Political Science (POLS) Courses

POLS 100 Intro to Political Science (3) Provides students with an introductory broad approach to the discipline of political science. This course relates current events at the global, national, local, and state levels to a wide array of political science scholarship. This course also includes a career opportunities component, which will feature speakers from the community who can speak to the questions of “What can you do with a major in Political Science?” (Attributes: DS)

POLS 101 Am Politics: National (3) Organization and functioning of the American political system at the national level. (Attributes: DS)

POLS 201 Politics of the Ordinary (3) Introduction to political theory. (Attributes: DS)

POLS 220 Law, Politics, & Society (3) Examination of formal and informal institutions of law according to the U.S. Constitution, courts, and associated cultural, social, and political contexts of governance and everyday jurisprudence. (Attributes: DS, GCC)

POLS 242 Intro To World Politics (3) The theory and substance of international politics, with emphasis on the international behavior of nations. Topics include war, regional integration, the United Nations, and the gap between rich and poor nations. (Attributes: DS)

POLS 251 Intro to Comparative Politics (3) Comparative study of politics, government and economic development in several different countries including Britain, Japan, Russia, China, Mexico, India and Egypt. (Attributes: FGB)

POLS 270 Negotiation (3) An examination of negotiation theory and practice in various domains including interpersonal, intergroup, and international settings

POLS 304 Politics of Power (3) Political theory course that explores conceptualizations of fairness, representation, access, liberty, consumption, work, ownership, and justice in theories and applications from contemporary and historical contexts. (Attributes: ALEX, DS, GCC)

POLS 321 Civil Liberties & Civil Rights (3) Study of the U.S. Constitution and judicial doctrine of the U.S. Supreme Court involving rights and freedoms of the Bill of Rights, suffrage, and equal protection frameworks involving race and ethnicity, sex and gender, class and ability. (Attributes: DS)

POLS 325 Environments of Law (3) Examines elements of law in built, natural, and propertized environments. Topics include spatiality, eminent domain, borders, linear jurisprudence, fluid jurisdictions, public landscapes, and evolving tensions involving environment and justice. (Same as GEOG 325) (Attributes: ALEX, DS, GCC)

POLS 327 Law and Culture (3) Law’s relationship with culture as constructed and contested through social, political, and economic frameworks of belonging, identity, and place (Same as WS 327). (Attributes: DS)

POLS 328 Visual Politics (3) Exploration of the visual, the sensory, and the embodied across legal, social, political, and cultural frameworks involving materialism, mobility-ies, place/placelessness, and public memory (same as PHIL 328). (Attributes: DS)

POLS 330 Mock Trial (3) Experiential learning in a courtroom trial setting. Preparation includes knowledge of functions and roles of court personnel, elements of proof, techniques of direct and cross-examination. Includes role-playing in six mock trial cases. (Formerly offered as POLS 320)

POLS 332 Race, Gender, & the Body (3) This course explores the politics of the body according to the intersectional and dynamic constructions of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, ability, and size. (Same as WS 332)

POLS 335 Environmental Politics (3) This course examines the complexities of environmental politics through such topics as environmental justice, pollution, energy, waste, consumption, conservation, and the Anthropocene.

POLS 337 Politic of Hawaiʻi: State/Local (3) An examination of the institutions and political forces shaping Hawaiʻi’s contemporary state and local governance, focusing on executive, legislative and judicial institutions and their relations, political culture, leadership patterns and recruitment, voter participation in politics, electoral analysis, political economy, local political parties and interest groups. (Attributes: GAHP)

POLS 340 U.S. Foreign Policy (3) The policy-making process with special attention to the role of the President, the Congress, the military, organized lobbies, and the public. Pre: POLS 101 or consent of instructor. (Formerly POLS 440)

POLS 342 International Law (3) Development, functions, and sources of public international law. Survey of major areas: law of the sea; laws of air and space; laws of warfare; pacific settlement of disputes; and rule-making in international organizations. (Attributes: DS)

POLS 345 Model United Nations (3) An examination of the organization of the United Nations, its rules of procedure and major UN issues. The course prepares selected students to represent the University at the National MUN (New York) or Western MUN (San Francisco). May be repeated three times for credit, but only six credits may be applied to the major.

