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POLS 509: The Linear Model Beardsley, Tu 8:30-11:30, MAX: 12 Content: This course provides a thorough foundation for understanding and using regression analysis for empirical research in political science. After a basic primer on rudimentary calculus and matrix algebra, and a discussion of the properties of statistical estimators, the course builds the ordinary regression model and estimators from the ground up. It covers model assumptions and techniques for detecting and addressing violations of those assumptions, plus topics such as model specification, interactions and functional forms, measurement error, and endogeneity. The emphasis throughout is on applied techniques common in current political science research. POLS 513: Introduction to Game Theory Staton, TT 2:30-3:45, MAX: 12 Content: This course is an introduction to non-cooperative game theory. We will consider the advantages and limitations of particular games and solution concepts for answering core questions in political science. Texts: Martin Osborne, An Introduction to Game Theory Particulars: Grading – Exams, problem sets, short papers POLS 514: Advanced Game Theory Carrubba, F 1:00-4:00, MAX: 12 Content: This course is the second in the formal theory sequence offered in the political science department. The class builds on the skills learned in the Introduction to Game Theory class by applying the solution concepts learned in the introductory course to more complicated games. We will focus particularly on learning techniques to solve iterated games and games with incomplete information including Principal-Agent, signaling, cheap talk, and bargaining models. Particulars: Each student will be responsible for completing a problem set each week that reinforces the techniques learned in class. There will also be a midterm and a final exam. POLS 567: Urban Politics Owens, M 9:00-12:00, MAX: 12 Content: Urban politics is an enduring subfield of the discipline of political science. This graduate seminar will survey its literature. We will examine the urban politics literature’s focus on (1) theories of who has power and what they do with it at the local level, (2) typologies and vehicles of political empowerment, representation, and respsoniveness, (3) the variation in structures and institutions of local governance such as mayoralties and city councils and how they matter to politics, (4) social cleavages – race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual identity – and the effects on participation and responsiveness, and (5) methods of and for analyzing political phenomenon at the local level. Although this course will mainly cover the urban politics literature that pertains to the United States, we will also include some works that are derived from the nascent comparative urban politics literature, especially the work being conducted in Western Europe. In the end, the fundamental question we will seek to answer is which group(s) or interest(s) have the power to consistently influence, if not bias, public policies to their benefit in cities. We will search for answers among a set of works published during the twentieth century and in recent years, entertaining various cases and theories and considering their theoretical and methodological relevance. We may also include films and documentaries among our “texts” to develop an eye to see the operation of urban politics and power in the “real world.” Texts: Particulars: Course requirements include student-led discussions of theoretical arguments and/or competing empirical tests, and active participation in seminar meetings. Students will be graded on seminar participation, reaction papers, and a cumulative synthetic essay. POLS 572: Modeling Social Phenomenon Brown, TT 1:00-2:15, MAX: 4 Content: This seminar is ideal for assisting graduate students develop unique and nontrivial theories of politics and society together with mathematical model specifications that exactly match those theories. Helping students develop theories and specifications useful for dissertation research is a key component of the course. The subject is taught with an extremely user-friendly approach, and students should have little or no trouble mastering the course content. High school algebra is all that is required to begin. Substantively, the course focuses on a system's view of modeling, and students will learn a great many practical tools that help to bridge the divide between a verbally-stated theory and its mathematical representation. Check out the syllabus and other course materials at www.courtneybrown.com. [Click on "Student Area (Emory)" in the navigation menu.] Particulars: Written assignments; class presentations (students develop and present their own theories) . POLS 585: Variable Topics
Seminar Linzer, M 1:00-4:00, MAX: 12 Content: The statistical "toolkit" available to quantitative political scientists is expanding rapidly, both in terms of the models and techniques in use and the computing power and software available to implement those techniques. The goal of this course will be to acquire the statistical computing skills necessary to apply a variety of methods – including multi-level models, mixture models, Monte Carlo simulation, ideal point estimation, and imputation of missing data – that take advantage of these new opportunities. A large segment of the course will be devoted to techniques for Bayesian inference. The emphasis throughout will remain predominantly applied rather than theoretical, with particular attention paid to "best practices" in archiving and replicability of statistical analyses. Students will be taught and gain proficiency in statistical programming in R, an extremely flexible and powerful (and free!) software package that is becoming widely applied in political science. POLS 585: Variable Topics
Seminar Gandhi, W 9:00-12:00 MAX: 12 Content: This seminar is a thematic introduction to understanding why and how transitions to democracy come about. We first review broad macrohistorical approaches that emphasize the importance of economic structures (i.e., development, crisis, resources) and cultural forces in determining whether transitions from authoritarianism take place. We then examine intentionalist approaches that examine either how dictatorial regimes break down or how authoritarian rulers extricate themselves from power. In particular, we explore whether political institutions under dictatorship provide opportunities for the opposition to challenge these regimes. The course ends with a look at what happens during and just after the transition when democratic forces are bargaining over the shape of new institutions and determining to what extent legacies of authoritarianism remain. POLS 585: Variable Topics
Seminar Beardsley, Th 8:30-11:30, MAX: 12 Content: This course is part of a two-course sequence introducing graduate students in political science to the study of conflict. The other course in the sequence, "Conflict," is a complement to but not a prerequisite for this course. This course covers a range of topics regarding international and intranational conflict, including the causes of war, the prosecution of war, war outcomes, civil-military relations, constructivism, and others. It is strongly advised that students have taken POLS 510 "World Politics." The course uses a seminar format. This course is intended for political science graduate students; all others must have permission of the instructor. POLS 585: Variable Topics
Seminar Carrubba, Th 4:00-7:00 MAX: 6 Content: This seminar is designed to expose students to a growing literature on law and politics. Using a mixture of case study, statistical analysis, and game theoretic modeling, scholars are increasingly interested in how the worlds of judicial behavior and politics intersect. This course will provide a survey of some of the most promising areas of study, including models of judicial decision making, the politics of opinions and precedent, inter-branch relations, and inter-court relations. We will also ask questions about the institutional design and change of judicial systems, including why judicial review exists, how courts manage (or not) compliance and enforcement concerns, and how national and international courts compare. POLS 585: Variable Topics Seminar Evans/An-Na'm, M 2:00-5:00, MAX: 6 Content: This graduate seminar, open to students from the Graduate School, the Law School, and the School of Public Health, examines the theory and practice of global human rights from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition to issues of the history, origins and legitimacy of universal human rights, the seminar will discuss standards, institutions and processes of implementation. The seminar will also examine human rights across a variety of substantive issues areas, including: conflict; development; globalization; social welfare; public health; and rights of women and other vulnerable groups. |
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University, Atlanta, Georgia
The Department of Political Science, 327 Tarbutton Hall, 1555 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, 404-727-6572 phone, 404-727-4586 fax
For web comments or questions, contact polisci@emory.edu. Last update
November 4, 2009