Department of Political Science
Chair and Professor: Gabardi
Professors: Adler, Anderson, McBeth
Associate Professor: Nilson
Assistant Professors: Lybecker, Newman
Instructor: Keller
Adjunct Faculty: Chambers, Cleverly, Eckert, Phippen, Stallings, Tingey
Emeriti: Burns, Foster, Hjelm, Maughan
The study of governments and human beings as decision makers is at
once an ancient discipline and one of the most recently developed
social sciences. Political inquiry reaches back to the recorded
beginnings of human society, for individuals have always been curious
about the nature of governments, the bases of authority and personality
of leaders, the obligations of followers, and consequences of public
policies. Although interest persists in these matters, inquiry has
broadened to include scientific observations about politics which
utilize relatively new techniques of analysis that are common to many
of the social sciences. The newer emphasis is upon systematic
procedures of
investigation, rigorous standards of proof, comparative analysis and
interdisciplinary studies.
Both of these approaches—the traditional and the behavioral—are
offered in the undergraduate and graduate levels of study. The
curriculum provides background in the theory and practice of politics
and techniques of methodological inquiry for the student with general
interests. It offers training of a general
and specific nature that is useful for persons planning to seek careers
in
education, the legal profession, state and local government, urban and
regional
planning, the federal bureaucracy and journalism, or in any of the
proliferating
quasi-public organizations which seek to monitor the political
processes
or to influence the content of public policy.
The Department of Political Science offers programs leading to
Associate of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of
Arts, Master of Public Administration, and Doctor of Arts degrees.
Within the framework of the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
programs, students may pursue a major in political science or they may
choose an emphasis in pre-law.
There is no required or specified curriculum which students who
emphasize
pre-law are expected to follow. An advisory committee has been created
to
assist such students in developing a curriculum that reflects their
individual
needs.
Outcome objectives are related to both student and program
development. Student related outcome objectives are listed below:
1. To gain a well-rounded knowledge of the basic fields
of the
discipline.
2. To develop an understanding of how political scientists think,
gather evidence, process data, and reach tentative conclusions.
3. To think critically about political phenomena and thought.
4. To develop effective oral and written communication skills.
5. To engage in problem solving.
6. To be exposed to a rich variety of perspectives and ideas.
7. To prepare for a career or profession after graduation that is
related to the political science major. This includes graduate
school.
Admission Requirements
1. Completion of a minimum of 24 credit hours with at least a 2.25 GPA.
2. Satisfactory completion of general education Goals 1 (English
Composition), 2 (Principles of Speech), and 3 (Mathematics).
3. Completion of both POLS 101 Introduction to American Government and
POLS 202 Introduction to Politics (or their equivalents) with at least
a C grade in each.
4. A signed agreement between the student and a member of the faculty agreeing to academic advising.
Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Political Science
Requirements for the B.A. and B.S. Degrees:
Core Curriculum: In addition to the general requirements for the B.A. and B.S.
degrees, political science majors are required to take the following
courses from the core curriculum:
POLS 101 Introduction to American Government 3 cr
POLS 202 Introduction to Politics 3 cr
POLS 221 Introduction to
International Relations 3 cr
POLS 313 Introduction to Political Philosophy 3 cr
POLS 331 Comparative Politics:
Framework for Analysis 3 cr
POLS g401 Political Parties and Interest Groups 3 cr
OR
POLS g427 Voting and Public Opinion 3 cr
POLS g403 The Presidency 3 cr
OR
POLS g404 Legislative Process 3 cr
POLS g442 Constitutional Law 3 cr
OR
POLS g443 Constitutional Law 3 cr
POLS 460 Senior Seminar 3 cr
In addition to the 27 credits from the core curriculum, majors are
required to earn a minimum of 12 elective credits selected from any of
the courses in the political science curriculum (excluding POLS 459).
Emphasis in Pre-law
Students who desire to complete this emphasis should consult with a
pre-law advisor in the Department of Political Science.
