Political Science (PSI)
Assistant Professor Hill
Assistant Professor Vaccaro
Political science studies the use of authority and influence within legal, political,
human and governmental contexts. It is designed to 1) prepare students
to become effective citizens who contribute to and participate in democratic
processes, 2) provide the knowledge and develop the intellectual skills which
allow students to successfully enter and complete law school and graduate
school, and 3) provide the knowledge and develop the talents of students for
future leadership roles. Political science graduates generally pursue careers in
law, government, politics, management, teaching and leadership positions.
Requirements for the Political Science Major:
Complete the following:
1. A total of 30 credits in political science including PSI 101, 105, 325 (or
337) and 496.
2. A maximum of three political science internship credits under PSI 421
and three internship credits under PSI 425 may be counted toward the
major in political science.
3. PSI 426 may not be counted toward the major in political science.
Requirements for the Political Science Minor:Complete 18 credits in political science, including PSI 101, 105 and 325
(or 337). Political science internship credit may not be counted toward the
minor.
PSI 101 American Politics (3)
An analysis of American political institutions and behavior.
PSI 105 Comparative Governments (3)
An examination of political systems beyond American borders. Topics
include a comparison of various political systems and may also include
elementary international relations and/or American foreign policy. Upon
completion, students will demonstrate an understanding of the alternatives
that exist to American democracy and the advantages and disadvantages of
alternate systems.
PSI 213 Political Attitudes and Behavior (3)
A study of public opinion, political participation, voting behavior, candidate
selection, political party organization, media coverage of politics, and
campaigns. Upon completion, students will demonstrate an understanding
of the attitudes and behaviors of the American electorate and the basics of
public opinion polling. Offered alternate fall terms.
PSI 215 The Politics of the Developing World (3)
This course provides an introduction to major social and economic challenges
facing developing countries, and examines the nature of government and
political change in that context. Issues considered will include colonial
experiences, economic dependency, poverty and inequality, modernization,
democracy and authoritarianism, and ethnic conflict. In addition to
discussion of these broad issues, the class will include a selection of
illustrative case studies from Latin America, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Upon completion, students will demonstrate an understanding of the forces
that have shaped political realities throughout the developing world, and how
those forces have affected specific countries. Offered alternate fall terms.
PSI 234 Legislative and Executive Behavior (3)
Policy-making processes and behavior at the national and state levels. Includes
the presidency, Congress, and bureaucratic politics. Offered alternate years.
PSI 243 Contemporary Political Issues (3)
A course in policy analysis. Includes selected policy issues facing government.
Offered alternate years.
PSI 290, 390, 490 Directed Study (1-3) (1-3) (1-3)
An opportunity for supervised, independent study of a particular topic based
on the interest of the student and the availability and approval of the faculty.
PSI 306 U.S. Interwar Years (3)
Provides an in-depth examination of political, social and cultural history,
from the 1920s to the early 1940s. Students who successfully complete
this course will demonstrate knowledge of the background to the economic
collapse of the Great Depression, the rise of Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New
Deal," and the beginnings of the Second World War. Students also will gain
a deeper understanding of U.S. diversity, from region to race, from rural to
urban, and from liberal to conservative strains of political thought. (Cross-referenced
with HIS 306.) Offered alternative fall terms.
PSI 308 Public Finance (3)
Introduces the basic concepts used to describe and measure government
decision-making as it pertains to economics. This course examines the effects
of fiscal policy on its resources, incomes, prices, and employment. Students
successfully completing this course will be able to: 1) understand the
characteristics, functions and interactions of public and private institutions;
2) explain fundamental economic theory and terminology as it relates to
public finance; 3) apply economic theory to current policy problems; and
4) analyze and apply economic data to the study of a public policy problem.
Prerequisite: ECO 203. (Cross-referenced with ECO 308.) Offered alternate
spring terms.
PSI 313 Political Parties and Interest Groups (3)
A study of how political parties and interest groups link citizens to
government. Upon completion, students will demonstrate an understanding
of the mechanics of parties and interest groups and the role each has in a
democratic society. Offered alternate fall terms.
