american politics
PLSC 300: Mock Trial
Professor 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
Professor 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 321: Constitutional Law--Powers of Government
Professor Walsh
M 7:00pm / LSC
This course will focus on the Supreme Court's role in allocating power among the three branches of the national government and between the state and federal governments. We will do this by reading and discussing Supreme Court decisions construing the President's domestic powers and his powers during times of war and national emergency, Congress' power to tax, spend, regulate interstate commerce and take private property, the extent and pre-emption of state power, and the role of the Court in resolving these kinds of disputes.
PLSC 322: Constitutional Law--Rights & Liberties
Professor 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.
PLSC 378: Introduction to Political Economy
Professor Matland
TTh 2:30pm / LSC
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the central mechanisms for making collective decisions on allocating scarce resources in an advanced industrialized democracy. There are three basic collective allocation mechanisms. These are a market system, a democratic system, and a bureaucratic system. Each of these mechanisms will be studied to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses. In addition to describing the individual models we will look at specific policies where there is dissension as to the proper roles of the market, bureaucracy, and the democratic system. A special emphasis will be placed on the roles of the market, bureaucracy and democracy in the public education system.
PLSC 379: Legislative Process
Professor Tatalovich
TTh 8:30am / LSC
This course will focus on the United States Congress, its historical evolution and contemporary operations. Attention will be given to House-Senate organizational differences, party and committee leadership roles, and the policy-making process. A recurring normative issue that plagues congressional studies is whether the Congress has lost power to the executive branch, not only with respect to lawmaking but especially as regards to foreign policy and the conduct of war.
PLSC 380: Public Policy Analysis
Professor Steinacker
M 4:15pm / LSC
This course provides a basic overview of the field of public policy analysis. First, we begin with a short discussion of the typical problems that require government intervention (market failures). Second, we review the general policy options available to government to address the problems defined in the first section. The focus is on how the policies are designed, the implications of each, their strengths and weaknesses, and matching the policy options to the types of problems they could solve. The goal is to develop a framework of possible problems (section one of the course) matched to possible solutions (section two of the course). Third, we discuss how the political process influences these choices, or why the outcomes of the policy process do not always match the outcomes suggested by the policy analysis process.
PLSC 384: Judicial Process
Professor Veatch
W 7:00pm / LSC
This course will examine the processes, function, and influence of the judicial system in contemporary American society. The course begins with an exploration of the competing/complimentary roles of the state and federal courts, the various legal actors (e.g., judges, lawyers, plaintiffs, and defendants), and the bases of judicial authority. Next, the criminal and civil trial processes are examined, from the preliminary proceedings through the trial. Finally, the appellate process will be explored with a focus on the Supreme Court. Throughout the course, contemporary legal issues will be discussed and analyzed.
PLSC 391: Chicago Politics
Professor Quigley
TTh 2:30pm / 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 300: Mock Trial
Professor 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
Professor 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 321: Constitutional Law--Powers of Government
Professor Walsh
M 7:00pm / LSC
This course will focus on the Supreme Court's role in allocating power among the three branches of the national government and between the state and federal governments. We will do this by reading and discussing Supreme Court decisions construing the President's domestic powers and his powers during times of war and national emergency, Congress' power to tax, spend, regulate interstate commerce and take private property, the extent and pre-emption of state power, and the role of the Court in resolving these kinds of disputes.
PLSC 322: Constitutional Law--Rights & Liberties
Professor 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.
PLSC 378: Introduction to Political Economy
Professor Matland
TTh 2:30pm / LSC
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the central mechanisms for making collective decisions on allocating scarce resources in an advanced industrialized democracy. There are three basic collective allocation mechanisms. These are a market system, a democratic system, and a bureaucratic system. Each of these mechanisms will be studied to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses. In addition to describing the individual models we will look at specific policies where there is dissension as to the proper roles of the market, bureaucracy, and the democratic system. A special emphasis will be placed on the roles of the market, bureaucracy and democracy in the public education system.
PLSC 379: Legislative Process
Professor Tatalovich
TTh 8:30am / LSC
This course will focus on the United States Congress, its historical evolution and contemporary operations. Attention will be given to House-Senate organizational differences, party and committee leadership roles, and the policy-making process. A recurring normative issue that plagues congressional studies is whether the Congress has lost power to the executive branch, not only with respect to lawmaking but especially as regards to foreign policy and the conduct of war.
PLSC 380: Public Policy Analysis
Professor Steinacker
M 4:15pm / LSC
This course provides a basic overview of the field of public policy analysis. First, we begin with a short discussion of the typical problems that require government intervention (market failures). Second, we review the general policy options available to government to address the problems defined in the first section. The focus is on how the policies are designed, the implications of each, their strengths and weaknesses, and matching the policy options to the types of problems they could solve. The goal is to develop a framework of possible problems (section one of the course) matched to possible solutions (section two of the course). Third, we discuss how the political process influences these choices, or why the outcomes of the policy process do not always match the outcomes suggested by the policy analysis process.
PLSC 384: Judicial Process
Professor Veatch
W 7:00pm / LSC
This course will examine the processes, function, and influence of the judicial system in contemporary American society. The course begins with an exploration of the competing/complimentary roles of the state and federal courts, the various legal actors (e.g., judges, lawyers, plaintiffs, and defendants), and the bases of judicial authority. Next, the criminal and civil trial processes are examined, from the preliminary proceedings through the trial. Finally, the appellate process will be explored with a focus on the Supreme Court. Throughout the course, contemporary legal issues will be discussed and analyzed.
PLSC 391: Chicago Politics
Professor Quigley
TTh 2:30pm / 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.