Minor in Political Science
Students seeking a minor in political science must complete the
following: POLS 101, 202, six credits of core curriculum courses
(excluding POLS 460) and six elective political science credits
(excluding POLS 459).
Associate of Science in Political Science
Students seeking an Associate of Science degree in Political Science
must complete the following:
General Education Goals for
Bachelor of Science variable
POLS 101 Introduction to American Government 3 cr
POLS 202 Introduction to Politics 3 cr
POLS 221 Introduction to
International Relations 3 cr
POLS 248 Politics and the
Administration of Justice 3 cr
OR
POLS 249 Introduction to Criminal Law 3 cr
Three additional courses in Political Science 9 cr
Electives to bring total to 64 cr variable
TOTAL: 64 cr
*The number of credits required for the General Education requirements
varies depending on the student's performance on proficiency or
placement tests in English, foreign languages, and mathematics.
Political Science Courses
Courses in this department are grouped into several topics, which
are shown here. Each topic is linked to a group of course
descriptions. You may browse either by clicking on the link to
reach the group of courses in a given topic, or by reading the course
names, noting the topic to which each course belongs, and then clicking
on the topic link.
Topics:
American Indian Studies
American Politics
Comparative Government
General Courses
International Politics
Introductory Courses
Political Analysis
Political Theory
Public Administration
Public Law
Courses in numerical order:
POLS 101 Introduction to American Government - Introductory Courses
POLS 202 Introduction to Politics - Introductory Courses
POLS 221 Introduction to International Relations - International
Politics
POLS 250 Idaho Politics - American Politics
POLS 308 State and Local Government - American Politics
POLS 313 Introduction to Political Philosophy - Political Theory
POLS 326 Recent American Foreign Policy - International Politics
POLS 331 Comparative Politics: Framework for Analysis - Comparative
Government
POLS 248 Politics and the Administration of Justice - Public Law
POLS 249 Introduction to Criminal Law - Public Law
POLS 342 American Legal Systems - Public Law
POLS 350 Special Topics in Political Science - General Courses
POLS g401 Political Parties and Interest Groups - American Politics
POLS g403 The Presidency - American Politics
POLS g404 The Legislative Process - American Politics
POLS g405 The Administrative Process - American Politics
POLS g406 Intergovernmental Relations - American Politics
POLS g408 Metropolitan and Urban Studies - American Politics
POLS g409 Community and Regional Planning American Politics
POLS g411 American Political Theory Political Theory
POLS g412 Modern Political Analysis - Political Analysis
POLS g418 Topics in Political Theory - Political Theory
POLS g419 Political Research Methods - Political Analysis
POLS g419L Political Research Methods Laboratory - Political Analysis
POLS g420 Contemporary Political Theory - Political Theory
POLS g421 Democratic Political Thoughts - Political Theory
POLS g425 Topics in International Politics - International Politics
POLS g427 Voting and Public Opinion - American Politics
POLS g432 Comparative Politics: Change and Political Order -
Comparative Government
POLS g433 Politics of Developing Nations - Comparative Government
POLS g434 Terrorism and Political Violence - International Politics
POLS g435 Topics in National and Regional Studies - Comparative
Government
POLS g441 Administrative Law - Public Administration
POLS g442 Constitutional Law - Public Law
POLS g443 Constitutional Law - Public Law
POLS g445 Jurisprudence and Legal Systems - Public Law
POLS g450 Special Topics in Law - Public Law
POLS g451 Organizational Theory and Bureaucratic Structure - Public
Administration
POLS g452 Financial Administration and Budgeting - Public
Administration
POLS g453 Public Policy Analysis - American Politics
POLS g454 Public Personnel Administration - Public Administration
POLS g455 Environmental Politics and Policy - American Politics
POLS g456 Labor Organization - Public Administration
POLS g457 Grantwriting - Public Administration
POLS g458 Public Administration Ethics - Public Administration
POLS g459 Government Internship - General Courses
POLS 460 Senior Seminar - General Courses
POLS g465 U.S. Political History - American Politics
POLS g466 Public Lands Policy - American Politics
POLS g467 State and Local Administration - Public Administration
POLS g471 Historical Geography of Idaho - General Courses
POLS g478 Federal Indian Law - American Indian Studies
