Transfer Student Courses in Political Science (Division 450)

Winter Term, 2000 (January 5 - April 26, 2000)

To see what Transfer Student courses have been added or changed in Political Science this week go to What's New This Week.

Section 001 – Eastern Europe Since 1900. Meets with History 439.001

Instructor(s): Brian Porter (baporter@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in REES 397. (4). (SS). Laboratory fee ($10) required.

Credits: (4; 3 in the half-term).

Lab Fee: Laboratory fee ($10) required.

Course Homepage: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~baporter/syl43900.html

See History 439.001.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Vincent Hutchings (vicenth@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: Two courses in political science. (3). (Excl).

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course focuses upon the evolution, nature, and role of African American politics within the American Political System. The concern is with African Americans as actors and creators and initiators in the political process. And the course will focus upon the inputs, the responses of the decision makers and the outputs in terms the political process. And the course will focus upon the inputs, the responses of the decision makers, and the outputs in terms of public policies. And finally the various controversies will be explored and analyzed in regard to African American politics.

Student evaluation will be based on two exams and a ten-page paper. Of course, participation in each seminar is expected. The course will have three to four texts that will be selected later. Finally, the methods of instruction will include lectures and classroom discussions.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Zvi Gitelman (zvigitel@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (Excl).

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

Israel is a microcosm of important political processes and issues common to many polities around the world. This course examines some of these, including ideology and nation-building; how the state manages a multi-ethnic society; the intersection of ethnicity, religion and the state; the role of political parties; the relationship of domestic to foreign policies; the nature and consequences of proportional representation and coalition formation. We take up some of the more contentious issues in contemporary Israel politics: the role of religion in public life, relations between Jews and Arabs and between Ashkenazi and Sefardi Jews, the resettlement of immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.

Section 001 – Science and Technology: Societal Effects – Debates, Late 19th Century to the Present

Instructor(s): Ted Miller (tedhm@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: Senior standing, primarily for seniors concentrating in political science. (3). (Excl). May be elected for credit twice.

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

The effects of science and technology on society have been an ongoing topic among modern (and “post-modern”) political theorists. We trace elements of this debate in this course from the late 19th Century to the present. We will ask, “What is it to claim a capacity for political judgment?” and then we will consider how scientific and technological developments have challenged such claims (especially in the context of the modern state). We will follow debates that have since ensued. We will consider the enthusiasm that accompanied early attempts at a scientific approach to politics, and the counter-claims of its critics. Readings will include works by Nietzsche, Weber, Engels, Lippman, Dewey, Oakeshott, Gadamer, and Foucault. Particular attention will be devoted to Herbert Marcuse’s One Dimensional Man, and Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition.