Courses

POLS B121 Introduction to U.S. Politics

Fall 2024

As the American political system continues to face challenges from both the right and the left, it is more important than ever to understand its key features, institutions, personnel and policy-making processes. This course provides a broad overview of the structures, personnel and institutions that govern and shape elections and policymaking in the United States. This course provides an overview of these key features. Writing Attentive.

Course does not meet an Approach

Back to top

POLS B131 Introduction to Comparative Politics

Spring 2025

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the discipline of comparative politics. We will explore the primary approaches and concepts scholars employ in order to systematically analyze the political world. In doing so, we will also examine the political structures, institutions, and behaviors of a number of countries around the world. Questions we will engage with include: What is power and how is it exercised? What are the differences between democratic and authoritarian regimes? How do different countries develop their economies? What factors shape the relationships between states and their societies? By the end of this course, students will be equipped to answer these questions and prepared for further study in political science.

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Counts Toward: International Studies; International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B141 Introduction to International Politics

Fall 2024, Spring 2025

This course offers an introduction to international politics to acquaint students with major trends and themes in international relations and global affairs. The course is divided into two units. The first unit explores the foundational concepts and theories and the history of international relations. The second unit focuses on key issues in international relations, such as the rise of populism & authoritarianism, international organizations, global peace & security initiatives, human rights, and forced migration. Throughout the semester, students will be asked to connect these theories and topics to issues that are playing out in the world today. This course is a pre-requisite for other International Politics courses within the Pol Sci department.

Counts Toward: International Studies; International Studies; Peace Justice and Human Rights.

Back to top

POLS B205 European Politics: Coming Together or Falling Apart?

Not offered 2024-25

The European Union is one of the most ambitious experiments in international cooperation ever attempted. Despite the EU's many successes, sources of conflict between and within European countries have persisted. With the recent Greek financial crisis ("Grexit"), the Syrian refugee crisis, Britain's departure ("Brexit"), and the rise of far-right nationalist parties in many member countries, the union is starting to look frayed around the edges. In fact, each move toward European unity has dropped barriers for some while raising them for others. In this course, we will explore European politics from the edges, from the borders separating the included from the excluded. These borders may be geographical, political, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, or cultural in nature. Our focus will be on political initiatives from the bottom up and the outside in. From this perspective, we will try to make sense of the interactions that produce cross-cutting pressures toward European unification on the one hand and toward dissolution of the European experiment on the other. We will cover issue areas such as migrant labor, housing and urban quality of life, immigration and refugee policy, climate, pandemic response, education and collective memory, defense and security, and information politics.

Back to top

POLS B221 Gender and Comparative Politics

Spring 2025

This course explores the dynamic intersection of gender and politics within a comparative framework. Through a feminist and intersectional lens, students will engage in major debates in the field of comparative politics, including but not limited to the State, social movements, authoritarianism, populism, democracy, institutions, and backlash. The course maps the trajectory of feminist work across various areas of comparative research, using examples from different world regions and periods to analyze similarities and differences across global cases. This course fulfills a 200-level requirement for both Comparative Politics and American Politics for Political Science majors. Prerequisite: Students must have taken either Intro to International Politics, Intro to Comparative Politics, or Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Counts Toward: Gender Sexuality Studies.

Back to top

POLS B224 Comparative Political Phil: China, Greece, and the "West"

Not offered 2024-25

An introduction to the dialogic construction of comparative political philosophy, using texts from several cultures or worlds of thought: ancient and modern China, ancient Greece, and the modern West. The course will have three parts. First, a consideration of the synchronous emergence of philosophy in ancient (Axial Age) China and Greece; second, the 19th century invention of the modern "West" and Chinese responses to this development; and third, the current discussions and debates about globalization, democracy, and human rights now going on in China and the West. Prerequisite: At least one course in either Philosophy, Political Theory, or East Asian Studies, or consent of the instructor.

Back to top

POLS B228 Introduction to Political Philosophy: Ancient and Early Modern

Spring 2025

An introduction to the fundamental problems of political philosophy, especially the relationship between political life and the human good or goods.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Classical Studies; International Studies; Philosophy.

