Political Thought Minor

Basic background and methods for analysis of current issues in international affairs such as the arms race, detente, human rights and the role of multinational corporations.

The development of judicial interpretation of the U.S. Constitution from 1789 to the present will be examined in this course with an emphasis on the political, social, cultural, and economic context for key Supreme Court decisions. Using the case study method to introduce students to legal reasoning, topics will include controversial court decisions involving race, religion, gender, and limits of government authority.

This course will analyze the nuances and trace the development of western political thought from classical Greece to 17th century northern Europe with particular attention given to the big questions facing every generation concerning the nature of political association and the good society. Students will become familiar with each major political thinker, the context in which they wrote, and influence upon the history of ideas.

This course will analyze the nuances and trace the development, of western political thought from the early Enlightenment (17th century) to the present with particular attention given to the big questions facing every generation concerning the nature of political association and the good society. Students will become familiar with each major political thinker, the context in which they wrote, and influence upon the history of ideas.

This course will look at the origins of the American political system from the end of the Seven Years' War through the Louisiana Purchase and Marbury vs. Madison with a focus on government under the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, ratification controversies, the first political party system, and Jeffersonian vs. Hamiltonian approaches to government.

The role of religion in American public life will be examined in this course with a special emphasis on the interpretation and impact of the First Amendment and the concept of "separation of church and state" on religious and political life in the United States.