POLS g479 Tribal Governments - American Indian Studies
POLS g491 Seminar - General Courses
POLS g492 Seminar - General Courses
Course Descriptions, grouped by topic:
Introductory
Courses
POLS 101 Introduction to American
Government 3 credits. Constitutional basis, structure, and
administrative organization of the national government. Satisfies Goal
11 of
the General Education Requirements. F, S, Su
POLS 202 Introduction to Politics 3
credits. This class is an introduction to the fundamental issues
in political science. Examples of topics covered include equality,
majority rule, and
the fact-value distinction. Required for all students majoring in
political
science. F
American
Indian Studies
POLS g478 Federal Indian Law 3 credits. Examination
of tribal governments; their relationship with the federal government;
sovereignty, jurisdictional conflicts over land and resources; and
economic development. Cross-listed as ANTH g478. D
POLS g479 Tribal Governments 3 credits. Complex
legal position of Indian tribes as self-governing entities; principles
of inherent powers; governmental organization, lawmaking, justice,
relation to state and federal government. Cross-listed as ANTH g479. D
American
Politics
POLS
250 Idaho Politics 3 credits. Historical development and political analysis of Idaho politics from the
first settlers to the present. D
POLS 308 State and Local Government 3
credits. Study of the institutions of state and local government
in a behavioral context. D
POLS g401 Political Parties and Interest
Groups 3 credits. The nature and development of political parties
and pressure groups as exemplified in the United States. S
POLS g403 The Presidency 3 credits. Evolution
and development of the office of the President; its major
responsibilities in domestic and foreign affairs, with emphasis on
particular power problems that confront the President. F
POLS g404 The Legislative Process 3
credits. Nature and functions of the U.S. Congress. Topics
covered: legislative campaigns, the politics of lawmaking,
congressional investigations, and
major problems facing the Congress. S
POLS g405 The Administrative Process 3
credits. Analysis of the principles of public administration with
an introduction to theories of organization and administration. D
POLS g406 Intergovernmental Relations 3
credits. Analysis of patterns of intergovernmental relations
including changing patterns of program and fiscal responsibility in the
federal system. The
emerging role of new federal structures, state and substate regional
organizations will be reviewed in the context of "new" federalism and
its implications for intergovernmental relationships.D
POLS g408 Metropolitan and Urban Studies
3 credits. Analysis of metropolitan and smaller urban systems with
emphasis on
relationships among general groups, political organizations and
institutions. Federal, state and interlocal programs will serve as a
focus for analyzing particular problems of metropolitan and urban
systems in the 20th century. D
POLS g409 Community and Regional Planning
3 credits. Steps involved in planning will be analyzed in the
context of
community and regional decision-making processes. Two perspectives will
be
stressed—that of the decision-maker, the social structure within which
the
decision-maker operates and strategies for implementing decision; and
that
of the citizen or group interest which lies outside the power structure
of
the community. Each perspective will be used as a framework for
analyzing power configurations, techniques of identifying patterns of
decision making, and various forms of citizen participation. D
POLS g427 Voting and Public Opinion 3
credits. Analysis of the way citizens and government communicate
with each other.
Elections, public opinion, and media influence are studied. AF
POLS g453 Public Policy Analysis 3 credits. Theoretical
and practical analyses of public policies, including theories of policy
formation and their
political implementation through governmental institutions. Case
studies will provide the means of analyzing specific policy problems. D
POLS g455 Environmental Politics and
Policy 3 credits. Study of the Political forces affecting
environmental policy and investigation of several specific policies
affecting the environment, such as: pollution control, energy
production, hazardous chemicals, and the
public lands. D
POLS g465 U.S. Political
History 3 credits. Study of the political history of the United States
involving a discussion of theories of popular voting behavior, critical
elections, and political party systems. Cross-listed as HIST g465. R2
POLS g466 Public Lands Policy 3 credits.