Back to top

POLS B231 Introduction to Political Philosophy: Modern

Not offered 2024-25

A continuation of POLS 228, although 228 is not a prerequisite. Particular attention is given to the various ways in which the concept of freedom is used in explaining political life. Readings from Locke, J.S. Mill, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche and others.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

Back to top

POLS B233 Intro to Research Design and Data Analysis for PoliSci

Fall 2024

This course offers students an introduction to the research design and methods used in political science. Topics are as follows (but are not limited to): (1) Positivism vs. interpretivism, (2) Causal vs. descriptive inference (3) Conceptualization, operationalization and measurement, (4) Experimental design, (5) Quasi-experimental design, (6) Survey research and sampling, (7) In-depth interviewing, (8) Quantitative data analysis and statistics, (9) Case selection, and (10) Multi-method research design. Students will have problem sets to finish every two weeks for which they will use the necessary software (usually R and R Studio). At the end of the semester, they will submit a research design which they can use as a basis for their senior thesis.

Quantitative Methods (QM)

Counts Toward: Data Science.

Back to top

POLS B242 Gender and International Organizations

Fall 2024

Employing a multi-disciplinary feminist lens, this class examines women's and LGBTQIA+ rights within the United Nations system, with a primary focus on human rights and peace & security. This course seeks to expose students to the complex issues - social, political, economic, and legal - that characterize women's and LGBTQIA+ rights around the globe. The theoretical foundations are in the area of gender mainstreaming, which is the practice of integrating a gender equality perspective across all governing systems including but not limited to policy development, political representation, institutional regulations, program building, and budgeting. Students will be asked to conduct research on women's and/or LGBTQIA+ rights within a country of their choice. Students will present their findings to the class as well as write a final report. Prerequisite: Introductory Political Science Course or Instructor's permission.

Course does not meet an Approach

Counts Toward: Gender Sexuality Studies; International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B245 Philosophy of Law

Fall 2024

Introduces students to a variety of questions in the philosophy of law. Readings will be concerned with the nature of law, the character of law as a system, the ethical character of law, and the relationship of law to politics, power, authority, and society. Readings will include philosophical arguments about law, as well as judicial cases through which we examine these ideas within specific contexts, especially tort and contracts. Most or all of the specific issues discussed will be taken from Anglo-American law, although the general issues considered are not limited to those legal systems. Recommended Prerequisite: sophomore standing, freshman only with professor's consent.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

Back to top

POLS B249 Politics of Economic Development

Fall 2024

How do we explain the variations of political and economic systems in the world? What is the relationship between the state and the market? To what extent does the timing of industrialization affect the viability of certain developmental strategies? This seminar introduces the intellectual history of comparative political economy and development studies with readings on both comparative political economy and international political economy. First, we will examine the debates on the dynamics of the state and the market in the development and globalization process. Second, we will explore specific case studies to discuss: 1) how the political and economic processes have changed in response to the interaction of the domestic and international arenas, 2) whether and how the late developers learned from the experiences of early developers, 3) how the international economy and international financial crisis shaped domestic development strategies. Lastly, we will analyze the developmental concerns at the sub-national level with financial liberalization. Prerequisite: Freshman can enroll after they have taken 100 level courses in social science and after getting instructor permission.

Course does not meet an Approach

Counts Toward: International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B251 Democracy, Politics and the Media

Not offered 2024-25

This course explores the politics of mass communication with an emphasis on the United States. Special attention will be paid to the relationships between the public, media, and government; the institutional structure of the news media and recent changes to the communication system; and factors shaping the construction of the news such as journalistic routines, media economics, and interactions with political actors. Students will critically engage with contemporary political discourse and journalism. Throughout, the course will highlight connections between empirical research and relevant concepts from political theory and philosophy.

Course does not meet an Approach

Back to top

POLS B256 Global Politics of Climate Change

Not offered 2024-25

This course will introduce students to important political issues raised by climate change locally, nationally, and internationally, paying particular attention to the global implications of actions at the national and subnational levels. It will focus not only on specific problems, but also on solutions; students will learn about some of the technological and policy innovations that are being developed worldwide in response to the challenges of climate change. Only open to students in 360 program.

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Power, Inequity, and Justice (PIJ)

Counts Toward: Environmental Studies; Environmental Studies; Growth and Structure of Cities.

