Course Requirements

Of the ten courses required for the Political Science major, three must be introductory lecture courses at the 1000-level, or selected 3000-level courses, in three of the four subfields. These courses are designed to provide an introduction to the main subject matter and major theories of each subfield. They also serve to familiarize students with the analytic approaches that political scientists use. After taking lecture courses in the relevant subfields, students are eligible to take the three required colloquium courses.

The subfields are:

• Political Theory (PT): the study of the conceptual foundations of political systems and behavior.
• American Government and Politics (AP): the study of all aspects of the American political system, including its development, institutions, procedures, and actors.
• Comparative Politics (CP): the study of the political systems of other countries and regions, including the use of comparisons across cases in order to gain a broader and deeper understanding of events, institutions, and processes.
• International Relations (IR): the study of relations between countries and the dynamics and development of the international system.

Advanced Placement Credit:

A student granted Advanced Placement (AP) credit by the College in either American Politics or Comparative Politics with an exam score of 5 will have fulfilled the prerequisite for courses that require the prior completion of POLS UN1201 or UN1501, respectively. If the student wants to take the introductory American Politics or Comparative Politics course, she may do so, but she then will forfeit her corresponding AP credit.

*AP credit does not count toward the number of courses required for the major or minor, in other words, the student still needs to complete the ten courses for the major or the five for the minor.*

The 1000-level Lecture Courses 

These may be taken at Barnard or at Columbia:
UN 1013 Political Theory (Ethics & Values, formerly REA)
UN 1201 American Politics (SOC)
UN1501 Comparative Politics (SOC; CUL)
UN 1601 International Politics (SOC)

The Approved Intro Substitutes

(1) AT BARNARD:

A student may substitute these selected Barnard College 3000-level political science lecture courses for the 1000-level course in the same subfield. Applicable Columbia lecture courses are listed below. (Please note that it must be a lecture course; no other format--colloquium, seminar, workshop, etc.--is appropriate.) 

If you are interested in a 3000-level political science lecture course not listed under this heading, please ask your advisor to make a case to our Department Chair. Courses that were evaluated but deemed not appropriate as an intro-level courses are listed at the bottom of this section.

The General Education Requirements (GER) satisfied by the courses are indicated within brackets. See also the College's comprehensive GER list.

A note on how Barnard and Columbia list courses. A prefix of "BC" indicates that the course is offered primarily for Barnard students; a "C" course, primarily for Columbia College students. "G" courses are graduate courses and a "UN" indicates a joint course, usually Barnard with Columbia College. Undergraduate-level courses are 1000-3999 whereas 4000-4999 courses are designed for advanced undergraduate & first-year graduate students. Courses at the 5000-8999 level are graduate courses not normally open to undergraduate students.

Political Theory
UN3103 Great Political Thinkers in the Black Intellectual Tradition

American Government & Politics
BC 3200 American Political Development 1789-1980 (SOC; HIS)
BC 3210 Power, Politics and Policymaking (SOC)
UN 3212 Environmental Politics (SOC)
UN 3240 Race, Law and American Politics
UN 3313 American Urban Politics (SOC)

Comparative Politics
UN 3401 Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe (SOC; HIS)
UN 3604 Civil Wars and International Interventions in Africa (counts as an intro in either CP or IR)
UN 3620 Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Politics (SOC; HIS)

International Relations
UN 3604 Civil Wars and International Interventions in Africa (counts as an intro in either CP or IR)
UN 3615 Globalization and International Politics (SOC)
 

(2) AT COLUMBIA:

The following selected Columbia College lecture courses fulfill the intro-level requirement. Where known, we have added the General Education Requirement (GER) within brackets.