Analysis of the historical and contemporary use and disposition of the
federal public lands. The agencies that manage the public lands, major
laws, and regulations and the political conflict that surrounds their
use and conservation. D
Political
Analysis
POLS g412 Modern Political Analysis 3
credits. Methods of political inquiry and theories and doctrines
of politics, with emphasis on modern developments. D
POLS g419 Political Research Methods 3
credits. This class investigates the theory and application of
various research methods and statistical techniques common to the
social sciences, with particular reference to their use in political
inquiry. D
POLS g419L Political Research Methods
Laboratory 1 credit. Application of and practice in research
methods. D
Public
Administration
POLS g441 Administrative Law 3 credits. Introductory
survey of the legal principles defining governmental administrative
processes. Topics include judicial review, tort liability of
governments and offices, rules and rule-making, due process, and the
limits of administrative discretion. D
POLS g451 Organizational Theory and
Bureaucratic Structure 3 credits. Introduction to the study of
complex organizations and organizational behavior in the administration
of public policy. Emphasis on public institutions. PREREQ: POLS 405
recommended. D
POLS g452 Financial Administration and
Budgeting 3 credits. Emphasis on different approaches to financial
administration, ranging from incremental and short-term planning to
more recent and comprehensive emphases on management by objectives and
zero based budgeting. The development of the Office of Management and
Budget and its relationship with the President, Congress and the
Federal Bureaucracy will be considered as well as political,
organizational and behavioral constraints on budgetary decision-making.
D
POLS g454 Public Personnel Administration
3 credits. Operations and processes of personnel management in
public institutions.
Major topics include personnel processes, public employee rights and
duties,
employee motivation and morale, the political environment of public
personnel
administration, and the impact of professionalism, technology, and
participatory
democracy on public personnel practices. D
POLS g456 Labor Organization 3 credits. Evolution
of economic systems and labor's response to changing patterns of
production is studied, and a counter perspective to traditional
management views of "efficiency" is presented. Emphasis is on
governmental employee unions.D
POLS g457 Grantwriting 3 credits. Steps
involved in the grantwriting process from strategic planning, research,
and
writing to finding appropriate grant sources. D
POLS g458 Public Administration Ethics 3
credits. A course in applied ethics serving to educate students
from a theoretical and a practical point of view. The course provides
an historical and social perspective of ethics in public
administration. D
POLS g467 State and Local Administration 3 credits.
Seminar in the practice and principles of state, municipal, and
sub-state management. Emphasis on the evolution of interaction between
different branches of sub-national government. S
Political
Theory
POLS 313 Introduction to Political
Philosophy 3 credits. Examination of selected writings in
political philosophy from
the classical, Christian and early modern eras. S
POLS g411 American Political Theory 3
credits. Political ideas in the United States from Colonial and
Revolutionary times through the controversies of the Civil War to the
present. D
POLS g418 Topics in Political Theory 3 credits. This
course requires examination, analysis and investigation of selected
texts and topics in political philosophy. May be repeated for up to 6
credits. D
POLS g420 Contemporary Political Theory 3
credits. Recent 20th century political philosophies and theories
ranging from democratic, Marxist, and existentialist thought to
Critical Theory and postmodernism. D
POLS g421 Democratic Political Thoughts 3
credits. Historical and contemporary models of democracy as well
as contemporary debates in democratic thought. Democracy is treated as
a contested idea.