Back to top

POLS B266 Virtue, Friendship, and Democratic Practice

Spring 2025

How are you a friend - to yourself and to others - and how does friendship shape identity, society, and politics? This course brings the everydayness of friendship to imaginative and critical inquiry, examining the meaning of friendship, what it demands of us, and what kind of politics might emerge through practices of friendship. It seeks to prove the value of friendship for philosophical and political thinking while also pursuing friendship at the level of pedagogy and discipline. Bringing together classical texts as well as religious / theological texts and contemporary political theory, this course will bridge the instructors' two disciplines of Religious Studies and Political Science. Readings will include Aristotle and Aquinas; feminist theorists of friendship and accountability such as Sara Ahmed and Judith Butler; and contemporary political theorists of identity and race such as Danielle Allen and Leela Gandhi. Writing projects will pursue practices of friendship through collaboration, call and response, and affective encounters.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Back to top

POLS B272 The Power of the People: Democratic Revolutions

Not offered 2024-25

We often invoke "democracy" as the very ground of political legitimacy, but there is very little agreement on what democracy means, why we might desire it, or how state institutions, law, and political culture might embody it. In this seminar we will grapple with some recent and influential accounts of democratic governance and democratic movements today. Our objective will be to develop a critical vocabulary for understanding what democracy might mean, what conditions it requires, and what "best practices" citizens committed to democracy might enlist to confront political challenges such as the structural divisions that persist among class, gender, and race; persistent inequality and influence of money and corporations; and the potential for democratic, grass-roots power as a vital ingredient to democratic flourishing. Writing Intensive.

Writing Intensive

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

Back to top

POLS B277 Creating Queer Studies

Not offered 2024-25

This class tackles the origins and development of queer theory in academia. We begin with an overview of late 1980s feminism before turning to the creation of queer theory. During class discussions, students will evaluate the ways that feminist, queer, and trans politics overlap and diverge. The purpose of the course is to enrich students' understanding of critical knowledge production in academia. Throughout the semester we will ask about the implications of "origin stories" and the ways that such narratives shape future directions of queer scholarship.

Back to top

POLS B283 Middle East Politics

Fall 2024

This course offers an overview on the contemporary politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the relevant social (mostly political) science work on it. It brings together empirical knowledge on domestic and transnational politics in different countries of the region and how empirical political science around the big questions is conducted. Each module of the course revolves around a central question that has been keeping social and political scientists busy in the last decades: What triggers risky protest movements in authoritarian settings? Why has the MENA region remained authoritarian despite successive global waves of democratization? Under which conditions do transitions to democracies succeed? Do monarchies in the Middle East have an advantage in ensuring political stability, and if so, why? Is it impossible to ensure good governance and peace at the same time in divided societies? What motivates people to take up arms in the name of religion and sect? What are the reasons behind the economic underdevelopment of the MENA region? Students are also invited to think about these "big questions" and take MENA countries as their case studies, while at the same significantly enhancing their contextual knowledge about the region. No prerequisites, but either some prior familiarity with the Middle East or a prior political science course encouraged.

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Counts Toward: Hebrew and Judaic Studies; International Studies; International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B289 Revolutions and Political Violence

Spring 2025

The course aims to understand why ethnic riots, civil conflict, and political protest occur and why participation in these events varies among individuals, groups, and states.

Course does not meet an Approach

Counts Toward: International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B292 Russian Politics

Spring 2025

This course provides an overview of Russia's government and politics since the fall of the Soviet Union. It answers questions about why the Russian economy collapsed in the early 1990s, what explains Vladimir Putin's rise, and the reasons for Russian foreign aggression, including the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Writing Attentive

Counts Toward: International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B304 Community and the Politics of Places

Not offered 2024-25

This course investigates what community means, how communities organize themselves around place, and how these places are integral/included/participants in community, in particular as sources of energy and resources for extraction. We will take orientation from the argument developed by Daniel Kemmis, former minority leader in the Montana House of Representatives and Mayor of Missoula, who articulated a collective, cooperative model for place-based governance in the American West. We'll then consider this model and some of its critics in three key areas where place has mattered, for better or for worse: Appalachia and coal; Athabasca and oil; and Alaska and nuclear power. Each case will offer an opportunity to think through the meaning and politics of community as well as to develop frameworks of power analysis that can illustrate how change might occur. Prerequisite: One Social Science course or permission of instructor

Back to top

POLS B310 Comparative Public Policy

Not offered 2024-25

A comparison of policy processes and outcomes across space and time. Focusing on particular issues such as health care, domestic security, water and land use, we identify institutional, historical, and cultural factors that shape policies. We also examine the growing importance of international-level policy making and the interplay between international and domestic pressures on policy makers. Writing attentive. Prerequisite: One course in Political Science or public policy.

Back to top

POLS B327 Political Philosophy in the 20th Century

Not offered 2024-25

A study of 20th- and 21st-century extensions of three traditions in Western political philosophy: the adherents of the German and English ideas of freedom and the founders of classical naturalism. Authors read include Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Jurgen Habermas, and John Rawls. Topics include the relationship of individual rationality and political authority, cosmopolitanism, the "crisis of modernity," and the debate concerning contemporary democratic citizenship. Prerequisite: Two courses in text-based political philosophy or political theory, or consent of the instructor.

