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Credit Programs for Part-time Students

Political Science

Spring Semester 2010

POLI 100: Introduction to Government in the United States

This is a general introduction to government and politics in the United States. We will examine government from both normative and empirical perspectives. How should our government function, and how does it function in reality? As a society, how close have we come to the ideal of a representative democracy in which citizens are informed, politically active, and heard on an equal basis? How can we move closer to that ideal? We will attempt to answer these questions through the study of American political institutions and political behavior.

After taking this course, you should have a

  • clear understanding of the founding principles of American government
  • firm grasp on the institutional makeup of American government, both in theory and in practice
  • sense of the actual and potential roles that citizens can play in American government and politics
  • healthy skepticism about politics, particularly when you encounter public opinion poll results, campaign advertising, and media coverage of politics.

In this course you will be expected to

  • read all required texts
  • participate in a Web-based weekly discussion forum
  • complete exercises found in the We the People text
  • write two short papers (each 800 to 1,000 words in length)
  • complete two midterm exams and a final exam.

Required Textbooks

  • Ginsberg, Lowi, and Weir, We the People: An Introduction to American Politics, 6th edition (2007)
  • Canon, Coleman, and Mayer, eds., The Enduring Debate: Classic and Contemporary Readings in American Politics, 5th edition (2008)

You may purchase the textbooks at Friday Center Books & Gifts in person, online, or by mailing or faxing in the book order form. Refer to the online ordering site for current book prices. Please see Textbooks for textbook purchase dates.

Course Details

  • Instructor: Alixandra Yanus, MA
  • Department: Political Science
  • Credit hours: 3
  • UNC-Chapel Hill perspectives/requirements fulfilled: The Office of Undergraduate Curricula has links to information about which perspectives this course fulfills under the “Pre-2006 Curriculum” and which requirements it fulfills under the new curriculum (see “2006 Curriculum”).
  • View a sample course syllabus.

link How to Enroll

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POLI 101: State Government in the United States

The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the politics of state and local governments through the prism of political science. At the course's conclusion, students should be able to identify and discuss the operation of major political actors and institutions common to many political situations in the American states and their constituent subdivisions. Moreover, students should develop a reasonably comprehensive framework to analyze and understand political systems and information that may fall beyond the scope of this course. As such, this course will encompass a basic introduction to the field of political science. This material will also serve as an important foundation for students who pursue more advanced studies in political science.

Required Textbooks

  • Gray and Hanson, Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis, 9th edition (2008), ISBN 978-0872893429
  • Deckman, School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (2004), ISBN 978-1589010017

You may purchase the textbooks at Friday Center Books & Gifts in person, online, or by mailing or faxing in the book order form. Refer to the online ordering site for current book prices. Please see Textbooks for textbook purchase dates.

Course Details

  • Instructor: Adam Chamberlain, MA
  • Department: Political Science
  • Credit hours: 3
  • UNC-Chapel Hill perspectives/requirements fulfilled: The Office of Undergraduate Curricula has links to information about which perspectives this course fulfills under the “Pre-2006 Curriculum” and which requirements it fulfills under the new curriculum (see “2006 Curriculum”).
  • View a sample course syllabus.

link How to Enroll

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POLI 215: Political Psychology

This course examines the findings of the behavioral sciences as they relate to politics. Includes such issues as human nature, community, political socialization, alienation, mass movements, belief systems, and personality.

Required Texts

  • There is no textbook required for this course. Readings will be available online through UNC Libraries.

Course Details

  • Instructor: Patrick Miller, MA
  • Department: Political Science
  • Credit hours: 3
  • UNC-Chapel Hill perspectives/requirements fulfilled: The Office of Undergraduate Curricula has links to information about which perspectives this course fulfills under the “Pre-2006 Curriculum” and which requirements it fulfills under the new curriculum (see “2006 Curriculum”).
  • A sample course syllabus is not yet available.

link How to Enroll

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POLI 239: Introduction to European Government

The course looks at the political institutions and processes of Western European democracies, with special attention to France, Germany, England, and Italy.

Required Textbooks

  • Gallagher, Laver, and Mair, Representative Government in Modern Europe, 4th edition (2005)
  • McCormick, Understanding the European Union: A Concise Introduction, 3rd edition (2005)

You may purchase the textbooks at Friday Center Books & Gifts in person, online, or by mailing or faxing in the book order form. Refer to the online ordering site for current book prices. Please see Textbooks for textbook purchase dates.