PSI 323 State and Local Politics (3)
An analysis of political processes and behavior in state, metropolitan, and
local governments. Offered alternate years.
PSI 325 International Relations in the Modern Era (3)
A study of the dynamics of the international system with emphasis on
issues of conflict, security, interdependence, and the global commons. Upon
completion, students will demonstrate an understanding of both realist and
liberal conceptions of the international system. Offered alternate spring
terms. (Cross-referenced with INT 325.)
PSI 326 Modern Asian History (3)
Emphasis on China and Japan with some coverage of the Korean peninsula.
Themes include modernization, imperialism, relations with the West, Sino-
Japanese relations, and economic development. As a result of this course,
students will gain an understanding of the Western and non-Western
heritages in terms of their origins, development, values, and distinctive
qualities. Students will also gain an understanding of the nature of social,
political, economic, and psychological forces and how they affect us. Offered
alternate spring terms. (Cross-referenced with HIS 326.)
PSI 327 Globalization and Transnationalism (3)
In recent decades, international affairs have been increasingly influenced
by non-state actors whose actions and impact cross national boundaries.
This class explores this contemporary trend toward increased global
interconnectedness, examining the political, cultural, and economic effects
of transnational interactions. Major debates about the global economy and
international political economy will receive particular attention. Upon
completion, students will demonstrate an understanding of globalization
as a multifaceted phenomenon, encompassing political globalization, the
globalization of communications and culture, and economic globalization.
Offered alternate spring terms. (Cross-referenced with ECO 327.)
PSI 328 Constitutional Law (3)
A study of the constitution through an analysis of Supreme Court decisions.
Includes distribution of powers, the commerce clause, intergovernmental
relations, state powers, and substantive due process. Offered alternate
years.
PSI 329 The U.S. Revolutionary Era (3)
An examination of the U.S. colonial revolution and early national period.
Students who successfully complete this course will demonstrate knowledge
of the social, cultural and political history of Great Britain's North American
colonies on the eve of the Revolution; the military course of the Revolutionary
War; the formation of the U.S. Constitution; and selected topics in early
national politics and culture. Students will also gain a deeper understanding
of social diversity, from Native Americans, African-Americans, women
and the common soldier to well-known leaders such as Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington. (Cross-referenced
with HIS 329). Offered alternate spring terms.
PSI 330 Religion in Politics (3)
A study of the influence of religion on politics, focusing primarily but not
exclusively on the present-day US. Topics will include the church-state
relationship, America's diverse religio-political traditions, and religious
fundamentalism as a political ideology. Upon completion, students will
demonstrate a deeper understanding of how religious values influence the
political world. Offered alternate spring terms.
PSI 332 Current Legal Issues (3)
An analysis of recent Supreme Court decisions on the subject of
constitutional rights and liberties. Includes litigation under the selected
amendments to the constitution. Offered alternate years.
PSI 337 Political Thought (3)
Analysis of the most prominent political writers from Plato to the present.
Compares the ideas of those men with recent studies of political behavior.
(Cross-referenced with PHI 337.) Offered alternate years.
PSI 338 Modern Russia (3)
Russia from 1855 and the Great Reforms of Tsar Alexander II through the
Bolshevik Revolution, the Stalin period, the decline and fall of the USSR,
and the troubled emergence of the "New Russia" and the other post-Soviet
successor states. As a result of this course, students will gain an understanding
of Western and non-Western heritages in terms of their origins, development,
values, and distinctive qualities. Students will also gain an understanding of
the nature of social, political, economic, and psychological forces and how
they affect us. (Cross-referenced with HIS 338.) Offered fall term.
PSI 340 The United States and Latin America (3)
An overview of the history and current state of Latin American politics and
United States-Latin American relations. The course will examine the major
developments that have shaped Latin American politics from independence
to the present day, the influence of United States foreign policy on that history,
and the reactions of Latin American countries to United States influence.