Back to top

POLS B330 Queer Rights and Politics

Not offered 2024-25

This is an upper-level course designed to introduce students to the study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ) politics and activism outside of the US. We will study the formations of LGBTQ identities, state regulation of sexuality and gender, public policy (partnership, healthcare, etc), religious attitudes, political participation by LGBTQ people, and migration and asylum practices. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with the current status of LGBTQ people around the world and help them to hone their independent research and writing skills. Suggested pre-requisite: a 100 or 200 level comparative politics course, political theory course, or gender & sexualities course.

Back to top

POLS B331 Environmental Security

Spring 2025

The course explores the effects of environmental pressures on the outbreak of conflict and the rise of both internal and international migration. The course covers how pressures from decreased food and water, as well as natural disasters, floods, and droughts may lead to increases and decreases in conflict and migration as well as other political outcomes related to security.

Writing Intensive

Counts Toward: Environmental Studies.

Back to top

POLS B339 Bureaucracy & Democracy in America

Not offered 2024-25

This course is an upper-level seminar designed primarily for juniors and seniors who want to spend the Semester reading about and discussing the role of the federal bureaucracy in the U.S. political system. Topics will include the history of the federal bureaucracy, the bureaucratic policymaking process & administrative law, the roles of expertise and politics in agency decision-making, the competition among the three constitutional branches to "control" the bureaucracy, and the normative goals of competence, responsiveness and representativeness. Discussion of current events - including the federal government's response to COVID and the role of race in public administration - will be a central part of the seminar. Attention will also be paid - and assignments oriented towards - preparing students for the Senior Experience.

Back to top

POLS B345 Big Data, Big Impact, Big Responsibilities: Fundamentals and Ethics of Data Science

Fall 2024

The era of "big data" has dramatically altered the way people tackle political, social, and economic issues to analyze and generate solutions, as well as the way they conduct social science research. Data is powerful and beautiful, yet deceitful. As such, big data can create many impactful solutions across the world while carrying big risks that require bigger responsibilities. This course aims to help students also nurture an informed mindset of how to use data properly and to what end - from ethical, legal, and public policy perspectives. Prerequisite: One course in Data Science AND one course in Social Sciences or International Studies.

Course does not meet an Approach

Counts Toward: Data Science.

Back to top

POLS B351 Women and American Politics

Not offered 2024-25

This course examines the role of women in American politics the second wave of feminism to present. The course will focus on academic literature from political science and include topics such as partisanship, campaigning, and voter behavior. What has been the role of women in American politics? Are there differences at the federal v. state v. local level? What political changes have they achieved and what strategies were most effective? How do other categories of difference, such as race, ability, sexuality, and class, intersect with our gendered expectations? Prerequisite: One course in US Politics or permission of instructor.

Back to top

POLS B352 Peace Studies in International Politics

Fall 2024

This course explores the role and processes of peacemaking in international politics. It examines key theoretical and empirical debates on peace mobilizations, peace negotiations, peace agreements, and transitional justice. This course also considers gendered aspects, perspectives, and debates in each of these substantive research areas. While the geographical scope of the course is global, there will be a large focus on the 1998 Northern Ireland and the 2016 Colombian peace processes. This writing-intensive course prepares seniors for their thesis. It will require writing and peer review assignments throughout the semester, culminating in a 25-30-page paper at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: One intro POLS course or permission from instructor

Course does not meet an Approach

Counts Toward: Latin American Iberian Latinx.

Back to top

POLS B353 Politics and Fiction

Not offered 2024-25

This course explores relations of politics and fiction from two directions and using two kinds of texts. The greater part of the course will be concerned with "political fiction" in a broad sense of that term: here we will explore some works of (mostly) contemporary literature and film that reflect on such themes as: authority, governance, bureaucracy, totalitarianism and pluralism, the relation of public and private, and the politics of truth and narrative. Secondly, drawing on non-fictional texts, we will take up some related questions of "fictional politics." Here, our concerns will be with the role of political myth generally, but more specifically with the particular "fictionality" of contemporary politics. Authors may include Milan Kundera, Václav Havel, Franz Kafka, Kenzaburo Oe, Jorge Luis Borges, Jane Campion, Akira Kurosawa, Joan Didion, and Hannah Arendt. Prerequisite: One lower-division course in Political Theory, Philosophy, English, or Comparative Literature, or consent of instructor.

