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(B.A.)
Discipline Representative / Supervisor of Studies: G. Skogstad (287-7294)
Contemporary states and societies are beset by political crisis and change. International relations have become unstable and unpredictable as the Cold War has ended and a new world order has yet to be constructed. The sovereignty of nation-states and their capacity to implement national policies of economic and social welfare are being eroded by transnational forces of the new global economy. Religious and ethnic nationalism divides many countries, and even in historically stable liberal democracies political mobilization by race, ethnicity, language, and gender challenge the legitimacy of established cultural and political relationships. Potentially catastrophic problems, such as exploding populations, proliferation of nuclear weapons, and environmental degradation, threaten the ability of national governments and international organizations to secure human survival. Dealing with these problems is a fundamental necessity for citizens and their governments. In its teaching, research, and community service, the discipline of Political Science seeks to help in meeting this need.
Political Science is the study of enduring issues
of power and authority, citizenship and governance, justice and
legitimacy in ancient and modern states and societies. The field
of Political Science is divided into the following sub-fields:
Canadian Politics, Comparative Politics (Developing and Developed
Countries), International Relations and Political Theory. In the
area of Canadian Politics, students will learn about the institutional
foundations of the Canadian political process. Some of the specific
topics dealt with include national unity, elections and political
parties, environmental and social policy, and the impact of the
global economy on national sovereignty. Courses in comparative
politics deal with the problems of political change and development
in areas such as Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Political participation and mobilization, transitions to democracy
and ethnic and religious conflict are some of the themes dealt
with in comparative politics courses. International relations
is devoted to studying the foreign policies of particular nation-states
and the patterns of conflict and co-operation among states. Political
theory explores the ideas, such as justice and legitimacy, that
are fundamental to political thought and practice, giving special
attention to reading and interpreting the classic expositions
of politics from ancient Greek philosophers to post-modern social
theorists.
Applications for admission to the Specialist Programme are accepted after students have completed at least four full-course equivalents (that is, generally after completing the first year of the degree programme). Applicants must have completed one-half course from among the A-level courses in Political Science listed below. Students must complete at least ten full-course equivalents in Political Science including:
1. One full-course equivalent from among the A-level political science courses (not more than one full-course equivalent at the A-level can be counted towards programme requirements).
2. POLB70Y Classic Texts in Political Theory
3. [Either POLA51H, and two of POLB50Y, POLB80Y, POLB91Y, POLB92Y]
or
[POLB50Y, and one of POLB80Y, POLB91Y, POLB92Y]
(NOTE: this programme requirement is to ensure that all students in the programme take at least a half-course in Canadian Politics)
4. Four political science full-course equivalents at the C- and/or D-level
Students who are completing their degree programme in the Specialist Programme in Political Science may not take more than fourteen full-course equivalents in Political Science. In selecting courses from other disciplines, they should consult with the Supervisor or with a member of the Political Science staff.
Applications for admission to the Major Programme are accepted after students have completed at least four full-course equivalents (that is, generally after completing the first year of the degree programme). Applicants must have completed one half-course from among the A-level courses in Political Science listed below.
Students must complete at least seven full-course equivalents in Political Science, including:
1. One full-course equivalent from among the A-level political science courses (not more than one full-course equivalent at the A-level can be counted towards programme requirements).
2. POLB70Y Classic Texts in Political Theory
3. [Either POLA51H, and two of POLB50Y, POLB80Y, POLB91Y, POLB92Y]
or
[POLB50Y, and one of POLB80Y, POLB91Y, POLB92Y]
(NOTE: this programme requirement is to ensure that all students in the programme take at least a half-course in Canadian Politics)
4. Two political science full-course equivalents
at the C- and/or D-level
The Programme requires the completion of at least four full-course equivalents above the A-level in Political Science. At least two of these must be at the C- or D-level. There are two options: either the four full-course equivalents must be taken from any one of the fields listed below (e.g. all four in Canadian Government); or two full-course equivalents must be taken from each of any two of these fields (e.g. two courses in International Relations, plus two courses in Comparative Politics.
A. Canadian Government and Politics: POLB50, POLC52, POLC53, POLC54, POLC65, POLD50, POLD51, POLD60, POLD61.
B. Political Theory: POLB70, POLB72 POLC74, POLC75, POLC76, POLD71.
C. International Relations: POLB80, POLC82, POLC84, POLC88.
(see under Economics for Management Studies)
NOTE:
Not all A-level half-courses are offered every year. Expected
availability of courses for this and the following academic year
is indicated below.
An introduction to the study of politics, focusing on five critical issues of contemporary Canadian democracy. Beginning from a review of approaches to theorizing democracy and analyzing issues, the course examines the threats of Quebec nationalism and Western regionalism to national unity, pressures of the global economy on the sovereignty of the Canadian state, conflicts over the welfare state as a collective means to provide for the basic social needs of all Canadians, changes in the civic culture that underlies democratic political institutions and practices, and priorities for reconstituting representative government for the 21st century.