Political Theory
UN 3020 Democracy & Its Critics (REA; SOC)
UN 3100 Justice
UN 3120 Democratic Theory
UN 3150 Greek Political Thought
UN 3160 Politics & Religion: The Crisis of Sovereignty
UN3190 Republicanism: Plato to Petit

American Government & Politics
UN 3202 Labor & American Politics (SOC)
UN 3208 State Politics (SOC)
UN 3210 Judicial Politics
UN 3245 Race & Ethnicity in American Politics (SOC)
UN 3260 The Latino Political Experience (SOC)
UN 3280 20th-Century American Politics (HIS)
UN 3290 Voting & American Politics (SOC)
UN 3322 The American Congress (SOC)
UN 3399 The Supreme Court & American Politics

Comparative Politics
UN 3506 Comparative Party Politics
UN 3522 The Life Cycle of Communist Regimes (SOC)
UN 3548 Politics of Western Europe
UN 3553 Russian Politics
UN 3580 Political Economy & Sociology of Global Capitalism
UN 3585 Political Economy of Development (SOC)

International Relations
UN 3619 Nationalism & Contemporary World Politics
UN 3625 Rising Great Powers in International Relations
UN 3631 American Foreign Policy

 

Courses that have not been approved as intro substitutes:

Before you petition for a course to be approved as an intro substitute, please refer to this list of classes that have been submitted and rejected. These courses count for elective credit, but they will not count as intro substitutes. 

In addition to the three introductory courses and the three colloquia, political science majors choose four electives, normally at the 3000- or 4000-level. These courses are designed to deepen and expand students’ knowledge base and encourage them to apply social scientific reasoning and theories to the analysis of a broad range of political issues and problems.

Please use the Major Audit to plan your program and to track your courses.

What fulfills the Four-Course Electives requirement:

1. All courses offered at Barnard or Columbia in political science with a POLS prefix satisfy elective course requirements, including introductory lecture courses, colloquia and cross-listed courses. 
    
2. The Independent Study Option POLS BC3799. Students who wish to do an independent study project (ISP) should first speak to a political science faculty member willing to sponsor it and consult with this instructor as to workload and points of credit. Credit is given for an academic research paper written in conjunction with an internship, but no academic credit is given for an internship or job experience per sé. The student must then apply to the Committee on Programs and Academic Standing (CPAS), which must approve all Independent Study requests. Once the request is granted, the Registrar creates a section and assigns a call number, and the student is notified of the call number so she can enter the course on her program. (Each instructor has a separate section and call number. Each instructor is limited to sponsoring one independent study per semester.) Independent study counts as a course for the purpose of the political science requirements, provided the project is approved for 3 or 4 points of credit. A project taken for 1 or 2 points does not count as a course toward the major, the minor, or the concentration requirement. A student may use no more than one instance of POLS BC3799 towards her major requirements. 
    
3. With pre-approval, first from the individual Major Advisor and then from the Department Chair, student may substitute a course in another department for one of the four elective courses. This course cannot be an introductory course and it must have significant political science content (use the Course Approval Request Form). Approval after the fact will not be granted.
    
4. Seven of the ten courses for the major must be taken from courses listed in the political science section of the Barnard Course Catalog (see #1 for specifics). Within the three-course limit of courses taken elsewhere, the following caps traditionally apply: three transfer courses; two Reid Hall courses; two study-abroad courses from one semester away or three study-abroad courses from a full year away; one summer session course. On rare occasions the Department Chair may grant an exception (use the Course Approval Request Form). With the exception of transfer courses, these courses need pre-approval from the Department Representative. All of these courses, including transfer courses, require approval after completion from the Department Representative to count toward the major, minor or concentration. Please use the Course Approval Form. 

What does not fulfill the Four-Course Electives requirement:

• The Independent Study Option POLS BC3799 does not satisfy the course requirement if the project is for 1 or 2 points.
• College-granted AP credit for American Politics or Comparative Politics does not count as major course credit. (See Advanced Placement Credit.)
• Courses taken at other colleges, in summer sessions, or abroad, which are not equivalent in rigor and workload to Barnard courses, as determined by the Department Representative, in consultation with other faculty of the department, will not count toward the major, minor or concentration requirements.

Please use the Major Audit to plan your program and to track your courses.

