New Political Science Courses
New for Spring 2024
POLS 014: Constitutional Law & Politics II: Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
This course provides a close examination of constitutional conflicts over individual rights and liberties in the United States. Throughout the class, we will look closely at the Bill of Rights and Reconstruction Amendments as we trace how rights and liberties have waxed and waned throughout American history. Although we will spend much of our time analyzing Supreme Court decisions, we will also examine the broader political context in which the Court operates, how actors outside the Court have played important roles in shaping constitutional meaning, and alternate constitutional visions advanced by political reformers but not enshrined into law by the Supreme Court.
Assistant Professor Warren Snead
POLS 024: Judicial Politics
The United States has one of the most powerful judiciaries in the world. This course will provide a broad overview of the U.S. judicial system and how courts shape American politics and society. Throughout the semester, we will look at several facets of the U.S. judiciary including the judiciary's relationship to other governing institutions, what factors motivate judicial behavior, and how courts affect public policy. Students will be asked to think critically about the role of law in American politics and the democratic implications of judicial power. Although much of the course will examine the U.S. Supreme Court, lower federal courts and state courts will also be discussed.
Assistant Professor Warren Snead
POLS 118: The South in American Political Development
Since the Founding, the American South has played a distinct role in American Politics. From the writing of the Constitution to antebellum politics to the Civil War, from Jim Crow to the Civil Rights era to mass incarceration today--many of the major political developments in the history of the United States were implicated--and provoked--by Southern politics in state and nation. This seminar takes a deep dive into the role that Southern states and their political strivings have played in American Political Development from the Founding until today.
Assistant Professor Susanne Schwarz
New for Fall 2024
POLS 073: Disinformation, Propaganda, and Election Interference
Description to come!
Visiting Assistant Professor Justin Casey
New for Spring 2025
POLS 078: Great Power Competition
Description to come!
Visiting Assistant Professor Justin Casey
