet Mexico enters this future with a very different past, a distinctive political system, important cultural differences, and mixed feelings about its neighbor to the north. identities and power relationships have been grounded in lived experience, and how one might both critically and productively approach questions of difference, power, and equity. Women studied include: Mamie Till Mobley, Anne Moody, Ella Baker, Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, Bettina Aptheker, Assata Shakur, Yuri Kochiyama, Denise Oliver, Domitilia Chungara. The research results must be presented to the faculty supervisor for evaluation in the form of an extended essay. than taking the Senior Seminar-in their subfield of specialization. The Political Science major is structured to allow students either to participate in the established ways of studying politics or to develop their own focus. This research seminar examines the intent, process, meaning and consequence of these new practices, particularly in terms of national constitutions, international law, and principles of justice. was brought into question as the Taliban regrouped and eventually reasserted itself as a formidable guerilla army that the U.S. military could not easily defeat. Others portray the feminist agenda as one of taking power, or of reconstructing society by exercising a specifically feminist mode of power. James' famous book, Black Jacobins, about the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804). Assessing leadership in the moment is complicated because leaders press against the bounds of political convention--as do ideologues, malcontents, and lunatics. Does freedom make us happy? retreat!) The class situates contemporary US migration policies within a global context and over time, placing the US case in conversation with considerations of migration politics and policies in countries around the world. The course is organized with a focus on legal status: which "categories" of people (i.e. And what are their views on diversity, citizenship, and race, and how do heterodox leftists fit with conservative critiques of managerial liberalism? Does the structure of the international system necessarily cause conflict? Rather, it will focus on certain moments that highlight changing grand strategic thought. Ultimately, our goal is to determine how worried we should be---and what, precisely, we should be worried about---as a new era of American leadership begins. Designed not only to uncover these (sometimes melodious, sometimes cacophonous) values but also to place current ideological debates about them in a broader developmental context, this tutorial will offer a topical tour of American political thinking from the birth of nationalism in the colonial period to the remaking of conservatism and liberalism in the early twenty-first century. Williams College Political Economy Website Political Economy Major Requirements Political Economy Course Offerings The Political Economy major is designed to give students a grasp of the ways in which political and economic forces interact in shaping public policy. [more], Taught by: Galen E Jackson, James McAllister, This is a course about the Middle East in international politics. Our time and Arendt's are similarly darkened by the shadows of racism, xenophobia, inequality, terror, the mass displacement of refugees, and the mass dissemination of lies. At the conclusion of the seminar, each student will submit a substantial and rigorous 10-12 page research proposal, with an annotated bibliography, for a roughly 35 page "article-length" thesis to be completed during Winter Study and the spring semester. How can we expect cyberweapons to shape the future of warfare, intelligence, and security competition? democracies have collapsed and longer standing ones appear to be stumbling. At the same time, worries about residual impunity or the effect that punishment might have on societies' futures has led to the development of national and social courts, as well as national military tribunals, to complement those at the international level. The focus of the course is on Christianity in Western countries both historically and in the present, but we will spend time discussing religion (particularly Pentecostalism) and capitalism in the contemporary Global South as well. [more], What is the role of race in American public opinion and voting? Is leadership that privileges desirable ends, such as justice or security, at the expense of democratic means acceptable? Why do we end up with some policies but not others? On the other hand, shifting ideas about science have strongly influenced the development of feminist theory and practice: for example, debates about reproductive rights are often couched in terms of a conflict between reliable scientific knowledge of embryos, STDs, etc. What produces political change? We first read polemics from both sides, before stepping back to consider Latin American political economy, including the twentieth-century left, from a more historical and analytical perspective. We will ask: How have city leaders and social movements engaged with urban problems? [more], The United States attacked and defeated the Afghan Taliban regime over in the course of a few short weeks in 2001. What does it mean to be "philosophical" or to think "theoretically" about politics? conceptualization and critique of anti-discrimination frameworks, the legal analysis of intersecting systems of social subordination (particularly gender, race, class, sexuality, disability), and the theorization of "new" categories of rights (e.g. How effective are strategies like cross-domain deterrence? The course will conclude with a consideration of the impact and legacy of the two decades of nation-building and social reform carried out by the United States since 9/11. Second, was one side primarily responsible for the length and intensity of the Cold War in Europe? fact has widely been deemed the 'Asian Century'. In an organization comprised of equals, how and why do some senators and representatives acquire more power and authority than others? In investigating this theme, our cornerstone will be Max Weber's famous argument from. Over the course of the semester, we will look at ten different types of events, ranging from those that seem bigger than government and politics (economic collapse) to those that are the daily grist of