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. Normally taught 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.

This course surveys the politics of climate change in a global context.  In the coming decades, climate change will drive politics at the international, national, and sub-national levels.  Specific topics include climate change itself, international treaties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, humanitarian crises and climate change refugees, climate change and the media, and climate change deniers.

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 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 institutions 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.

Examines the evolution of European imperialism in Africa and Asia from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the outbreak of the First World War.  Topics to be covered include: causes of the revival of imperialism; the French conquest of Algeria; British expansion in South Africa; the evolution of British rule in India, French rule in Indochina, and Dutch rule in Indonesia; the European powers and informal imperialism in China; the expansion of European control in Africa; theories and practices of colonial rule; the role of explorers and missionaries; race, gender, and class in colonial societies; the promotion of imperialism in popular culture; and resistance to imperialism.

Examines the evolution of European Imperialism after the outbreak of the First World War, and ends with a detailed examination of post-1945 decolonization.  Topics to be covered include: the impact of the First World War on European empires; gender, race, and class relations in colonial societies; cultures of imperialism in the 1920s and 1930s; the evolution of imperial systems of control; the rise of anti-colonial nationalist movements; the impact of the Second World War; counter-insurgency and colonial wars after 1945; the causes and dynamics of decolonization; and the legacies of empire.

Investigates competing visions of rights in contemporary North American politics in historical, ethical and theoretical perspective. 

Russia's role in the world is examined in terms of its activities at the UN and its relationships with the major powers like the U.S., China and the European Union. Russia's policies in the Middle East are a major focus, especially with Iran, Israel and the Arab states.

Introduces students to the complex mechanisms through which governance has taken shape, with a particular emphasis on recent policy shifts. 

Focuses on the study of selected aspects of the structure and process of provincial public administration.

This course examines the shifting class structure of Canada from the standpoint of the evolution of global capitalism. Topics covered include the decline of the established worker, the growth of non-standard work, migrant labour, unemployment, the deregulation of labour law, the minimum wage debate and the gendering of low-wage sphere.

An analysis of the foreign policy formulation process and a consideration of sectors other than the Canadian-American relationship.

This course explores the relationships between poverty policy, governmental forms, and conceptions of citizenship. Students will critically evaluate major documents from Confederation to contemporary policy debates. The central objective is to map out shifts, turning points, and transformations in governing practices and sensibilities.

What gets remembered and how it gets remembered are necessarily political. This course will examine specific aspects of the national memory in Canada and the United States from the late nineteenth-century through to the present. Topics will include the Native in the North American imagination, the commemoration of slavery, the commemoration of military events (for example, the Great War in Canada, the Vietnam War in the United States), and history and the tourist gaze. 

This course will focus on Canadian and Quebec politics in the Trudeau era. Topics will include the Quiet Revolution, constitutional renewal, the 1980 referendum and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The course will also focus on the Charter era through an examination of key legal decisions. Finally, the course will examine Trudeau as a cultural icon in English Canada. 

An analysis of the political aspects of sectoral relations between Canada and the United States.Restriction: Credit may not be obtained for both POLS 3242 and HIST 3364 (History of Canadian-American Relations). 

Considers theories of federalism, the development of the Canadian federal system, and the impact of current issues.

Analyzes the relationship between law and politics in Canada, with an emphasis on the impact of judicial decisions on Canadian politics. Topics covered include the Rule of Law in the Canadian Constitution, the judicial process, the Canadian Court system, judicial recruitment and selection, judicial independence, judicial review, and judicial decision-making.

Designed to provide the student with an overall grasp of the nature of government and political processes in the Canadian provinces.

A survey of the political and social evolution of Quebec from the 17th century to the present day. Emphasis is placed on 20th century events and on the nationalist dimension of Quebec politics, particularly its modern incarnation in the period since 1960. Recommended prior course: POLS 2202 

A consideration of the impact of cultural and regional differences on prospects for political unity and political change in Canada. Topics will include: English-French differences in political culture and their policy implications; Indian and Inuit culture and its relevance for the political process; the growth and political impact of regionalism and provincialism; the politics of Canadian multiculturalism in comparative perspective.