Two hours of lecture per week and a one hour tutorial per week.
Offered: 2000/2001 and 2001/2002
T.B.A.
An introduction to politics arising from imaginative literature. Themes discussed will be retributive justice and the politics of technology. The tension between private revenge and public justice will be examined in Aeschylus's Eumenides and Shakespeare's Hamlet, and then the spiritual technology or inner technique of Wu's The Monkey: Journey to the West will be contrasted with control over nature or external technology of Shelley's Frankenstein.
Two hours of lecture per week and one hour of tutorial per week.
Offered: 2000/2001 and 2001/2002
The study of the political causes and patterns of emigration in the twentieth century. The course examines the variety of political factors (war and revolution, ethnic / racial discrimination, poverty, dilemmas of conscience) that sparked emigration in the twentieth century. Attention will be paid to the impact of emigration on the country of origin and on the country of immigration.
Two hours of lecture per week and a one hour tutorial per week.
Offered: 2000/2001
An introduction to some of the basic tools of comparative political analysis by examining the origins and dynamics of corruption and violence in the domestic and international politics of selected less developed countries. Placing the politics of less developed countries within the context of recent developments of the global political economy, the course explores some of the key explanatory tools used in comparative development studies. The concepts are operationalized through the detailed examination of corruption and violence in specific countries. Case studies include an examination of the rise and expansion of the drug trade in Columbia and Peru and its impact on state corruption, guerrilla insurgency and state repression; the emergence of extreme coercive state power in Iraq and Syria; the rise of social violence expressed in religious terms in Algeria; and an examination of civil war as an organized system of corruption and violence in the case of Lebanon. The course will conclude with a discussion of the conditions conducive for non-violent political action in the developing world.
Two hours of lecture per week and a one hour tutorial per week.
Offered: 2000/2001 and 2001/2002
The course examines the institutional foundations of Canadian politics and government and the political channels which link Canadian citizens and their governments. The constitution, Parliament, the public service, the federal system, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the role of the courts are given close attention. The electoral system, political parties, interest groups, and the mass media are examined for their efficacy in enabling Canadians to render their governments responsible and responsive. The objective of the course is to enable students to acquire a good grasp of our system of national governance in the late twentieth century.
Two hours of lecture per week and a one hour tutorial per week.
Exclusions: (POLA50Y), POL100Y, POL102Y, POL103Y
An examination of central political texts from Plato to the French Revolution including Plato's Republic, Machiavelli's The Prince, Hobbes's Leviathan, Locke's Second Treatise, Rousseau's Social Contract and Discourse on Inequality, and Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.
Two hours of lecture per week and a one hour tutorial per week.
Exclusion: POL200Y
An exploration of the culture of late capitalism, for the purpose of developing a critical theoretical awareness of contemporary "advanced" societies.
Topics will include: transformations (both ideological and literal) of the body in contemporary culture, challenges to democratic political activity arising from signs and imaging systems, the effects of technology, and the significance of changing experiences or perceptions of time and speed. Concepts such as "postmodernism," "cinematic space," and "virtual realities" will be explored, in relation to the general economies (aesthetic and libidinal) that underlie the attractive and seductive aspects of contemporary culture.
Texts will be broad and varied, but may include the writings of Arthur Kroker on technology, Jean Baudrillard on seduction and democracy, Paul Virilio on speed and vision, David Harvey and Fredric Jameson on the cultural logic of late capitalism, as well as novels about "virtual reality" from the science fiction writers J.G. Ballard and William Gibson, and films such as Blade Runner or Johnny Mnemonic.
Two hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisite: Any two full-course equivalents.
A study of the nature of the international system, the factors that motivate foreign policies, and the institutions for the conduct of international relations.
Two hours of lecture per week and a one hour tutorial per week.
Exclusion: POL208Y
Prerequisite: Not open to first year students without permission of the instructor
An examination of the effects which various Western, especially North American, policies and practices have had upon development in the Third World. The policies and practices to be surveyed include those relating to foreign aid, the multi-national corporation, and Western security. Case material will be drawn from four countries in Latin America and Africa which illustrate a diversity of approaches to development: Cuba, Chile, Ghana, Kenya.
Two hours of lecture per week and a one hour tutorial per week.
Exclusion: POL201Y
This course undertakes comparative studies of the structure and processes of selected democratic governments in the developed and developing worlds. It explores various models of parliamentary and presidential government, and introduces students to comparative analysis by examining how representative democracies function. The focus will be on group demands in a representative setting. The theory and practice of the representation of interest groups will be analyzed.
Two hours of lecture per week.
A study of the major political philosophers of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Particular emphasis will be
placed on the theories of Karl Marx, J.S. Mill, and Friedrich
Nietzsche. The course will also include the selected writings
of several major twentieth-century theorists.
Two hours of lecture per week.