Upon completion of the course, students will demonstrate an
understanding of the major issues in current Latin American politics and
United States-Latin American relations, and of the past and present trends
that have influenced interactions within the hemisphere. Offered alternate
fall terms. (Cross-referenced with HIS 340.)
PSI 342 The United States and the Middle East (3)
A focus on the history of the Islamic Middle East and the relationship
between the United States and the broader Middle East from the 18th
century to the present, through an examination of selected countries,
including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine. Students who successfully
complete the course will demonstrate knowledge of the rise of Islam in the
Arabian Peninsula; the history of the Ottoman Empire and the mandate
system; U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East; the Gulf Wars; and the Middle
East and the media. Students also will gain a deeper understanding of the
development and values of Western and non-Western cultures and the
interrelations between people, systems, and social forces. This course fulfills
the Cultural Perspectives requirement of the Doane Plan. (Cross-referenced
with HIS 342.) Offered alternate spring terms.
PSI 350 Democracy and Democratization (3)
This course will explore the issues of democracy and democratization in
western and non-western societies. The course will begin with an introduction
to the concept of democracy and the evolution of that concept over time. The
class will then consider democratization in practice, examining the historical
experiences of both established democracies and new democracies. Particular
attention will be given to the challenges to democratization faced by countries
in the developing world. Upon completion, students will demonstrate an
understanding of the concept of democracy, the causes and consequences
of the worldwide spread of democracy, and the factors that act against its
universal acceptance. Offered alternate spring terms.
PSI 351 Nature, Functions, and Limits of the Law (3)
Students in this course will study the means and ends of social ordering
through law. That is, the class will explore what law is and is not and
what it is capable of doing within the social context. Upon completion,
students will demonstrate an understanding of the law as an instrument
for remedying grievances, as an instrument for defining and punishing
crimes, as an administrative-regulatory instrument, as a facilitator of private
arrangements between people, and as a way of promoting safety and human
rights. Offered alternate spring terms.
PSI 421 Governmental Internship (0-12)
An internship in a governmental agency designed to provide experience
with public management skills. Prerequisite: CED 205 or permission.
(Pass/Fail)
PSI 425 Encountering Washington: Internship (9)
An individualized internship experience in our nation's capital organized
through the Washington Internship Institute. Students will live in
Washington, working for their employers 32 hours a week. Students will gain
hands-on experience in a real-world setting, while doing substantive work
in a field that interests them. Upon completion, students will demonstrate
an understanding of their field, generally (but not necessarily) including a
political context. Prerequisites: Acceptance into Encountering Washington
program, as determined by the program's director at Doane and the faculty of
WII. Co-requisite: Enrollment in PSI 426 and 427.
PSI 426 Encountering Washington: Experiential Learning Seminar (3)
A seminar designed to get students to think critically about their Washington
internships, the organizations at which they are placed, and their jobs
within those organizations. All students participating in the Encountering
Washington program are required to take this seminar. Seminar will be taught
by faculty at the Washington Internship Institute, by contract with Doane
College. Upon completion, students will demonstrate an understanding of
experimental learning theory and the relationship between their specific
internship and their daily lives. Prerequisite: Acceptance into Encountering
Washington program, as determined by the program's director at Doane and
the faculty of WII. Co-requisite: Enrollment in PSI 425 and 427.
PSI 427 Encountering Washington: Policy Seminar (3)
Students have a choice of policy-related classes to take while in Washington,
though specific choices vary depending on the current offerings at the
Washington Internship Institute. Recent course offerings have included
Modern American Society, Inside Washington, and Foreign Policy. All
seminars incorporate discovery of the city as much as possible into the
curriculum. Upon completion, students will demonstrate an understanding
of the substance of the material in their particular course. Prerequisites:
Acceptance into Encountering Washington program, as determined by the
program's director at Doane and the faculty of WII. Co-requisite: Enrollment
in PSI 425 and 426.
PSI 496 Seminar (3)
A major research project in political science culminating in the presentation
of a research paper. Prerequisite: Senior major in political science.