Back to top

POLS B358 Freedom in the 21st Century

Not offered 2024-25

This course investigates what freedom means, how political communities organize themselves around freedom, and how contestation about freedom is essential in twenty-first century political life. We will take orientation from the argument developed by David Graeber and David Wengrow in The Dawn of Everything, which suggests that freedom and not equality is the site of political struggle today. We'll give some time to contextualizing Graber and Wengrow's historical inquiry as a political project in response to interrelated crises of ecology and democracy of the present moment. Expanding from this point of origin (which will be linked to the other courses in the 360), we'll then consider how theorists and practitioners around the world have considered freedom's perils and possibilities: abolitionist organizing in the work of Mariame Kaba; democratic socialism in the theory of Axel Honneth; freedom as a mask for state-sactioned violence in the critical queer work of Chanan Reddy; escape and flight from such states realized through "freedom as marronage"; and freedom as an Indigenous political project in the the work of Taiaiake Alfred, Glen Coulthard, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Each approach will offer an opportunity to think through the meaning and politics of freedom as well as to develop frameworks of political analysis that can illustrate how struggles for freedom shape and structure politics today. Prerequisite: One course in Political Theory or Philosophy or Permission of instructor.

Back to top

POLS B361 On The Human Condition: The Political Thinking of Hannah Are

Not offered 2024-25

Pursuing a close study of Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition, one of the most influential works of political theory written in the twentieth century, this course will investigate Arendt's magnum opus in its contexts: situated in the history of political thought, in the political debates of the 1950s, and as political thinking of urgent relevance today. While we study Arendt's texts, focusing specifically on The Human Condition, we will also seek to understand and practice her unique form of political thinking by not only reading her texts in their historical contexts but also considering our own contexts as readers of Arendt in the twenty-first century. Our approach to Arendt will thus seek to develop her idea of "political thinking" while also creating our own exercises in political thinking over the course of the semester, drawing together issues in politics today, the concepts and arguments Arendt proposes, and the history of political thought her work engages.

Back to top

POLS B366 From the Great Wall to the DMZ: Power, Politics, and Prosper

Not offered 2024-25

This senior seminar is designed to examine the political, economic, and strategic transformations that have shaped modern East Asia, focusing on China, Japan, and the two Koreas. From ancient tributary systems to contemporary flashpoints, the course will explore the region's historical foundations and current complexities, with a particular emphasis on how power, politics, and economics have intersected in the formation of East Asian states and their relationships with one another. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and in-class activities, students will engage with key themes that have shaped East Asia's past and continue to influence its future trajectories. This course aims to equip students with the critical tools necessary to analyze the evolving dynamics of East Asia and their broader implications for global politics. Prerequisite: This course is a seminar open to juniors and seniors, featuring extensive readings, discussions, and writing assignments.

Back to top

POLS B371 Topics in Political Philosophy

Section 001 (Fall 2024): Governing the Self and Others
Section 1 (Fall 2025): Governing the Self and Others

Fall 2024

An advanced seminar on a topic in political or legal philosophy/theory. Topics vary by year. Prerequisite: At least one course in political theory or philosophy or consent of instructor.

Current topic description: What does it mean to call Bryn Mawr and Haverford self-governing institutions? Or to believe that we - citizens of various communities, nations, or states - govern ourselves? Higher education institutions are not alone in invoking self-governance as both ethical and educational; this seminar seeks to reflect deeply about the meanings of self-governance, why we might desire it, and how political institutions, laws, and culture might embody it. We will grapple with some recent and influential accounts of governance and politics from communitarian, queer-anarchistic, Afro-Pessimist, Indigenous, and democratic perspectives. Our objective will be to develop and implement critical vocabulary for understanding and implementing what self-governance might mean, what conditions it requires, and what "best practices" community members and citizens committed to it might enlist to realize its potential for self-development and collective flourishing.

Counts Toward: Philosophy.

Back to top

POLS B378 Origins of American Constitutionalism

Not offered 2024-25

This course will explore some aspects of early American constitutional thought, particularly in the periods immediately preceding and following the American Revolution. The premise of the course is that many of the questions that arose during that period-concerning, for example, the nature of law, the idea of sovereignty, and the character of legitimate political authority-remain important questions for political, legal, and constitutional thought today, and that studying the debates of the revolutionary period can help sharpen our understanding of these issues. Prerequisites: sophomore standing and previous course work in American history, American government, political theory, or legal studies.