Every Barnard Political Science major must take three colloquia. The third colloquium integrates the senior capstone requirement. 

 

The colloquium format involves weekly discussion of readings, and development of research skills through completion of a 25- to 30-page research paper, constituting the major piece of written work for the course.  See the course catalogue for a detailed description of the colloquium requirement. A colloquium, as with any course used for the major or minor requirement, cannot be taken Pass/D/Fail. 

 

Prerequisite: Please make certain that, before enrolling, you will have successfully completed one lecture course in the relevant subfield or have received special permission from the instructor for that requirement to be waived. Colloquia are not suitable for first-year students. Sophomores will be admitted as room permits. When making your third colloquium selection, please keep in mind that it is to your benefit to choose one in the field of your anticipated senior essay topic.

Columbia seminars do not fulfill the colloquium requirement for political science (they do provide elective credit).

 

Each political science colloquium is limited to students who are assigned by the department, not by individual instructors. Preference is given in the following order: senior Barnard majors; junior Barnard majors; sophomore Barnard students who have declared the major and will be studying abroad during junior year; senior and junior majors from other undergraduate divisions of the University; non-majors from all undergraduate divisions of the university. 

 

Please apply here. If you run into any problems filling out the form, please email PolSci@barnard.edu.

 

Application Deadlines

For the fall colloquia, Barnard Political Science majors must submit their applications by 5:00 p.m. on April 1. 

For the spring colloquia, Barnard Political Science majors must submit their applications by 5:00 p.m. on November 1st. Students will receive an email notifying them of their placement. 

(Sophomores, please note: The Dean of Studies' due date for you to declare your major is March 1.)

 

Please note that students are assigned to a colloquium by the Department and not by individual instructors. Be sure to attend the first class session in order to secure your place in the course.

 

Spring 2020 Colloquium Schedule (applications due November 1, 2019)

NOTE: Unless otherwise mentioned, the only prerequisite for each colloquium is the intro course or approved substitution for that subfield. 

Political Theory

POLS BC3329 Colloquium on Harlem in Theory (Smith) -- Wednesday 4:10-6pm

Harlem in Theory is an advanced political theory colloquium.  Its focus is both thematic and methodological. Joining a two-thousand year tradition of doing philosophy in and for the city, we theorize Harlem as urbs and civitas (place and socio-political association) and bring Harlem to bear on philosophy.  We explore the political theorist's craft by engaging different theoretical approaches and methodologies used by political, social and critical theorists. Our readings include political philosophy, critical frameworks for interpretation and historical, social scientific and literary works about Harlem - supplemented by film, music and of course periodic trips to various Harlem venues. General Education Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC).

 

POLS BC3435 Law and Violence (Gundogdu) -- Tuesday 2:10-4pm

Prerequisite: Political Theory (POLS 1011) or equivalent.

This colloquium examines how the law can participate in the justification of various forms of violence, exclusion, and inequality. It focuses on the power of law to determine which subjects get recognized as persons entitled to rights. Possible topics include slavery, migration, gender, sexual orientation, disability, homelessness, and nonhuman animals. 
 

American Politics 

POLS BC3445 Gender and Public Policy (Krimmel) -- Wednesday 2:10-4pm

In this course, we will examine how notions of sex and gender have shaped public policies, and how public policies have affected the social, economic, and political citizenship of men and women in the United States over time.

 

POLS BC3451 Inequality and Power (Lacombe) -- Tuesday 2:10-4pm

Prerequisite: Introduction to American Politics (POLS UN1201) or equivalent.

In recent decades, economic inequality in the United States has soared to levels not seen for nearly a century: Wages for workers have stagnated, while the proportion of wealth concentrated among the most well-off Americans has steadily increased. These trends may have dire consequences for the state of representative democracy in the United States, as they endow a relatively small number of citizens with a disproportionate amount of resources to deploy politically. The result is a political system that often responds to the preferences of the wealthiest Americans, while frequently ignoring the views of most ordinary citizens.