D
International
Politics
POLS 221 Introduction to International
Relations 3 credits. Conceptual introduction to international
relations, with emphasis
on sovereignty, national interest, power, and balance of power. F
POLS 326 Recent American Foreign Policy 3
credits. Study of recent American foreign policy focused on the
interrelationship of domestic and foreign policies and the problems of
formulating foreign
policy in a democratic state.D
POLS g425 Topics in International
Politics 3
credits. This course requires examination, analysis and evaluation
of
selected topics in international politics. May be repeated for a
maximum of
6 credits. D
POLS g434 Terrorism and Political
Violence 3
credits. A survey of forms of domestic and transnational terrorism,
other
forms of political violence, and problems of counter-terrorism. D
Comparative
Government
POLS 331 Comparative Politics: Framework
for Analysis 3 credits. Introduction to various theoretical
approaches to comparative analyses of different cultures and nations,
and to other courses in this area of emphasis. F
POLS g432 Comparative Politics: Change
and Political
Order 3 credits. An examination of political
change,
political order, political culture and the role of revolutionary
violence.
Change and order in the context of globalization is emphasized. D
POLS g433 Politics of Developing Nations
3 credits. Study of problems in the political analysis of rapidly
changing and
unstable "developing" nation states with an emphasis on problems of the
political,
economic, and social development of selected states. D
POLS g435 Topics in National and Regional
Studies 3 credits. Surveys the political, economic, and social
issues of a nation or region. May be repeated once with a different
topic. D
Public Law
POLS 248 Politics and the Administration
of Justice 3 credits. The criminal justice system in the United
States will
be examined by investigating its component parts: police, court, and
correction.
In addition, the problem of coordination among these agencies will be
explored
as will the relationship of the criminal justice network to the larger
society.
D
POLS 249 Introduction to Criminal Law 3
credits. The major categories of criminal liability are studied
within the context
of American criminal justice. These include crimes against individuals,
property, and society. Defenses available to those accused of criminal
activity are also discussed. D
POLS g442 Constitutional Law 3 credits. Analysis
of opinions of the United States Supreme Court concerning the
distribution of authority between the national government and the
states and the relationship among the branches of the national
government. F
POLS g443 Constitutional Law 3 credits. Analysis
of opinions of the United States Supreme Court with a special emphasis
on criminal cases and civil liberties. S
POLS g445 Jurisprudence
3 credits. Nature, source, and theories of law; the role of law in
modern society;
and the application of legal philosophy to the political system. D
POLS g450 Special Topics in Law 3 credits. Examine and analyze selected topics in constitutional law and legal philosophy. Topics may include the constitution and foreign affairs, women and the law, law and literature, and law and film. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. D
General
Courses
POLS 350 Special Topics in Political Science 3 credits. Examine and analyze selected topics in politics. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. D
POLS g459 Government Internship 1-9
credits. Directed student internship in political science and
organizations or associations related to public policy and the
selection of public officials involving supervised work experience in
research, staff management practices, or making and implementing public
policies. The student will be placed in a supervised position
commensurate with his/her abilities as determined and
approved by faculty in the department. May be repeated for a total of 9
credits.
Graded S/U. F,
S, Su
POLS 460 Senior Seminar 3 credits. This
seminar is designed to integrate undergraduate academic experience in
the major. Students will be required to do research and writing on
topics encountered in their undergraduate curriculum. Required of, and
open to, senior majors. S
POLS g471
Historical Geography of Idaho 3 credits. Influences of geography
and geology on Idaho's economic, political and cultural history. May be
team taught and include field trips, discussion sections. Cross-listed
as GEOL g471 and HIST g471. AS
POLS g491 Seminar 1-3 credits.
Research, reading, discussion, and the preparation of reports on
selected topics. Ordinarily
for seniors majoring in political science and having the instructor's
consent.
May be repeated for a total of 6 credits. F, S, Su
POLS g492 Seminar 1-3 credits.
Research, reading, discussion, and the preparation of reports on
selected topics. Ordinarily
for seniors majoring in political science and having the instructor's
consent.
May be repeated for a total of 6 credits. F, S, Su
