PSCI4130 - Oil to Diamonds: The Political Economy of Natural Resources in Africa

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Oil to Diamonds: The Political Economy of Natural Resources in Africa
Term
2024C
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
401
Section ID
PSCI4130401
Course number integer
4130
Meeting times
T 1:45 PM-4:44 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Adewale Adebanwi
Description
This course examines the ways in which the processes of the extraction, refining, sale and use of natural resources – including oil and diamond – in Africa produce complex regional and global dynamics. We explore how values are placed on resources, how such values, the regimes of valuation, commodification and the social formations that are (re)produced by these regimes lead to cooperation and conflict in the contemporary African state, including in the relationships of resource-rich African countries with global powers. Specific cases will be examined against the backdrop of theoretical insights to encourage comparative analyses beyond Africa. Some audio-visual materials will be used to enhance the understanding of the political economy and sociality of natural resources.
Course number only
4130
Cross listings
AFRC4500401, ANTH3045401, SOCI2904401
Use local description
No

PSCI3802 - Political Polling

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
1
Title (text only)
Political Polling
Term
2024C
Syllabus URL
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
001
Section ID
PSCI3802001
Course number integer
3802
Meeting times
MW 10:15 AM-11:44 AM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
William Marble
Description
Political polls are a central feature of elections and are ubiquitously employed to understand and explain voter intentions and public opinion. This course will examine political polling by focusing on four main areas of consideration. First, what is the role of political polls in a functioning democracy? This area will explore the theoretical justifications for polling as a representation of public opinion. Second, the course will explore the business and use of political polling, including media coverage of polls, use by politicians for political strategy and messaging, and the impact polls have on elections specifically and politics more broadly. The third area will focus on the nuts and bolts of election and political polls, specifically with regard to exploring traditional questions and scales used for political measurement; the construction and considerations of likely voter models; measurement of the horserace; and samples and modes used for election polls. The course will additionally cover a fourth area of special topics, which will include exit polling, prediction markets, polling aggregation, and other topics. It is not necessary for students to have any specialized mathematical or statistical background for this course.
Course number only
3802
Use local description
No

PSCI3800 - Applied Data Science

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
1
Title (text only)
Applied Data Science
Term
2024C
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
001
Section ID
PSCI3800001
Course number integer
3800
Meeting times
MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Stephen Scott Pettigrew
Description
Jobs in data science are quickly proliferating throughout nearly every industry in the American economy. The purpose of this class is to build the statistics, programming, and qualitative skills that are required to excel in data science. The substantive focus of the class will largely be on topics related to politics and elections, although the technical skills can be applied to any subject matter.
Course number only
3800
Fulfills
Quantitative Data Analysis
Use local description
No

PSCI3600 - Democracy and Disagreement (SNF Paideia Program Course)

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
1
Title (text only)
Democracy and Disagreement (SNF Paideia Program Course)
Term
2024C
Syllabus URL
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
001
Section ID
PSCI3600001
Course number integer
3600
Meeting times
TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Ian Macmullen
Description
When and how can we justify using the power of the government to force our fellow citizens to follow rules with which they disagree? In attempting to answer this question, we will pay special attention to (1) the various different types and sources of political disagreement and (2) the role of deliberation and reason-giving in a democracy. Through reading and debating works of contemporary political theory and philosophy, this course should help you to reflect on some fundamental but easily neglected questions about your own civic attitudes and behavior. What beliefs underpin your political commitments, why do you hold those beliefs, and why do other people see things differently? What makes you so sure that you’re right and they’re wrong? How, if at all, should you try to change their minds? When, if ever, should you refrain from supporting legal prohibition of actions that you feel sure are morally wrong?
The course will be taught in a hybrid lecture/discussion format. Students will be expected to take a short quiz at the start of many class sessions and to write at least three short papers.
Course number only
3600
Use local description
No

PSCI2420 - Diplomacy in the Americas - The Penn Model OAS Program

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Diplomacy in the Americas - The Penn Model OAS Program
Term
2024C
Syllabus URL
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
401
Section ID
PSCI2420401
Course number integer
2420
Meeting times
TR 4:30 PM-5:59 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Catherine E.M. Bartch
Description
"Diplomacy in the Americas" an academically based community service course in which students work with Philadelphia and Norristown public school students to explore solutions to critical problems facing the Americas. Entrenched political, economic, and social inequality, combined with environmental degradation, weak institutions, pervasive health epidemics, weapon proliferation, and other issues pose formidable hurdles for strengthening democratic ideals and institutions. The Organization of the American States (OAS), the world's oldest regional organization, is uniquely poised to confront these challenges. "Diplomacy in the Americas" guides students through the process of writing policy resolutions as though the students were Organization of the American States (OAS) diplomats, basing their research and proposals on democracy, development, security, and human rights - the four pillars of the OAS. Students will also read literature about what it means to educate for a democracy and global citizenry, and they will have the opportunity to turn theory into practice by creating and executing curriculum to teach and mentor the high school students through interactive and experiential pedagogies.
Course number only
2420
Cross listings
LALS3020401
Fulfills
Cross Cultural Analysis
Use local description
No

PSCI2211 - The Mechanics of American Foreign Policy (PIW)