government and politics (speeches), in each instance juxtaposing two different occurrences of a particular category of event. Wars and assassinations. We conclude the course with a look toward the future of global capitalism and of the liberal world order. a range of thinkers including Dionne Brand, Aim Csaire, Angela Davis, douard Glissant, Kwame Gyekye, Paget Henry, bell hooks, Katherine McKittrick, Charles Mills, Nkiru Nzegwu, Oyrnke Oyewm, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Cornel West, and Sylvia Wynter. [more], Tens of thousands of international organizations populate our world. What do left and right see when they survey the nation, and why is what they see so different? This research seminar investigates organized international, multilateral attempts to mold a delinquent country's domestic politics by enforcing extranational standards. At the same time, Republicans and Democrats fight over the scope and limits of government power on policies ranging from taxation and spending, to abortion, immigration, healthcare, policing, gun ownership, and voting rights. Meanwhile, efforts to reform the nation's immigration laws have been stuck in gridlock for years. Does the state and its policies make the nation, as many scholars claim? Students will examine multi-disciplinary texts, such as academic historical narratives, memoirs, political analyses, in critical and comparative readings of mid-late 20th century struggles. Coverage will include: Jewish liberalism, political Zionism, Yiddishist autonomism, messianic quietism, and other views. Why a two-party system, and what role do third parties play? What economic, historical, and sociological theories have been advanced to explain poverty? Senior Thesis Research and Writing Workshop. Moreover, these institutions vary considerably both over time and between countries. The course concludes with a focus on the current debate over American meritocracy and inequality. One might even claim that when Plato deployed the metaphor in an extended allegory, he constituted the fields of both philosophy and political theory. Must the freedom or fulfillment of some people require the subordination of others? In addition, we will examine the long-standing arguments among both historians and political scientists over how to explain and interpret the longest and most controversial war in American history. [more], This tutorial will cover the Arab-Israeli dispute--from both historical and political science perspectives--from the rise of the Zionist movement in the late nineteenth century to the present day. The final module introduces students to theory and methods for analyzing media relations (how a given media connects particular groups in particular ways). This tension over what government is doing and what it should be doing is only heightened in times of crisis, such as the moment the country is in now. The course extends over one semester and the winter study period. And what does it mean to study this richly diverse region? We will consider some of the complicated legacies of change. Wherever they might go, should they aspire to build a modern Jewish nation-state, a semi-autonomous Jewish community, or some other arrangement? To that end, the course will discuss the origins, logic, and meaning of liberalism and capitalism and the relationships between them. Possible authors include Arendt, Bal, Belting, Benjamin, Browne, Buck-Morss, Butler, Campt, Clark, Crary, Debord, Deleuze, Fanon, Foucault, Freedberg, Hobbes, Kittler, Mercer, Mitchell, Mulvey, Plato, Rancire, Scott, Sexton, Starr, Virilio, Warburg, and Zeki. What is it that they oppose and support? and an unscientific, patriarchal worldview. [more], This course deals with what democracy means and how it is achieved. Throughout the course, we will explore such questions as: What constitutes a party? 'duped' by 'biased' sources of information on crucial issues like war, elections, sexuality, racism, and history. Specifically, the first section of the course will cover the emergence of the Persian Gulf as an area of strategic importance in international politics; U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia and Iran after World War II; the origins of the Arab-Israeli dispute; the June 1967 and October 1973 Middle East conflicts; Egyptian-Israeli peace; the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War; the 1991 Persian Gulf War and its consequences; and the rise of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas. What is the relationship between leadership and morality-can the ends justify the means? The goal of this course is to assess American political change, or lack of, and to gain a sense of the role that political leaders have played in driving change. What makes American political leadership distinctive in international comparison? The course is designed to teach political science majors the nuts, and maybe also the bolts, of social science research. The last section of the course covers contemporary policy challenges confronting the Middle East. How can democracy be made to work better for ordinary people? Why has historical commemoration gotten so contentious--or has it always been contentious? Our primary questions will be these: Why is transformative leadership so difficult today? Is there a resource curse, or is it possible for mineral rich countries to escape the modern counterparts of Midas? A right-wing populism marked by Brexit, Trump, Le Pen, and a host of 'far-right' political movements in the very heartland of democratic globalizing capitalism has shaken liberal certainties. This course will examine the political underpinnings of inequality in American cities, with particular attention to the racialization of inequality. But is anyone immune to media influence? The issues we will explore include: What is poverty, and how do Americans perceive its dangers to individuals as well as the political community? Topics include the founding of the American system and the primary documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers), the primary institutions of national government then and now (Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court), and the politics of policy-making in the United States. In this class, we will consider the promise and limits of political theory to illuminate present day environmental crises and foster movements to overcome