This course is designed to introduce students to comparative political analysis. How can the political behavior, circumstances, institutions, and dynamic patterns of change that people experience in very different societies be analyzed using the same set of concepts and theories? Key themes include nationalism, political culture, democratization, authoritarianism, and the nature of protracted conflict.

Religion matters politically in America, and always has. Religious ideas -- and ideas about religion -- punctuate both early debates about the U.S. Constitution and present-day debates about civil rights and civil liberties. Religion influences opinion, voting, and lawmaking. Religious congregations, service agencies, and charities, many with public funding, predominate in the nation's vast and growing nonprofit sector. Religious leaders influence U.S. public policy and programs, both domestic and international. This seminar explores the historical, intellectual, constitutional, electoral, and institutional dimensions of religious leadership and U.S. public policy.

This course examines the politics of international economic relations. The course will analyze the interplay between politics and economics in three broad areas: international trade, international finance, and economic development. In each section, we will first discuss economic theories that explain the causes and consequences of international commerce, capital flows, and economic growth. We will then explore how political interests, institutions, and ideas alter these predictions, examining both historical examples and current policy debates.

This seminar introduces students to the nation's trillion-dollar tax-exempt sector with a focus on religious nonprofit organizations including congregations and other so-called faith-based institutions. Among the topics it explores are new and old questions surrounding church-state relations, the role of relgion in American politics, empirical "faith factor" research, and attempts to estimate the social costs and benefits associated with diverse religious nonprofit organizations.

Individual research to be taken under direction of faculty member. Students wishing to do an independent study should contact the Political Science department.

This course is a comparative study of whether and how political institutions (political regimes, constitutional rules, party and electoral systems) affect economic performance (economic growth, investment, income distribution).

This course is a comparative study of whether and how political institutions (political regimes, constitutional rules, party and electoral systems) affect economic performance (economic growth, investment, income distribution).

This course is a comparative study of whether and how political institutions (political regimes, constitutional rules, party and electoral systems) affect economic performance (economic growth, investment, income distribution).

This course is a comparative study of whether and how political institutions (political regimes, constitutional rules, party and electoral systems) affect economic performance (economic growth, investment, income distribution).

Course participants will study the stages and strategies in running for public office and discuss the role of various influences on getting elected, including campaign finance and fundraising, demographics, polling, the media, staffing, economics, party organization, etc. The course will also examine how electoral politics varies by level -- city, state, national. Students will analyze campaign case studies and the career of the instructor himself. The instructor will also bring in speakers who can provide other perspectives on electoral politics.The instructor is the former Mayor of Philadelphia, Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and is currently the Governor of Pennsylvania.