This course, in diverse ways, explores the political causes and consequences of rising inequality, especially with regards to who has political power. We will begin by examining the contours of inequality in the U.S. while also exploring the various ways that power manifests itself in politics. We’ll then explore the relationship between wealth and public policy outcomes in the United States, along with the ways that the very wealthiest Americans – both individually and collectively – work to advance their policy views. Beyond just examining national-level politics, we will also discuss inequality and power on the state- and local-levels. We’ll then explore how political and economic inequality are interrelated with race and social class, and how all of this connects to the rise of Donald Trump. Finally, we will assess potential remedies to political and economic inequality.

 

Comparative Politics 

POLS BC3543 Non-State Governance in Contexts of Crime and War (Moncada) -- Monday 2:10-4pm

Prerequisite: Introduction to Comparative Politics (POLS 1501) or equivalent.

The conventional wisdom is that crime and civil war are linked to disorder. But these are far from disorderly and ungoverned spaces. Unpacking these settings reveals complex forms of non-state governance constructed by a range of actors, including rebel and guerillas, gangs, vigilantes, and protection rackets – sometimes facilitated by the state.

 

POLS BC3540 Constructing States, Nations, and Democracy (Berman) -- Monday 2:10-4pm

Prerequisite: Introduction to Comparative Politics (POLS 1501) or equivalent.

The course will examine the development of, and relationship among, the three constituent features of the modern political world: states, nations and democracy. The course will analyze both historical and contemporary cases, tracing how causal processes unfold over time and space and what past conditions and experiences lie behind today's political dynamics and problems.

 

POLS BC3801 Politics of Economic Development In the World (Lu) -- Wednesday 2:10-4pm 

Prerequisite: Introduction to Comparative Politics (POLS 1501) or equivalent.

The semester-long course aims to study political and social factors behind economic development and exam empirical cases of the success and failure in economic growth in order to understand the key features of the development processes. In the last two centuries, some countries successfully achieved economic growth and development, while other failed to do so. Even in the post-WWII period, the world has witnessed the rise and decline of economies around the world. Why do nations succeed or fail in economic development? How do political institutions affect economic outcomes? What are the ways in which state and market interact and influence each other? Can democracy be considered a cause of development, an outgrowth of development, or neither and to which extent? How do external factors such as foreign aid encourage or discourage development? We will try to examine these questions by taking a historical-institutional and comparative approach and take a critical look at the role of political and other institutions by applying theoretical guidelines and empirical cases. We will explore competing explanations for the successes and failures of economic development in the world. Objective: 1. Understand some important concepts and theories within the fields of comparative politics and political economy. To explore the interconnections between politics, economy, and society in the context of development policy and practice. 2. Develop basic analytic skills to explore various factors that shape political, economic, and social development and underdevelopment in the world; 3. Understand some country specific political economy processes and how these processes prove or disprove certain theories and policies.

 

International Politics 

POLS BC3411 Building Peace (Autesserre) -- Tuesday 12:10-2pm

Prerequisite: Introduction to International Politics (POLS 1601) or equivalent.

How can we build peace in the aftermath of extensive violence? How can international actors help in this process? This colloquium focuses on international peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts in recent conflicts. It covers general concepts, theories, and debates, as well as specific cases of peacebuilding successes and failures. Cross-listed with Human Rights.

 

Colloquium Application Process

 

Please note that we ask you to submit three colloquium choices. To the degree possible, the Department will try to honor one of your first two choices. If you list fewer than three choices, you will be assigned to a colloquium at random.

 

The number of semesters you have left at Barnard plays a role in the selection process. Therefore, if you are planning to study abroad or to participate in S.I.P.A.'s Joint Degree Program, be sure to indicate this.

 

You can now apply for Spring 2020 Colloquia via this form. 

 

Colloquium Placements

As of Spring 2017, we are no longer publicly posting colloquium placements. If you did not receive an email with your colloquium placements, you can email polsci@barnard.edu to follow up.