Courses

(Core Course) A comprehensive survey of representative works in traditional political thought from antiquity to the nineteenth century.

This advanced seminar will examine the emergence, in France, of a new theory of radical democracy born of the ruthless critique of totalitarian domination and of the discovery of a politics of emancipation in the wake of the events of May 1968. Inspired by Rosa Luxemburg's alternative 'Socialism or Barbarism', the anti-totalitarian left articulates a democratic project that remains critical of liberalism while rejecting vanguardism in the name of the political capacity of 'anybody and everybody' (J. Rancière).

About the meaning of power and violence as fundamental categories of modernity and human existence overall. The course is concerned with violence in many forms and manifestations, including: violence at the foundation of human community, conservative violence, 'divine violence,' redemptive violence, self as violence against self and other, exclusionary violence, the violence of liberal freedom and the commodity, counter-hegemonic violence, the violence of the spectacle, the violence of outsiders and gender violence.

The Politics of Aesthetics develops an aesthetic framework from political and philosophical thinkers who have an aesthetic theory as part of their philosophy. These include Hegel, Kant, Heidegger, Vattimo, Badiou, Rancière and Zabala. The course is presented in blended(BLEN) format that includes in-class, on-line and print EE components: seminar presentation, seminar participation, interactive on-line discussion forum, one minute film, plus paper abstract and essay. The aim is for the student to be able to interact proficiently and seamlessly both online and in person to meet the requirements of a networked world.

Accelerating Technicity examines the concept of technology in select works of Heidegger, Marcuse, Deleuze, Simondon, Stiegler, Hayles, Virilio and Acclerationism. Using these theorists the course will grapple with Heidegger's two conflicting tendencies in technology: the dominant tendency of instrumental technology (the danger inherent in technology) and second, the tendency toward poeisis (the revealing and saving potential inherent in technology).

Explores indigenous development experiences in Canada and throughout the world, in comparative perspective. It draws on theories of development and underdevelopment and examines the sociology, politics and economics of development as well as environmental and cultural implications.

Drawing upon governmentality themes, this course examines the types of knowledge and practice that shape urban poverty as a distinct sphere of governmental action, such as in relation to homelessness, mental health, food insecurity, addictions, and community development.

(Core Course) Close study, for advanced candidates only, of the literature of the field.

This course analyzes theories and concepts of power, supremacy, hegemony and imperialism in different world orders since antiquity. Analytical emphasis is placed on explaining the post-1945 period associated with American hegemony, Soviet Power and subsequent patterns of intensified globalization.

Examines the theories, practices, implicit rationalities, and tensions/contradictions of neoliberalism.

Examines historical structures of political economy at the levels of production, state and world order, with a special focus on structural change. A discussion and comparison of theoretical approaches.

Examines diverse dimensions of transnational crime and corruption in the global political economy. Theoretical reflection and case-study research are applied to explore the illicit global economy and its relationship to 'legitimate' and licit practices. Topics include transnational bribery; money laundering; illicit trade in weapons, drugs, and other goods; human trafficking and human smuggling; and the link to terrorism.

The course focuses on the use of regression models to analyze surveys and other social data. Assuming no prior background, it covers the statistical basics, model building strategies, model assumptions and the interpretation of results.

An advanced survey of the literature of the field. The course covers comparative politics as a discipline; the range of analytical approaches, methodologies and data employed. Empirical studies of social stratification and political participation, ideology and regimes, government institutions, and processes of political crisis and change in advanced capitalist, communist and third world countries will also be examined.

This course covers the neglected role of popular movements - from rebellion to revolution - in shaping modern political and economic order in Latin America. A recurring theme is the balance of historical structure and conjunctural agency, of economics and politics, in enabling and inhibiting rebellion and revolution, and in determining lasting modes of political and economic order, as well as moments of transformation and re-organization.

The course examines contemporary debates about social transformations with particular emphasis on the dimensions of knowledge, political economy and agency. Its objective is to assist students in formulating their own critical inquiry about transformative processes.

Provides a comparative inquiry about the nature of transnational communal, religious, and political identities at the age of late capitalism. It puts emphasis on critical approaches to diasporas, their variant constructions of homeland and home, and their marked effects on the politics of the post-Westphalian state and international relations.

This advanced comparative politics seminar addresses specific policies of European integration, including such topics as foreign and security policy, environmental policies, social policies, gender and identity politics, and others.

Advanced study of the relationship between gender and politics, focusing on theoretical and empirical analyses of the political and socio-economic experiences of diverse and disadvantaged groups. Topics include women's engagement in formal and informal politics, gender and sexuality in political theory,¿empirical analyses of intersectional identities in various subfields of political science¿and feminist, intersectional and decolonial interventions in the political science canon. Core course.

This class takes an interdisciplinary approach to understand the political and ethical implications of the ubiquitous deployment of AI and Machine Learning technologies. We will engage in an intersectional and socio-technical perspective to critically assess the unevenly distributed impacts of automated decision making on communities. Some themes included are: bias and discrimination, surveillance, privacy, data feminism and data activism.

A course normally offered on a one or two time only basis by a short term member of the program (usually a visiting professor) examining the current research of the Instructor.

PhD III candidates are required to attend the PhD Dissertation Proposal Workshop. The proposal workshop consists of three three-hour sessions offered on a monthly basis during the Fall term of the academic year (with dates set for late September, October and November) plus two individual meeting with the Graduate Program Director to discuss their dissertation proposal, to set up a supervisory committee and to go over the draft thesis proposal. Students will receive a passing grade by attending the three sessions and a half-hour and one-hour meeting with the Graduate Program Director. The course involves 10.5 hours (nine seminar hours and 1.5 hours of individual meeting with the GPD) for the PhD student; the course involves 36 hours for the GPD (nine seminar hours plus 27 individual student hours

This course engages political inquiry and research design. We will focus on concrete and practical issues of conducting research: picking a topic; generating and asking key research questions; articulating and grappling with strategies of research and specific research methods such as case studies, surveys, interviews, field work, archival research and sampling procedures. We will also consider how to code data and how to work with data sets, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, content and discourse analysis; and finally, spend some time discussing research ethics. The course is designed for PhD students in Political Science who are writing dissertation proposals.