An analysis of the Canadian political system with emphasis on the constitution, federalism, parliamentary government, and the Canadian political culture.

In recent years, there has been considerable focus on the role of Prime Minister in Canadian politics.  Many believe power has become excessively concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister and a handful of close advisors, with important implications for the democratic quality of our political system.  This course examines the concentration of power in Canadian politics, looking at both theoretical and historical dimensions of the issue, as well as its manifestation in current political debates.

A systematic analysis of the principles, structures and institutions of traditional and contemporary Indian self-government in Canada.

Examines the relations between society and the state by comparing traditional political sociology with the contemporary approach. Issues include the nation state as the center of political activity, how power is exercised through institutions, social groups, class, the production of identity or subjectivity, how globalization and social movements de-center state political activity, the impact of these changes on citizenship and democracy.

In the 21st century, half of the world’s population will be urban dwellers. The importance of enhancing our knowledge of cities has never been greater. This course will address cities within the context of globalization, economic change, state reform, citizenship, and social justice. While emphasis will be placed on Canadian examples, comparisons with other countries also will be made.

This course examines the economic, political, and legal aspects of the EU and its member states. Topics included are money and finance and government institutions and further political/economic integration with Eastern Europe. This course is an elective in the Law and Society program.

This course deals with both the internal and external politics of unified Germany. It examines Germany's place in the European Community, studies the wide political spectrum of Germany's multi-party system, and focuses on its cultural and political influence over the rest of Europe.

Investigates shifts that are occurring in the rationales, strategies, and practices of governance, with a particular focus on contemporary transformations. Students will be introduced to traditional tools of public administration analysis as well as new analytical tools that have emerged at the turn of the 21st century. They will also be asked to explore how new governing mechanisms take shape through shifting discourses, programs, and techniques. 

A survey of the most important writers and the main currents of political thought from Ancient Greece to the beginning of the 20th century.

Examines the emergence of the modern conception of the state, and discusses some of the important theoretical arguments concerning the scope and justification of the state.

The historical and textual foundations of the liberal tradition and its contemporary variants. Central concepts and problems in the development of liberal thought to be examined will include: rights, property, liberty, toleration, and political participation.

Examines a variety of thinkers and movements that are concerned with the question of repression. Attempts to answer such questions as: what is repression and what causes it? Are some groups in society particularly repressed? What are the varieties of repression?

This course surveys recent political thinkers from the celebrated critic of modernity Friedrich Nietzsche to the post-modernist Jean-François Lyotard. It coheres thematically by focusing on their implicit and explicit responses to the three grand questions of the 20th century: What is wrong with modernity? What happened to the proletarian revolutions of Europe? How can the Holocaust be explained? Other thinkers examined include Lukács, Weber, Gramsci, Cassirer, Horkeimer, Arendt, de Beauvoir, Voegelin and Foucault. 

Examines women’s contributions to the history of Western ideas on politics, rationality, autonomy and the body, and violence and war. Key women thinkers include Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir. 

Examines critical issues in feminist theory. Its central focus is on the understanding of women's political and social roles found in the history of political thinking and the response to these arguments presented by contemporary feminist theorists.

A critical examination of the institutions that form public policy, as well as the policy process in relation to a number of selected areas.

Surveys the organization, political and social rationale, and critiques of alternative political communities. Topics may include the utopian socialist societies and anarchist experiments of the nineteenth century, the Israeli kibbutzim, European co-operative networks, and the North American counter-culture communities of the twentieth century.

Intended to familiarize students with processes, methods and techniques of inquiry in political science. Required for all Honours students. Strongly recommended for Majors students.