Counts Toward: History.

Back to top

POLS B381 Nietzsche

Fall 2024

This course examines Nietzsche's thought, with particular focus on such questions as the nature of the self, truth , irony, aggression, play, joy, love, and morality. The texts for the course are drawn mostly from Nietzsche's own writing, but these are complemented by some contemporary work in moral philosophy and philosophy of mind that has a Nietzschean influence.

Counts Toward: Comparative Literature; German and German Studies; Philosophy.

Back to top

POLS B382 Political Parties, Polarization and Democracy

Spring 2025

Political parties are facing a crisis around the world. Trust in them as civic organizations plummets. Elite politicians do not invest in party organization-building and find other ways to build linkages with voters. Meanwhile, new forms of civic and political participation emerge, such as social media activism, boycotting and 'buy'cotting, and occupation of urban spaces, the implications of which cannot be very well understood by parties. The Middle East and North Africa region, with its history of personalistic and/or militaristic authoritarian regimes, weak party organizations and divided societies, is experiencing an acute form of this crisis. While there is a heightened sense of political participation in the region, as indicated by the repetitive waves of protests since the early 2010s, people debate whether democracy and/or good governance are attainable without political parties.

Writing Intensive

Counts Toward: International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B391 International Political Economy

Fall 2024

This seminar examines the growing importance of economic issues in world politics and traces the development of the modern world economy from its origins in colonialism and the industrial revolution, through to the globalization of recent decades. Major paradigms in political economy are critically examined. Aspects of and issues in international economic relations such as development, finance, trade, migration, and foreign investment are examined in the light of selected approaches. This course is open to all students who have the prerequisites. Prerequisite: One course in International Politics or Economics is required. Preference is given to seniors although juniors are accepted.

Writing Attentive

Counts Toward: International Studies; International Studies.

Back to top

POLS B399 Senior Essay

Back to top

POLS B403 Supervised Work

Back to top

POLS B420 Praxis Fieldwork Seminar

This course supports students while they engage in Praxis fieldwork in organizations that focus on politics, elections and/or public policy. In addition to the 8-10 hours spent at their fieldwork placements, students will meet for one hour weekly in a Praxis seminar with the instructor and other Praxis students. These seminar meetings will provide students with an opportunity to reflect together about their experiences in the field and to help connect those experiences to political science theory and to academic readings about American politics, policy and elections. Note: Students are eligible to take up to two Praxis Fieldwork Seminars or Praxis Independent Studies during their time at Bryn Mawr.

Back to top

POLS B425 Praxis III: Independent Study

Praxis III courses are Independent Study courses and are developed by individual students, in collaboration with faculty and field supervisors. A Praxis courses is distinguished by genuine collaboration with fieldsite organizations and by a dynamic process of reflection that incorporates lessons learned in the field into the classroom setting and applies theoretical understanding gained through classroom study to work done in the broader community. Note: Students are eligible to take up to two Praxis Fieldwork Seminars or Praxis Independent Studies during their time at Bryn Mawr.

Counts Toward: Praxis Program.

Back to top

ANTH B329 The politics of belonging and exclusion in India

Not offered 2024-25

Since India's economic liberalization in the early 1990s, the globalizing dynamics of cultural and economic liberalization have been accompanied by renewed articulations of who belongs in the "New India" and who doesn't. In this context, caste, class, religious community, language, and gender have become crucial sites for claiming citizenship, articulating distinctions among people, and constructing senses of what and who can inhabit the public sphere. Using materials from different regions of India, our focus will be on how fine-grained ethnographic study can be a tool to examine the broader dynamics of belonging and exclusion and its political and social effects. This course fulfills the BMC Anthropology major/minor ethnographic area requirement.

Back to top

ARCH B244 Great Empires of the Ancient Near East

Fall 2024

A survey of the history, material culture, political and religious ideologies of, and interactions among, the five great empires of the ancient Near East of the second and first millennia B.C.E.: New Kingdom Egypt, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia, the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires in Mesopotamia, and the Persian Empire in Iran.

Writing Attentive

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Inquiry into the Past (IP)

Counts Toward: Growth and Structure of Cities; History; International Studies; Political Science.

Back to top

ENVS B202 Environment and Society

Fall 2024, Spring 2025

An exploration of the ways in which different cultural, economic, and political settings have shaped issue emergence and policy making. We examine the politics of particular environmental issues in selected countries and regions, paying special attention to the impact of environmental movements. We also assess the prospects for international cooperation in addressing global environmental problems such as climate change.

