Winter Registration

In order to help us plan and properly allocate faculty resources for the winter 2008 semester, we encourage you to register for your courses as soon as possible.

This winter we are offering a number of new courses, including some special topics courses. All of these are unique opportunities that we urge you to take advantage of.

****Winter '08 Special Topics Courses****
All of these courses count for the three courses at the 300-level requirement for PLS majors and minors.

PLS 380 - 01 COMPARATIVE POLITICS:
CHINESE LEGAL DEVELOPMENT
Tuesday/Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
2121 Au Sable Hall
Prerequisite: PLS 103 or junior standing
Yi Zhao, Ph.D.
Course counts for Comparative category and "three courses at 300-level" requirement for PLS degree

China’s legal construction during the reform era has been described by an American scholar as the “largest such undertaking in world history.”

This course will consider the political and economic forces that have shaped the course of China’s legal development. It will explore issues that cut across the line between law and politics, issues that are becoming increasingly prominent: the politics of constitutional design, legislative and judicial politics, criminal justice and human rights, rule of law and economic development, and the politics of judicial review of government actions

PLS 380 - 02 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY
Poverty, Assets and the American Dream
Monday/Wednesday, 3-4:15 p.m.
2107 Au Sable Hall
No prerequisite
Michelle Miller-Adams, Ph.D.
Course counts for American category and "three courses at 300-level" requirement for PLS degree

What does it mean to be poor in America?
What’s wrong with the way the U.S. government measures poverty?
Why have public policy strategies for addressing poverty generally failed?
What has the United States learned from the developing world about fighting poverty?
Why is poverty less of a problem in Europe?
What can be done about poverty?

PLS 380 - 03 POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Monday/Wednesday, 3-4:15 p.m.
122 Manitou Hall
Prerequisite: PLS 102 or junior standing
H. Whitt Kilburn, Ph.D.
Course counts for American category and "three courses at 300-level" requirement for PLS degree

Why do presidential campaigns mostly fail to persuade voters? Do voters evaluate non-white or female candidates any differently from the usual white male? How do emotions influence political judgment and choice? Do good leaders share similar personalities? During crises, under what conditions do they make "rational" decisions?

We will study these questions and others in this inter-disciplinary course bridging the divide between political science, and personality and social pyschology. Our goal will be to learn not just about insights into politics from psychology, but also how political institutions affect the psyche.

****New Course Winter '08****

PLS 385 RUSSIAN AND POST-SOVIET POLITICS
MWF 10-10:50 a.m.
LSH 229
Heather Tafel, Ph.D.
Earn comparative politics credit (PLS majors & minors)
Earn PLS credit (IR majors & minors)
Earn elective credit (Russian Studies majors & minors)

Take this course and discover the following about Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, the Caucasus and post-Soviet Central Asia:
What was communism, and why did it collapse?
Why has democracy largely failed to take root in this region?
How has “people power” influenced domestic politics?
How does the “resource curse” affect domestic politics?
What has been the process of economic transformation?
What about the European Union & the United States in the region?

A comparative empirical and theoretical analysis of government and politics in post-Soviet Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Central Asian republics. Topics include the collapse of communism, patterns of regime change, parties, elections, political economy, nationalism and ethnic conflict, social welfare policy, and foreign relations. Prerequisite: PLS 103 or junior standing.

****New Section Added Winter '08****
PLS 315 International Political Economy
W 6-8:50
ASH 1116
Michelle Miller-Adams, Ph.D.
Empirical analysis of the politics of international economic relations, including the impact of domestic and international political variables on international economic cooperation and conflict. Part of the department's B.S. cognate. Prerequisite: PLS 103 or 211 or ECO 210 or 211. Students taking the course as part of the B.S. cognate must also have completed STA 215 and SS 300.