Loyola University Chicago

Department of Political Science

american politics

PLSC 300: American Politics and Globalization
Professor Julianne Flowers
MWF 2:45pm / LSC

The sky may not be falling but the world is definitely shrinking.  Every minute billions of dollars travel the globe.  Global trade and travel is growing exponentially.  The shrinking planet affects the way nations interact with each other, but it also affects the domestic policies of nations.  We alter our international trade agreements to facilitate changes in our import and export patterns, but we also adjust our labor policy, our education curriculum and our environmental policies in order to remain competitive in a global labor market.  Changes in technology have hastened the flow of information around the world, but it has also made us aware of the vulnerability of contemporary copy right laws and security policies.  This course examines the impact of external, global forces on domestic laws at both the national and the state level.  The objective of this course is to give the student a broader lens through which to evaluate domestic policy.  

PLSC 300: Mock Trial
Professor Michael Walsh
W 7:00pm / LSC

This course has both a short term and long term focus.  In the short term, the course prepares students to compete in American Mock Trial Association tournaments by focusing on the rules of procedure and
evidence that govern trials.  In the long term, the course focuses on developing the student's speaking and communication skills by requiring them to deliver arguments and respond to contrary positions in the midst of competition.  The course begins in the fall and only those who have worked with the teams since then will be allowed to register.

PLSC 300: Managing Political Campaigns
Mr. Michael Quigley
Th 4:15pm / LSC

From City Hall to the White House, this course will teach students how to get on the ballot, raise money, market candidates, develop campaign literature, and conduct polling.  In short, this course is about how to run for office and win elections.  Guest speakers will include experts on local and national campaigns.  The instructor is a Cook County Commissioner.

PLSC 322WI: Constitutional Law--Rights and Liberties
Professor Susan Mezey
T 4:15pm / LSC

This course examines individual rights and liberties in the United States.  Specific topics include the debate over the policymaking role of the courts; freedom of expression, including symbolic speech, obscenity, pornography, the right to protest; the free exercise and establishment of religion, including public school prayer and school vouchers; the right of privacy, including abortion and gay rights; racial and sexual equality; and remedies for discrimination.  This is a writing-intensive section.

PLSC 326: American National Security
Professor John Williams
TTh 8:30am / LSC

This course explores the making and implementation of U.S. national security policies, focusing on national defense and the threat or use of force.  In addition to historical and organizational considerations, we will discuss such issues as military strategy (nuclear and non-nuclear), low-intensity conflicts, terrorism, homeland defense, and intelligence operations.  Throughout the course we will consider the ethical and practical implications of national security policy choices.  Students are encouraged to form their own judgments on these issues.  In this period of rapid changes in the national security environment, students will be expected to become familiar with national and international events affecting U.S. security.

PLSC 381: The American Presidency
Professor Raymond Tatalovich
TTh 10:00am / LSC

This course discusses the presidency from the dual perspectives of historical evolution and contemporary developments since Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Special attention is given to how some of the leading scholarly thinkers have understood presidential power and presidential leadership.

PLSC 384: The Judicial Process
Ms. Gayle Littleton
M 7:00pm / LSC

The law is an ever-changing body of rules and regulations that affects and is affected by society and is applied through the American judicial process. This course examines that process by focusing on the history of the judiciary, the organization of the federal and state court systems, and the nature of the law and legal procedure. The course will further consider the importance of the judicial process to the United States political system and explore how politics influences the third branch of government.  The instructor is an Assistant United States Attorney. 

PLSC 385: Introduction to Law
Professor Horan
TTh 11:30am / LSC

This course is an introduction to the American legal system in theory and practice. Among the areas to be considered are legal reasoning, the role of precedent, law and official discretion, law and conflicting interests, law and the popular will, law and values, and the role of the lawyer in the legal system and in social change.  

PLSC 386: Parties and Elections
Professor Julianne Flowers
MWF 11:30am / LSC

This election process in the U.S. is a constantly evolving process affected by state and federal election laws, the actions and organization of political parties and the technology and practices of professional campaign consultants.  This class will examine the evolution of the campaign process, exploring the role each of these forces has on the nature and direction of specific changes.  The backbone of our exploration will be presidential elections with an emphasis on the current election, but we will also discuss statewide and  local elections.

PLSC 391: Chicago Politics
Mr. Michael Quigley
TTh 8:30am / LSC

In this course we will describe Chicago politics as it exists today and attempt to explain why the city's politics has developed as described.  To accomplish this, we will make use of a "systems model" of the Chicago political environment.  The course, organized around this model, will include discussion of Chicago's political environment, patterns of political participation (the machine, other parties, groups, minority politics, voting and elections), the actors and institutions of government (mayor, city council, bureaucrats), policies and issues of importance.

PLSC 395: Honors Seminar--The Death Penalty: Law and Public Policy
Professor Susan Mezey
W 4:15pm / LSC

The course examines legal and political issues involved in death penalty law in the United States as formulated in Supreme Court decisions and public policymaking.  Topics include the history and current status of the death penalty in the United States, constitutional parameters on the death penalty, jury selection in death penalty cases, the effects of race on application of the death penalty, implementation of the death penalty, habeas corpus and the death penalty, and claims of innocence. This course requires close attention to text and the ability to discuss cases and public policy issues about the death penalty in class. 
 
This course is required for students in the Political Science Honor’s Program; registration is by instructor's permission only. Only students in the Political Science Honor's Program or political science majors in the College Honor's Program may register for it. For more information about this program, visit this link