Writing Attentive

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Power, Inequity, and Justice (PIJ)

Counts Toward: Environmental Studies; Growth and Structure of Cities; Political Science.

Back to top

ENVS B350 Advanced Topics in Environmental Studies

Section 001 (Fall 2024): Eco Writing & Critical Making
Section 001 (Spring 2025): Carbon, Climate & Sea Level
Section 002 (Spring 2025): Climate Activism and Policy Change

Fall 2024, Spring 2025

This is a topics course. Course content varies.

Course does not meet an Approach

Counts Toward: Environmental Studies; Political Science.

Back to top

FREN B333 Nature and Freedom

Not offered 2024-25

When referring to Rousseau's political theory, the conjectural state of nature first described in his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755) has frequently been identified with native societies as observed in America since 1492. Many scholars have been opposing this primitivist interpretation of his second discourse and showed that Rousseau might instead be considered the father of all 'social construct' theories. But in spite of this scholarly consensus, Graeber and Wengrow still tend to assume Rousseau's state of nature is mostly inspired by the encounter of Europeans with native people. Why is this confusion still informing the way we read Rousseau? How did considerations on the so-called 'noble savage' taint his political theory? How can we assess the role an 'indigenous critique' played in defining Rousseau's state of nature? And incidentally: how 'indigenous' is this 'indigenous critique'? Answering to Graeber and Wengrow's (mis)reading of Rousseau will allow us to cast a new light not only on Rousseau's 'unnatural' anthropology, but also on Graeber & Wengrow's broader claims on human nature and political freedom. Our end goal is not to offer a scholarly take on either Rousseau's discourse of Graeber and Wengrow's book, but to answer this pressing question: should/could we discard the very notion of nature to regain political agency here and now? Authors include: Léry, Montaigne, Hobbes, Rousseau, Lévi-Strauss, Serres, Graeber and Wengrow.

Back to top

HIST B250 Media and Medicine in Modern America:

Spring 2025

Have you ever turned to TikTok for health advice? Are you a fan of medical dramas like Grey's Anatomy? This course explores of the co-development and evolution of modern medicine and the media in the United States, from the late nineteenth century through the present day. Students will delve into a wide range of media formats, including advertising, newspapers, radio, film, television, and the Internet, to analyze the media's long-standing influence on perceptions and practices of medicine. Special attention will be paid to the shifting cultural authority of medicine, as well as the stakes of communicating health information and implications for public health.

Inquiry into the Past (IP)

Counts Toward: Health Studies; Political Science.

Back to top

HIST B274 topics in Modern US History

Section 001 (Fall 2024): History of Reproductive Health

Fall 2024

This is a topics course in 20th century America social history. Topics vary by half semester

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Inquiry into the Past (IP)

Counts Toward: Gender Sexuality Studies; Health Studies; Political Science.

Back to top

HIST B286 Topics in the British Empire

Section 001 (Spring 2025): Birth of Nations, Nationalism and Decolonization

Spring 2025

This is a topics course covering various "topics" in the study of the British Empire. Course content varies.

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Inquiry into the Past (IP)

Counts Toward: International Studies; International Studies; Political Science.

Back to top

HIST B325 Topics in Social History

Fall 2024

This a topics course that explores various themes in American social history. Course content varies. Course may be repeated.

Counts Toward: Gender Sexuality Studies; Growth and Structure of Cities; Health Studies; Political Science.

Back to top

HIST B341 Go Burbs: Local Histories of Modern America

Spring 2025

If "all politics is local," then so too is all history. This course takes a local approach to the history of the United States, focusing on the nearby Philadelphia suburbs as a microcosm of modern American society and culture. Paying particular attention to Delaware County, students will investigate local history and local cultural sites and integrate them into a broader historical context.

Writing Attentive

Course does not meet an Approach

Power, Inequity, and Justice (PIJ)

Counts Toward: Growth and Structure of Cities; Political Science.

Back to top

MEST B205 Topics: Ethics and Islam

Not offered 2024-25

This is a topics course. Course content varies. This course will provide a foundation in the study of Islam and introduce students to Islamic ethical thought

Back to top

PHIL B225 Global Ethical Issues

Not offered 2024-25

The need for a critical analysis of what justice is and requires has become urgent in a context of increasing globalization, the emergence of new forms of conflict and war, high rates of poverty within and across borders and the prospect of environmental devastation. This course examines prevailing theories and issues of justice as well as approaches and challenges by non-western, post-colonial, feminist, race, class, and disability theorists.