Exclusion: POL320Y
Prerequisite: POLB70Y or PHLB10H or SOCB03Y
D. Cook
An examination of the methods of analysis used in the empirical study of politics. The purpose of the course is to enable the student who reads political literature to identify underlying values and assumptions, to differentiate good from poor logic of argument, to distinguish between adequate and inadequate use of evidence and between warranted and unwarranted conclusions drawn from that evidence. Special attention will be paid to the questions surrounding the "science of politics".
Two hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisite: One course in Political Science
An examination of the most important elements within
Canada's foreign policy since 1945 and a consideration of the
issues and the influences which have determined that policy.
Three hours of class per week.
Exclusion: POL312Y
Prerequisite: POLA50Y (POLB50Y) & POLB80Y
T.B.A.
The development of Russian political and social institutions since 1917, with emphasis upon the process of modernization and its effects. The course examines the formation and consolidation of the Russian political order and the urgent problems confronting Russian society today.
Two hours of class per week.
Exclusion: POL204Y or (POLB86Y)
Prerequisites: One F.C.E. B-level Political Science course
A lecture and seminar course examining the evolution and current characteristics of the political issues of the Middle East. Attention will be given to the cultural and international forces which have affected the region.
Two hours of class per week.
Prerequisite: POLB91Y or ANTB55Y or IDSB01H
POLC98Y3 Politics and Society in Latin America
A lecture/seminar course surveying the historical development and current nature of Latin American politics and society, emphasizing the interplay between international and domestic processes. Topics include neoliberalism and democracy, the North American Free Trade Agreement and Mexico, Mexico's economic and political crises, the rebellion in Chiapas, guerilla insurgency and drug trafficking in Columbia.
Two hours of class per week.
Exclusion: POL305Y
Prerequisite: POLB91Y or a course on Third World development
A seminar course that explores some of the major approaches to the comparative analysis of public policies of industrialized countries. The course uses a combination of case studies and theoretical literature to examine selected social and economic public policies and policy making in Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Two hours of class per week.
Prerequisites: One F.C.E. at the B- or C-level in comparative or Canadian politics.
T.B.A.
An examination of the ideas informing Canadian political movements and parties from Confederation to the present.
The seminar will require two class presentations during the year.
Two hours of class per week.
Exclusion: POL407Y
Prerequisite: POLA50Y (POLB50Y) or POLB70Y or POLC74Y or HISB04Y
A research project under the supervision of a member of faculty that will result in the completion of a substantial report or paper acceptable as an undergraduate senior thesis. Students wishing to undertake a supervised research project in the Spring term must register in POLD95S in the Fall term. It is the student's responsibility to find a faculty member who is willing to supervise the project, and the student must obtain consent from the supervising instructor before registering for this course. During the Fall term the student must prepare a short research proposal, and both the supervising faculty member and the Supervisor of Studies must approve the research proposal prior to the first day of classes for the Spring term.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor
Staff
POLD98H3 Supervised Reading
Advanced reading programme in special topics. This course is meant only for those students who, having completed the available basic courses in a particular field of Political Science, wish to pursue further intensive study on a relevant topic of special interest. Students are advised that they must obtain consent from the supervising instructor before registering for this course.
Exclusion: POL495Y
Prerequisite: One B-level course in Political Science & permission of the instructor.
Staff
POLA80H3 Cultures of Conflict: Politics, Society and War Since 1812
POLB87Y3 U.S. Government and Politics
Exclusion: POL203Y
POLC52Y3 Canadian Constitution
Exclusion: POL210Y
Prerequisites: POLA51H or POLB50Y (POLA50Y)
POLC53Y3 The Politics of the Environment
Prerequisite: POLB50Y (POLA50Y) or POLA51H or GGRB01H (GGRB01Y) or a course in Canadian politics
POLC54Y3 Intergovernmental Relations in Canada
Exclusion: POL316Y
Prerequisites: POLA51H or POLB50Y (POLA50Y)
POLC65Y3 Canadian Public Policy and Administration
Prerequisites: POLA51H or POLB50Y (POLA50Y)
POLC76Y3 Women in Political and Social Theory
Exclusion: JPP543Y
POLC82Y3 American Foreign Policy
Prerequisite: POLB80Y or POLB87Y
POLC88Y3 The New International Agenda
Prerequisites: POLB80Y or equivalent
POLC94Y3 Current Topics in Politics
Exclusion: POL321Y
Prerequisite: POLB91Y
POLD50H3 Political Interests, Political Identity and Public Policy
Prerequisites: POLA51H or POLB50Y (POLA50Y)
POLD51H3 Topics in Canadian and Comparative Politics
Prerequisites: POLA51H or POLB50Y (POLA50Y)
POLD60H3 Politics and Public Bureaucracy
Exclusion: POLC60H
Prerequisite: POLB50Y (POLA50Y) or POLB92Y
POLD94H3 Topics in Developing Areas
Prerequisite: A Social Sciences or Humanities course
on the Third World or Development
Full Listing of Courses Not Offered
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