POLS 346 International Organizations (3) Survey of the theories of international political integration, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the European Union, NATO, the Organization of American States, OPEC, and other supraregional and regional economic, security, and political international organizations. (Attributes: DS)

POLS 348 International Human Rights (3) An examination of the theory and practice of international human rights including debate on universalism, empirical cases of human rights violations, the roles of states, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations, and effectiveness of enforcement of human rights. (Attributes: DS, GCC)

POLS 351 Politics Of China Through Film (3) This course will study contemporary Chinese politics and government. Major topics include the Chinese Communist Revolution, Mao Zedong’s socialism, Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms and opening policy, recent development and changes, the Party-state political system, the Hong Kong and Taiwan issues, and the peaceful rise foreign policy. Pre: POLS 251 or instructor's consent. (Attributes: DS, GAHP, HPP)

POLS 353 Politics Of Japan (3) Aspects of Japanese politics, emphasizing the post-1945 period. Topics include political development and change, the political economy of Japan, major political institutions and organizations, policy-making processes, and controversial political issues. (Same as JPST 353) (Attributes: DS, GAHP, HPP)

POLS 355 Internatl Political Economy (3) Topics include world powers and the world economic systems, the third world economic development, political and economic reforms, and Asian development models.

POLS 357 Politics of Pac Rim Thru Film (3) This course will study politics of the Pacific Rim region, focusing on (1) the political economy of the Asia-Pacific nations, (2) models of development of the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, India, and major Southeast nations, and (3) the challenging issues of the region in the twenty-first century. (Attributes: HPP)

POLS 374 Indigenous Dispute Resolution (3) An examination of the theory and practices of indigenous forms of dispute resolution from around the world.

POLS 377 Restorative Justice (3) This course will provide an introduction to the principles and practices of Restorative Justice, including the historical and indigenous roots, and will explore specific models of practice used both globally and locally.

POLS 380 Methods Of Research (3) The logic and approaches used by social scientists; concept formation, design of research projects, choice of techniques and interpretation of results. Pre: POLS 100 or POLS 101 or consent of instructor. (Previously POLS 280) (Attributes: DS, GQ)

POLS 391 Internship (3–12) (other) Application of knowledge and skills in a public, private, or government agency/setting. A total of 15 credits of POLS 391 and POLS 481 may be applied to the POLS major. Pre: instructor's consent, preapproved placement, statement of learning objectives, and completed internship contract. (Attributes: ALEX, DS, GCC)

POLS 402 Critical Aesthetics (3) Advanced course in political theory.

POLS 442 War and the State (3) This course will study the major wars between states in the world in the past hundred years, focusing how these wars started and ended and how they shaped the development of nations and the world. We will focus on World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the India- Pakistan conflicts, the Israeli-Arab wars, the Iraq War, the Afghan War, and the recent conflicts in the Middle East.

POLS 443 Int'l Conflict Management (3) An examination of a variety of international conflict management strategies that employ diplomacy or coercion, such as negotiation, mediation, economics sanctions, peacekeeping, and humanitarian intervention. (Previously offered as POLS 343)

POLS 444 Law, Property, and Nature (3) Examines the relationship between nature, property, and legal regulation. Topics will include takings jurisprudence, land use management and ownership, riparian rights, air rights, public spaces, and the evolving relationship between culture, law, and the environment. Pre: junior or senior standing. This course is dual listed with CBES 644. (Attributes: DS, GCC)

POLS 457 U.S.-China Relations (3) This course surveys the history of U.S.-China relations to the present and gives in-depth consideration to contemporary issues including China's human rights record, the issue of Taiwan, U.S.-China trade relations, and China's global role in the twenty-first century. (Attributes: HPP)

POLS 470S Seminar in Political Science (3) (other) This course provides an intensive examination of the major concepts, categories and methods of political science. Topics include political ideologies, attitudes, voting behavior, institutions of government, public policy, law, justice and world politics. Pre: Junior or senior standing.

POLS 479 ADR in Action (3) Survey and practice of different types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Focusing on a skill training component using different ADR techniques. Pre: POLS 270

POLS 490 Senior Thesis (3) Individual research in problems of special interest. Pre: consent of instructor.

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POLS x94 Special Topics in Subject Matter (Arr.) Special topics chosen by the instructor. Course content will vary. May be repeated for credit, provided that a different topic is studied. Additional requirements may apply depending on subject and topic.

POLS x99 Directed Studies (Arr.) Statement of planned reading or research required. Pre: instructor’s consent.