Course Details

  • Instructor: Anna Brigevich, MA
  • Department: Political Science
  • Credit hours: 3
  • UNC-Chapel Hill perspectives/requirements fulfilled: The Office of Undergraduate Curricula has links to information about which perspectives this course fulfills under the “Pre-2006 Curriculum” and which requirements it fulfills under the new curriculum (see “2006 Curriculum”).
  • View a sample course syllabus.

link How to Enroll

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POLI 271: Modern Political Thought

People living in the United States today have formed similar or shared opinions about the nature of human beings, what liberty and equality mean, what the ends of government should be, and, given those ends, how government ought to be structured. Few dispute, for example, the United States’ philosophical commitment to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all of its citizens. Far from being isolated in time, however, these opinions are shaped by a long history of scholars thinking and writing about politics—we are the heirs to this tradition of modern political thought. The purpose of this course will be to learn about that inheritance.

Required Textbooks

  • Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings, trans. and ed. Wootton
  • Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Curley
  • Locke, Second Treatise of Government, ed. Macpherson
  • Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings, trans. Cress
  • Bagby, Political Thought: A Guide to the Classics
  • Mill, ed., On Liberty and Other Essays, ISBN  978-0199535736
  • Tucker, ed., The Marx-Engels Reader, ISBN 978-0393090406

You may purchase the textbooks at Friday Center Books & Gifts in person, online, or by mailing or faxing in the book order form. Refer to the online ordering site for current book prices. Please see Textbooks for textbook purchase dates.

Course Details

  • Instructor: Joel Winkelman, MA
  • Department: Political Science
  • Credit hours: 3
  • UNC-Chapel Hill perspectives/requirements fulfilled: The Office of Undergraduate Curricula has links to information about which perspectives this course fulfills under the “Pre-2006 Curriculum” and which requirements it fulfills under the new curriculum (see “2006 Curriculum”).
  • View a sample course syllabus.

link How to Enroll

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POLI 276: Major Issues in Political Theory

In this course, students will examine major issues in political thought, including equality; obedience; violence and nonviolence; justice; forms of social, economic, and political life; liberty; and human nature and politics.

Required Textbooks

  • Ball and Dagger, Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, 7th edition (2009), ISBN 978-0205607372
  • Ball and Dagger, Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader, 7th edition (2009), ISBN 978-0205607358

You may purchase the textbooks at Friday Center Books & Gifts in person, online, or by mailing or faxing in the book order form. Refer to the online ordering site for current book prices. Please see Textbooks for textbook purchase dates.

Course Details

  • Instructor: Steve Leonard, PhD
  • Department: Political Science
  • Credit hours: 3
  • UNC-Chapel Hill perspectives/requirements fulfilled: The Office of Undergraduate Curricula has links to information about which perspectives this course fulfills under the “Pre-2006 Curriculum” and which requirements it fulfills under the new curriculum (see “2006 Curriculum”).
  • View a sample course syllabus.

link How to Enroll

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POLI 414: The Adversary System

This course examines the role of the police, courts, and corrections in a democratic society. Students will look at what US law enforcement, courts, and prisons, here and abroad, do well, what they do not so well, and what they do badly. Students will analyze the moral and societal issues that arise when the law enforcers—the police, the courts, and other major participants in the justice system—become the lawbreakers: What is the impact of their unlawful conduct on the moral and legal fabric of our country and on the justice system? We will also look at what changes are necessary to achieve “justice under the law.” There is an emphasis in the course on the principles and values underlying our adversary system of justice, with particular attention paid to constitutional principles, judicial integrity, and civil rights.

Required Textbooks

  • Inciardi, Criminal Justice, 8th edition
  • Prejean, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States
  • Malarek, The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade
  • Strunk and White, The Elements of Style

You may purchase the textbooks at Friday Center Books & Gifts in person, online, or by mailing or faxing in the book order form. Refer to the online ordering site for current book prices. Please see Textbooks for textbook purchase dates.

Course Details

  • Instructor: Donna LeFebvre, JD
  • Department: Political Science
  • Credit hours: 3
  • UNC-Chapel Hill perspectives/requirements fulfilled: The Office of Undergraduate Curricula has links to information about which perspectives this course fulfills under the “Pre-2006 Curriculum” and which requirements it fulfills under the new curriculum (see “2006 Curriculum”).
  • View a sample course syllabus.

link How to Enroll

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