POL 151 American Government (3) Structure and operation of the national
political institutions of the
POL 203 International Relations (3) Introduction to the theory of international
politics and the foreign policies of the major powers. Offered every other
year, second semester.
POL 211 Comparative Politics (3) Introduction to the theory and practice of
comparative politics; case studies of key political systems. Offered every
other year, second semester.
POL 253 Parties, Elections, and Interest Groups (3) Development and present
role in America. Brief investigations of other party systems for comparative analysis.
Offered every other year. Prerequisite: POL 151 or consent of the instructor.
POL 254 State and Local Government (3) Overview of structure and function
in the United States, followed by exposure to city, county, borough, and
township governments in the area. Field trips, interviews, research projects.
Offered every other year. Prerequisite: POL 151 or consent of the instructor.
POL 255 Congress and the Presidency (4) An introduction to processes, powers,
functions, limits, and interactions of Congress and the presidency.
Offered periodically.
POL 305 Constitutional Law (3) A consideration of the development of American
constitutional law and its relevance to political processes today. Prerequisite: POL
151 or one course in American history. Offered alternate years.
POL 309 Topics in Modern Political Thought (3) Studies in the variety of
political theories during the last 300 years, including contract theories,
Marxism and socialism, and liberalism, concentrating on one or two major
theories. Offered periodically, may be repeated with different topics.
POL 312 A History of Political Thought (3) Reading and discussion of major
works of political theory from Plato to the present. Offered periodically.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
POL 313 Democratic Political Thought (3) A consideration of both “normative”
and “non-normative” democratic theory and evaluation of these in the
light of the scriptures. Offered periodically.
POL 331 Foreign and National Security Policy (3) This course introduces students
to key concepts and basic theories about foreign policy, national security,
and homeland security in the United States and other countries, as well
as current debates such as just war vs. pre-emptive war, privacy vs. security,
and sovereignty vs. alliances and international organizations.
POL 332 Topics in Comparative Politics (3) This course introduces students to
diverse regions of the world and to key issues in comparative politics. This
course will focus on a different region or group of nations each time it is
offered, including the Middle East, Latin America, the former Soviet republics,
and comparative democratic governments. Students will look at key issues for
that region in areas such as economics, culture, politics, military affairs, and
religion.
POL 341 Politics of Global Economics (3) This course introduces students to
key concepts and basic theories about how institutions affect global economics,
particularly in trade, finance and investment, debt, development, and fiscal
and monetary policy; those institutions include not only governments, but
non-governmental organizations, multination corporations, and multilateral
treaty organizations.
POL 342 Topics in International Relations (3) This course introduces students
to contemporary key issues in international relations. Each time it is offered,
the course will focus on a different topic, such as transnational crime and terrorism, international law and organizations, intelligence, or public health and
the environment. Students will learn about the underlying issues for each
subject, the main actors involved, and the relevant public policy strategies
utilized by the United States and other nations.
POL 352 Great Issues in Politics (3) Some significant questions asked by
philosophers in the study of politics, and some ways they have been
answered. Writings of Christian political theorists included. Prerequisites: successful
completion of BIB 112 and 113; HUM 103, 203, and 303 and junior
standing (completion of 60 credits).
POL 360 Public Administration (3) Models, theories, methods, and goals of
bureaucracy, toward understanding constructive use of the system to accomplish
change. Offered every other year. Prerequisite: POL 151 or consent of
instructor.
POL 361 American Public Policy (3) Process at national level, using currently
significant policies as case studies. Offered periodically. Prerequisite: POL 151
or consent of instructor.
POL 421 Senior Seminar (3) A review of academic political science, focusing on
its relevance to the student as Christian, as professional, and as a citizen. Required
of political science majors. Second semester. Prerequisite: senior standing.