Back to top

PHIL B238 Science, Technology and the Good Life

Not offered 2024-25

Science, Technology, and the Good Life considers the relation of science and technology to each other and to everyday life, particularly with respect to questions of ethics and politics. In this course, we try to get clear about how we understand these domains and their interrelationships in our contemporary world. We try to clarify the issues relevant to these questions by looking at the contemporary debates about the role of automation and digital media and the problem of climate change. These debates raise many questions including: the appropriate model of scientific inquiry (is there a single model for science?, how is science both experimental and deductive?, is science merely trial and error?, is science objective?, is science value-free?), the ideological standing of science (has science become a kind of ideology?), the autonomy of technology (have the rapidly developing technologies escaped our power to direct them?), the politics of science (is science somehow essentially democratic?, and are "scientific" cultures more likely to foster democracy?, or is a scientific culture essentially elitist and autocratic?), the relation of science to the formation of public policy (experts rule?, are we in or moving toward a technocracy?), the role of technology and science in the process of modernization, Westernization, and globalization (what role has science played in industrialization and what role does it now play in a post-industrial world?). To find an appropriate way to consider these questions, we look at the pairing of science with democracy in the Enlightenment project and study contemporary work in the philosophy of science, political science, and ethics.

Back to top

PHIL B240 Environmental Ethics

Not offered 2024-25

This course surveys rights- and justice-based justifications for ethical positions on the environment. It examines approaches such as stewardship, intrinsic value, land ethic, deep ecology, ecofeminism, Asian and aboriginal. It explores issues such as obligations to future generations, to nonhumans and to the biosphere.

Back to top

PHIL B252 Feminist Theory

Spring 2025

Beliefs that gender discrimination has been eliminated and women have achieved equality have become commonplace. We challenge these assumptions examining the concepts of patriarchy, sexism, and oppression. Exploring concepts central to feminist theory, we attend to the history of feminist theory and contemporary accounts of women's place and status in different societies, varied experiences, and the impact of the phenomenon of globalization. We then explore the relevance of gender to philosophical questions about identity and agency with respect to moral, social and political theory. Prerequisite: one course in philosophy or permission of instructor.

Critical Interpretation (CI)

Counts Toward: Gender Sexuality Studies; Political Science.

Back to top

SOCL B262 Public Opinion

Not offered 2024-25

This course will assess public opinion in American politics: what it is, how it is measured, how it is shaped, how it relates to public policy, and how it changes over time. It includes both questions central to political scientists (what is the public, how do they exercise their voice, does the government listen and how do they respond?) and to sociologists (where do ideas come from, how do they gain societal influence, and how do they change over time?). It will pay close attention to the role of electoral politics throughout, both historically and in the current election. It is focused primarily on the United States, but seeks to place the US in global context. If this course is taken to fulfill an elective in the Data Science minor, students will conduct hands-on analyses with real data as a key component to both their Midterm and Final Essays.

Back to top

SOCL B317 Comparative Social Policy: Cuba, China, US, Scandinavia

Not offered 2024-25

This course will examine different countries' policy choices to address different societal challenges. Four societal types - socialist (Cuba), post-socialist (China), capitalist (US), and social-democratic (Scandinavia) - will be studies to help us understand how these different kinds of societies conceive of social problems and propose and implement attempted solutions. We will examine particular problems/solutions in four domains: health/sports; education; environment; technological development. As we explore these domains, we will attend to methodological issues involved in making historical and institutional comparisons

Back to top

SOCL B323 Communes, Co-ops, and Collectives: Alternative Organizations

Not offered 2024-25

From schools to hospitals to grocery stores, most of the organizations we encounter and participate in throughout our lives are based on a hierarchical, bureaucratic form of organization. How did this form of organization come to be so common in U.S. society? And what are the alternatives? In this course, we will begin by exploring the origins, form, and proliferation of what Max Weber famously referred to as the "iron cage" of bureaucracy. Then we will focus on alternative forms of organization, such as communes, cooperatives, and collectives. How do these types of collectivist-democratic organizations differ from the rational-bureaucratic organizations with which we are most familiar? How are these alternative organizations structured? What makes them work-or not? From the Burning Man (anti)organization to mutual aid societies, democratic schools, farmer cooperatives, and feminist collectives, we will explore the ways in which alternative organizations can enforce the status quo or serve as catalysts for social change. Prerequisite: At least one social science course or permission of instructor.

Back to top