The course explores the importance of moral values, ethical reasoning, and reflection in international relations.  It presents the concepts, theories, methods, and traditions of ethical analysis, and applies them to a wide range of transnational and global issues such as political reconciliation, human rights, war, foreign intervention, and economic sanction.  It also examines the justice of international structures, institutions, and rules, as well as their impact on issues such as the moral obligation on the part of wealthy states to provide economic assistance to poor nations or to admit a large number of refugees, the challenge of climate change and energy conservation, and the prosecution of crimes against humanity. Normally taught online.

Examines the sources of law such as custom and treaties and addresses specific issues in the international system: the law of armed conflict, human rights, dispute settlement, intergovernmental and supranational organizations, intellectual property rights, the environment, and the relationship between business corporations, sovereign states and private citizens.

Explores the nature of war in terms of the social relations of class, race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Particular focus is given to WWI, WWII, the Vietnam War, the Afghan War, the Iraqi Wars of 1991 and 2003, and the war on terror.

Examines the sources of democratic discontent and declining political participation in Canada and other established democracies, along with potential remedies. Topics covered include civil society and social cohesion, the changing role of political parties and the merits of institutional changes such as electoral reform and direct democracy. Recommended prior course: POLS 2202 or POLS 2603. 

This course explores the political economy of development in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on challenges in the last two decades and drawing on several case studies from the region to explore how they have unfolded in specific countries. The course emphasizes the role of states, corporations, and international institutions in the development process. It examines several recent challenges for the continent such as food, poverty reduction, agriculture and rural development, urbanization and informalization, and HIV/AIDS. Recommended prior course : POLS 2303, POLS 2703, or IDS 2001. 

The course examines the globalization of production, work and consumption as localized changes that affect people on a daily basis. The course explores their transnational links by utilizing one case study a year (such as clothing, toys, food products or footwear) and emphasizing North-South relationships. Recommended prior course: POLS 2303, POLS 2703 or IDS 2001. 

Surveys the primarily theoretical and empirical literature on the global political economy. Issues addressed include imperialism, dependency, U.S. hegemony, the internationalization of production, global finance, and the evolution of the Fordist production regime. Recommended prior course: POLS 2303, POLS 2703 or IDS 2001. 

This course surveys the social relations of power in the workplace in the 21st century.  Topics covered may include the global division of labour, workplace restructuring, the feminisation of work, global unemployment and underemployment, migrant labour, falling rates of unionization, low-wage work, contract work, temp work, precarious labour, homework and employment in the informal sector.

A general examination of nationalism as an ideology and political force, with some focus on specific nationalist movements in both the developed and developing worlds. Topics include: competing definitions of nations and nationalism, the underlying causes of nationalist unrest and secessionism, and methods of conflict management in ethnically divided societies. Recommended prior course: POLS 2303 or POLS 2603. 

This course explores the politics of international development by investigating the historical development of international processes and markets for beverages such as coffee, tea, cola, juice, wine, rum and water. The course uses these case studies to ground theoretical analysis of development strategies, trade institutions, corporate practices, worker struggles and consumer initiatives.

Surveys the social and economic foundations of South and Central American politics. Specific issues examined include the relationship of the region to the global economy, state/military relations, state repression, U.S. regional hegemony, political reform and revolutionary movements.

This is a course about a nation's covert and secret intelligence activity aimed against both internal and external enemies, which is distinct from law enforcement. We examine the many types of intelligence and their bureaucracies: human intelligence, signals, satellites, military, and special ops. The main countries examined will be: the U.S., Russia, U.K., Germany, France, China, Iran, Arab States and Israel. Normally taught online.

The course studies various macro-economic and political aspects of a modern China in transition. China's global position (defence and foreign policies) will also be examined.

Upon application through the co-ordinator of honours and majors programs, students pursuing an honours or majors degree in Political Science may undertake independent studies with a member of the department. It is expected that students will have a clear idea of their intended area of study and will submit a written proposal justifying it as an independent studies course.