them. Instead one sees the vibrant return of religion to social, economic, and political prominence in most parts of the world--at the very same time we are experiencing through globalization and the information revolution the most dramatic economic advances in a century. In the mid-1970s, New York was a poster child of urban crisis, plagued by arson and housing abandonment, crime, the loss of residents and jobs, and failing public services. Readings are drawn from Supreme Court opinions, presidential addresses, congressional debates and statutes, political party platforms, key tracts of American political thought, and secondary scholarship on constitutional development. Themes may include power, authority, freedom, justice, equality, democracy, neoliberalism, feminism, and violence, though the emphases will vary from semester to semester. [more], The course will discuss the relationship between nationalism and far-right populism, also often referred to as alt-right politics in the United States. In this class we draw these works into conversation with political theories of the "state of nature" and "state of exception" to better understand what political possibilities are opened and foreclosed in times of crisis. What is the significance of death and arbitrary threats to our existence? Asking how algorithms are political and what that tells us about politics today (particularly in the U.S.), we will consider how their design expresses forms of power and their deployment shapes ways of living. Drawing on Freud, and challenged by his philosophical exchanges with Angela Davis, Marcuse came to the view that these movements were addressing not only material deprivations such as poverty and structural oppression, but also the effects of social alienation and a damaged psychic life. This course studies the politics of business by centering analysis on the firm. We investigate three types of cases: UN Security Council threats and condemnations, international criminal prosecutions, and international election monitoring. What, if anything, is the difference between an ecosystem and a political community? The course places the US in conversation not only with European countries, but also (and especially) considerations of migration governance in destination countries in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Alongside a selection of readings by canonical postcolonial writers and current political theorists, James and Du Bois provoke us to ask what it would take for the democratic world to be truly free. Central notions such as democracy, identity, and their relation to far-right populism will be discussed alongside questions of contemporary mobilization strategies. What does it mean today to be progressive? Is democratic leadership in service of "dangerous" goals acceptable, and what are these goals? [more], This course considers debates in feminism about the relationship between science, gender and power in politics. Senior Seminar in Political Theory: Rethinking the Political. Who is equal? What sorts of transformations have been possible, and who or what has made them possible? We will go on to discuss the U.S. support for Islamist political parties during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and the consequent rise of the Taliban, and the role of Afghanistan in the September 11th attacks and the "War on Terror" that followed. War, a strong bipartisan consensus emerged around the principles of liberal international internationalism and "America First" perspectives were marginalized in American politics. Give up? Our investigation will include substantial class-time collaboration with a similarly structured undergraduate course taught by a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University and may include an optional weekend research trip. Is America really a democracy at all? Like domestic law, it is enforced only some of the time, and then against the weak more than the strong. This course evaluates how this can be--how a crisis can be chronic, and for whom this chronic crisis is a solution. to serve three purposes for aspiring senior thesis writers. [more], We live in a society that takes liberalism and capitalism for granted, as the norm that naturally centers collective life. We will discuss cases of Buddhism, Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam (Sunni and Shi'a), and Judaism. A right-wing populism marked by Brexit, Trump, Le Pen, and a host of 'far-right' political movements in the very heartland of democratic globalizing capitalism has shaken liberal certainties. Students will take up the central philosophical questions that shaped the tradition from the early nineteenth century to the present by engaging historical thinkers like Anna Julia Cooper, W.E.B. Individual countries have always sought to change others, and following wars, countries have often collectively enforced peace terms. [more], We rely on environmental laws to make human communities healthier and protect the natural world, while allowing for sustainable economic growth. [more], Conservatives in the United States are traditionally hostile to state power in general and the welfare state in particular. This course is part of a joint program between Williams' Center for Learning in Action and the Berkshire County Jail in Pittsfield, MA. Ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity is offset by common cultural traditions and practices that serve to unite the people of the Indian Subcontinent. How is political power generated and exercised? With equality? Attention to the writing process and developing an authorial voice will be a recurrent focus of our work inside and outside the classroom. The course surveys the electoral politics of low and middle-income democracies in the developing world, investigating its similarities and differences with the historical and contemporary politics of developed democracies. Four class debates will focus general concepts on a specific topic: the global implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Introduction to International Relations: World Politics. bad? [more], Nationalism is a major political issue in contemporary East Asia. Examples of internationalized transitional justice abound. What kinds of alternatives to objectivity exist, and should they, too, count as "science"?
John Jones Nutty Putty Wife, Words On Stream Cheat Sheet, Articles W