Topics in Politics. Can be repeated once for credit if topics differ. NOTE: Different topics may satisfy different Core Program requirements.
Institutions in Flux: American Politics in the Trump Era
This course examines the historical forces that have shaped American political institutions, their role in maintaining the rule of law and informal norms, and contemporary challenges now confronting governing. Topics may include the role of increased partisanship and polarization, legislative stalemate, politicization of the courts, an expanded executive branch, and growing public distrust.
Subfield: American Politics
Classical Quest for Justice
The questions at the heart of classical political philosophy are very simple, even if the treatments of them by the ancient philosophers are extremely complex. What is justice? What does it ask of us as individuals? What does it demand of political communities with respect to their internal structure and in their interactions with other communities, especially in times of war? Finally, to what extent are the demands of political life compatible with the radical questioning of philosophy? In this course we will engage with these questions via careful study of some of the greatest works of Ancient Greece, focusing principally on Plato’s Republic and Thucydides’ history of the Peloponnesian War. These texts will be approached not only as crucial documents for our understanding of another culture, but also as works that address enduring questions of moral and political life. Core Requirement Met: Pre-1800 (CPPE)
Subfield: Political Theory
Comparing Colonial Legacies
A comparative analysis of colonial governing practices, processes and modes of decolonization, and their long-term effects on the states and societies of the postcolonial world. Critical questions focused on in this course will include the relative political legacies of different types of colonialism (i.e. settler, exploitative, internal) and different colonial powers, the effects of colonial policies regarding ethnic boundary-making, and the implications of enduring ties of various kinds between the post-colonial states and the former metropole. The geographical scope of this course will be broad, including, but not limited to, Latin America, the former Soviet Union, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia. Core Requirement Met: Global Connections.
Politics of Development
A comparative analysis of the politics and economics of states in the “developing world”, including an introduction to theories that link variation in political systems to levels of economic development. This course will also analyze questions such as the relationship of natural resource dependency to political regime characteristics, the determinants of foreign aid allocations, and the origins and roles of international development organizations. The geographical focus of the course includes Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. Core Requirement Met: Global Connections.
Reimagining Public Safety: Debates Over Policing and Criminal Justice
In the years following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, massive demonstrations took place around the nation, demanding an end to police violence and systematic racism. During that moment, many said it was finally time to "reimagine public safety" - a wide-ranging term that encompassed perspectives as varied as police abolition and more robust community policing. It coincided with the rise of a new wave of progressive prosecutors determined to end the "carceral state" and "promote restorative justice."
Cities that promised reimagined public safety have experienced what Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors refers to as "The Great Regression," a pro-police, pro-law and order backlash that has seen an increase in police budgets and targeting of progressive prosecutors.
How did this happen? What forces shape these policy discussions and political decisions? What is the future of public safety and criminal justice in urban centers? This course will examine these questions, with an emphasis on Los Angeles, with frequent guest lectures, including policymakers, police officials and prosecutors, and community organizers.
Subfield: American Politics