A semester-long study of topics in International Studies. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course introduces ideas and approaches key to understanding the political systems of different countries. Using examples and case studies from around the world, it introduces concepts that illuminate their similarities and differences, considers theoretical perspectives that explain those patterns, and examines trends of continuity and change in the political systems of countries around the world. Possible topics include: states (formation, structure, and strength, weakness or failure); state-society relations; collective identities and social movements; civil society; political regimes (democracy, authoritarian, and hybrid) and regime dynamics; electoral systems, bureaucracy and governance; formal, contentious, and revolutionary politics.
Analysis and evaluation of the contending paradigms that inform the study of international politics. Examination of the relevance of these paradigms for understanding the nature and dynamics of the contemporary international system with special emphasis on selected international issues, e.g., nationalism, race and gender, global political economy, human rights, international law, national security and the global environment. Closed to seniors except with consent of instructor.
This course involves active student participation in specifically designed semester-long simulations that reproduce some aspect of global politics. The theme of each simulation will be determined by the instructor teaching the course. Among the simulation scenarios to be offered are parliamentary politics, activities of non-governmental organizations, and negotiations within and among intergovernmental organizations. The course also emphasizes aspects of equity, diversity, and inclusion, highlighting mutual understanding, equity, and inclusion under conditions of diversity along culturally-significant dimensions.
A semester-long study of topics in International Studies. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
Comparative study of politics, development and change in selected countries. Topics include state-society relations, political and economic regimes and their patterns of change, the politics surrounding various aspects of social and economic development, and the developing world within the international system.
This course examines the complex process of globalization that is transforming contemporary politics, economics and culture. The course addresses the movements of political and cultural forms, people, knowledge, capital, technology and consumer goods across national boundaries; and analyzes their effects on state autonomy, public policy, political and cultural change and resistance and equity. Not open to first-year students.
This course analyzes Asia’s international relations on the regional and global levels, identifying and analyzing factors and forces that influence stability and instability, conflict and cooperation, integration and fragmentation in political, strategic, political economy, and sociocultural dimensions. Drawing on historical and contemporary dynamics, it examines the foreign policies of various nation states in Asia, models of diplomacy, key meanings and challenges to international security, regionalization and regionalism, and topics of emerging significance in Asia’s international relations.
Comparative examination of political systems and political economies in Asia, including China, Japan, India, and select countries in Northeast, Southeast and South Asia. Explores key historical and contemporary controversies in Asian politics. Highlights similarities and contrasts in patterns of change in pursuit of an over-arching intellectual inquiry: to what extent, and in what ways, does Asia's experience reflect distinct forms of political and economics modernization?
This course examines the nature of the relationship between capitalism and democracy, in various areas of the world including the U.S.A., from a range of theoretical and historical perspectives. Student will critically assess theories of the development of democracy in capitalist societies as well as of the market's effects on political representation and policy making, and review debates about the tensions and affinities between those systems in the contemporary period. Questions to be addressed include: What explains democratic and authoritarian pathways to economic modernization in the 19th and early 20th centuries? Does the relationship between capitalism and democracy show distinct regional variations, and if so, why? In what ways do capitalism and democracy function in harmony or in friction, and why? What role does market consolidation play in democratic transitions, and vice versa? Are welfare states and distinct national patterns of capitalist organization viable in the 21st century?
A semester-long study of topics in International Studies. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
A semester-long study of topics in International Studies. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
Interdisciplinary examination of international issues with emphasis on global interdependence.
Willamette University