No student will be allowed to take more than 6chs of independent study in completing the requirements for a majors or honours degree in political science. Independent studies courses will NOT count as meeting the honours thesis requirements.

Upon application through the co-ordinator of honours and majors programs, students pursuing an honours or majors degree in Political Science may undertake independent studies with a member of the department. It is expected that students will have a clear idea of their intended area of study and will submit a written proposal justifying it as an independent studies course.

No student will be allowed to take more than 6chs of independent study in completing the requirements for a majors or honours degree in political science. Independent studies courses will NOT count as meeting the honours thesis requirements.

Upon application through the co-ordinator of honours and majors programs, students pursuing an honours or majors degree in Political Science may undertake independent studies with a member of the department. It is expected that students will have a clear idea of their intended area of study and will submit a written proposal justifying it as an independent studies course.

No student will be allowed to take more than 6chs of independent study in completing the requirements for a majors or honours degree in political science. Independent studies courses will NOT count as meeting the honours thesis requirements.

A compulsory reading and research course for fourth year honours students. The student prepares a research program in consultation with a professor in the field concerned and is expected to present a research essay after regular consultations with the professor concerned who will be assigned to the student by the chair of the department.

Historical and comparative examination of the various strands of thought that make up the Canadian political tradition: liberalism, conservatism, socialism and nationalism. (Students cannot earn credit for this course and POLS 3416 ).

This course surveys the intellectual and philosophical criteria for political leadership as they were established by past thinkers. Some of the intellectual material addressed may include the assessment of Pericles by the ancients, Plato's nations of philosophical rule, Aristotle's conception of class rule, Plutarch's biographies, Marcus Aurelius reflections, Machiavelli's counsels, Marx's critique of bourgeois rule, Lenin's conception of vanguardism, Weber's observations regarding charisma and Gramsci's defence of the organic intellectual. Throughout the course the standards set in the past are applied to current political leaders, and the concerns raised by contemporary intellectuals like Christopher Lasch and Neil Postman are broached and assessed. (Students cannot earn credit for this course and POLS 3463). 

Examines the theories of history and the historical process in Hegel and Marx, paying particular attention to the question of the causes of historical change.  It then discusses these theories in their relation to Hegel’s and Marx’s political thought.  (Students cannot earn credit for this course and POLS 3483.)

This course will examine The History of the Peloponnesian War as the founding text of International Relations. The course will also focus on the various readings of the History.

This course provides a basic grounding in methods of quantitative commonly used in political science. In addition to statistical theory and techniques, the course also focuses on interpretation of quantitative political science literature and provides students with instruction in conducting statistical analysis using public opinion and election data sets. Recommended prior or concurrent course: POLS 3533 . (Students cannot earn credit for this course and POLS 3534.)  

This course deals with current trends and developments on the international science including the global balance of power, relations between the superpowers, ideological conflicts, the Third World and North-South tensions: war, revolution and coups d'etat as these occur. (Students cannot earn credit for this course and POLS 3703.)

This course introduces students to critical issues in the study of women, gender and socio-economic development. The course presents contending theoretical approaches, and applies them through case studies that explore how women are affected by and in turn shape socio-economic development processes in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. (Students cannot earn credit for this course and POLS 3722 ). 

This course surveys topics in North American environmental politics and history, including climate change, resource development, and water management.  It examines the role of governments, the environmental movement, and industry.  Finally, it examines how the environment as an idea has changed over time.

This course considers challenges in contemporary global health governance by examining the global response to a specific disease/health issue, focusing on how the global South is implicated in this governance and disease response. Questions we will explore include: how is health global? What is the relationship between 'the global' and 'the local' in global health governance? How effective are various global health strategies, programs and frameworks, and in what ways do they have uneven effects on different populations and regions? What are the power relations between actors including states, international and multilateral organizations, social movements, and the private sector? What are the structural and political drivers of health inequity? Recommended prior course: POLS 2303, POLS 2703, IDS 2001, IDS 2003 or permission of course instructor.