Course Number: POL 110
Credits: 2
Offered: Every Semester
Instructors: Dr. Beard, Dr. Polet, Dr. Ryden

Syllabus:

• POL 110-01A
• POL 110-02B
• POL 110-03A
• POL 110-03B

Overview:

This eight week course is offered to fulfill the General Education Social Science II B requirement. It provides a brief introduction to contemporary political issues, debates, and challenges facing America, other nation-states, and international political institutions in the making of public policy. Themes and course activities will vary depending on the instructor.

 

Dr. Beard's "Whose Reality? Whose Development? Multiple Perspectives and Practices on Global Political Development"

Why are so many nations and people in Africa poor? Why does the cycle of poverty, intertwined with poverty and forms of conflict seem endemic across Africa? What, if anything, can the West do about it? What, if anything, can we as Western citizens of the world do about it? No course can answer these questions in full, but one can get started on the (hopefully lifelong) learning. Students will be exposed to the major and the not-so-major debates in aid and development. They will discuss the conventional and less conventional theories of poverty, growth, war, and good governance, and why there is so much or so little of it in Africa. The aim is to help students think critically about these debates and their possible role in the problems and solutions.

Dr. Ryden's "Religion & Politics and Decline of Democracy"