Political Science

This course introduces the student to some of the important ideas of politics. It draws special attention to conceptions of the state, democracy and capitalism, and their significance for contemporary life. Available only online.

Introduces students to the major issues and concepts involved in the study of political science through a comparison of politics in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The course is built around an exploration of the links between the institutions and processes of government (executives, legislatures, courts and elections) and the political society of each country (its values, cultures, ideologies, and social conflicts).

Examines contemporary and enduring issues within the context of the Canadian political system. Topics may include: Quebec and national unity, aboriginal self-government, cultural and regional diversity, class conflict, and electoral reform.

Considers the political origins and long-term political impact, as well as the effect on the field of political science, of crises which have shaped the contemporary world, such as the Russian Revolution, the Holocaust, the dropping of the atomic bomb, the Cold War, the rise of the welfare state, the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Introduces students to the important political ideas and movements of the past century that shape present day society. Tracing the development and thinking about political life in the twentieth century, it examines such diverse ideologies as: liberalism, social Darwinism, existentialism, feminism, ecologism, and post-modernism.

Introduces students to some of the main concepts of political science, including: constitutionalism, the rule of law, rights, citizenship, obligation, authority, and legitimacy. Students will also study the concrete applications of these principles in specific circumstances by examining selected political problems, public policies, and legal procedures.

The term 'globalization' has quickly become one of the most popular, yet least understood, words in the contemporary political vocabulary. This course introduces students to the key issues involved in the study of globalization. Topics examined may include: militarization and warfare, the rise of the global neo-liberal order, the end of the Cold War, international ecological politics, transnational corporations, the condition of women in the global economy, changing relations between North and South, and the impact of globalization on the role of the nation-state.

Surveys the American political experience with a focus on the post-1945 period. Topics include the paranoid tradition in American politics, the New Deal consensus, the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, the Second Wave feminist movement, the war against Vietnam, the rise of the New Right and post-9/11 American Foreign policy.

An introductory course in Canadian government and politics, dealing with the following topics: the constitution and civil liberties; federalism, with some focus on Quebec; the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government; political parties and interest groups; representation and electoral behaviour; nationalism in Canada. Students cannot hold credit for both POLS 2200 and POLS 3282 . 

Major issues in Canadian public policy-making and related approaches to policy analysis are examined from the perspective of political science. Topics will include health policy, economic policy, and cultural policy.

This course introduces students to key political issues facing developing countries using a comparative politics approach. Key themes include state formation; sovereignty, democracy and accountability; economic strategy; impact of globalization.

This course focuses on only two parts of what we call the Middle, or Near, East: the first is the Fertile Crescent or Mashrek, which includes Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Syria; the other deals with the states of the Persian Gulf with particular concentration on Iran and Iraq.

This course maps the rise of the Second Wave feminist movement in North America, examining women’s engagement with politics on issues concerning citizenship, the economy, legal status, the division of public and private, and bodily autonomy.

This course introduces students to similarities and differences in the political culture, political insitutions and public policies of countries in the industrialized world (Western Europe and North America primarily).

A general introduction to the theory and practice of international relations. Issues examined include: war, the global economy, international organizations, and the environment.