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
301
Title (text only)
The Mechanics of American Foreign Policy (PIW)
Term
2024C
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
301
Section ID
PSCI2211301
Course number integer
2211
Level
undergraduate
Description
The Trump Presidency has profoundly shifted America's role in the world and the way in which key institutions of foreign policy making are staffed and positioned to advance America's interests. The ascent of extreme nationalists and nationalism in other power centers in the world along with growing distrust in government and public institutions may have marked the close of the two-decade post 9/11 era. Indeed, the global COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which actors across the international spectrum have responded (or failed to respond) has led many to question the assumptions inherent in the post-9/11 international order and has marked the beginning of a new era of competition, a return to great-power politics, and the diminishing power of traditional actors, systems, and ideals on the global stage. This course will provide students with an in-depth, practical analysis of foreign policy and foreign policy making, with a view from Washington. It will also provide a baseline global literacy, through the lens of emerging ideas, institutions, interests, and actors, and focus on a framework for understanding shifts already underway in how Washington views the world. We will utilize less traditional resources, and instead focus on practical and "real-world" course material as well as less traditional instruction methods - utilizing and analyzing the sources and resources that policy makers in Washington rely upon. These include long-form journalism, official government documents, hearings and Congressional debate, think tank products, and news sources. Students will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of guest-speakers, all of whom have held senior official and non-governmental roles in American foreign policy making and influencing. Guest speakers will provide unique insight into their own experiences at the highest levels of foreign policy making and advocacy, and offer guidance as to how to pursue careers in foreign policy, national security, and international development. In the past, guest speakers have included: Former Deputy Secretaries of State William Burns and Heather Higginbottom; Executive Director of the ONE Campaign; Former Director of Policy Planning at the State Department; Former Ambassadors, Senior Professional Staff from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, former Assistant Secretary of Population, Refugees, and Migration, among others.
Course number only
2211
Use local description
No

PSCI2210 - Balance of Power in American Politics (PIW)

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
301
Title (text only)
Balance of Power in American Politics (PIW)
Term
2024C
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
301
Section ID
PSCI2210301
Course number integer
2210
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Wendy Ginsberg
Description
How do the Constitution's checks and balances work in practice? And where are they not working? This course examines the fault lines between Washington's two most powerful institutions - Congress and the President - how they clash, and where they work together. Students learn how Congress and the President share and compete for power in lawmaking, spending, investigations, nominations, foreign policy, and impeachment. The course is designed to foster skills in formulating strategies for conducting policy in an environment of institutions competing for power.
Course number only
2210
Use local description
No

PSCI2200 - Preparing for Policy Work in Washington

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
301
Title (text only)
Preparing for Policy Work in Washington
Term
2024C
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
301
Section ID
PSCI2200301
Course number integer
2200
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Deirdre Martinez
Description
Designed to complement a policy internship, this two credit course will focus on content and skills that are likely to be useful in typical Washington offices. Students will develop literacy on the most pressing domestic policy topics and will work on writing and presentation skills. All students will participate in a public policy internship for at least ten hours a week.
Course number only
2200
Use local description
No

PSCI1801 - Statistical Methods PSCI

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
1
Title (text only)
Statistical Methods PSCI
Term
2024C
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
001
Section ID
PSCI1801001
Course number integer
1801
Meeting times
MW 12:00 PM-1:29 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Marc Trussler
Description
This course is designed as a follow-up to PSCI 1800. In that class students learn a great deal about how to work with individual data sets in R: cleaning, tidying, merging, describing and visualizing data. PSCI 1801 shifts focus to the ultimate goal of data science: making inferences about the world based on the small sample of data that we have. Using a methodology that emphasizes intuition and simulation over mathematics, this course will cover the key statistical concepts of probability, sampling, distributions, hypothesis testing, and covariance. The ultimate goal of the class is for students to have the knowledge and ability to perform, customize, and explain bivariate and multivariate regression. Students who have not taken PSCI-1800 should have basic familiarity with R, including working with vectors and matrices, basic summary statistics, visualizations, and for() loops.
Course number only
1801
Fulfills
Quantitative Data Analysis
Use local description
No

PSCI1800 - Introduction to Data Science

Status
A
Activity
REC
Section number integer
207
Title (text only)
Introduction to Data Science
Term
2024C
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
207
Section ID
PSCI1800207
Course number integer
1800
Meeting times
F 1:45 PM-2:44 PM
Level
undergraduate
Description
Understanding and interpreting large datasets is increasingly central in political and social science. From polling, to policing, to economic inequality, to international trade, knowing how to work with data will allow you to shed light on a wide variety of substantive topics. This is a first course in a 4-course sequence that teaches students how to work with and analyze data. This class focuses on data acquisition, management, and visualization, the core skills needed to do data science. Leaving this course, students will be able to acquire, input, format, analyze, and visualize various types of political and social science data using the statistical programming language R. While no background in statistics or political science is required, students are expected to be generally familiar with contemporary computing environments (e.g. know how to use a computer) and have a willingness to learn a variety of data science tools. Leaving this class, students will be prepared to deepen their R skills in PSCI 3800, and then use their R skills to learn statistics in PSCI 1801 and 3801. They will also be ready to use their R skills in courses in other disciplines as well.
Course number only
1800
Fulfills
Quantitative Data Analysis
Use local description
No