Graduate Courses

Counts as Canadian course field requirement

Recent political developments in established democracies, from Brexit to the election of Donald Trump, have renewed attention to the politics of identity. In this course, we will examine the circumstances under which group identity becomes politicized, affecting political behaviour. We will begin by covering key theories around the study of group-based political cohesion. We will then examine how different social identities influence political behaviour, including partisan identity, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and place identity. Throughout the class, we will also critically analyze measures and methods used to capture identity in politics.

Term 1 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Tuesday

Counts as Core Comparative requirement

POLI 511 is designed to: (1) assist doctoral students prepare to write the comprehensive field examination in comparative politics; (2) provide doctoral students with a sense of the breadth of the field, its intellectual history, and current challenges; (3) equip research-oriented students with the background necessary to assess the state of the art in comparative politics as a precursor to developing their own theses or thesis proposals; and (4) provide doctoral students with the background necessary to teach comparative politics. Master’s students are welcome, but the workload and academic requirements are commensurate with the needs of doctoral students.

The learning objectives for this course are that students will:

• Deepen and broaden their understanding of many of the common references and debates in contemporary comparative politics;
• Hone their skills to understand and critically engage with comparative politics scholarship, including texts using a range of qualitative methodologies;
• Create a foundation from which to build their own original theoretical arguments and research projects in comparative politics; and
  (where relevant) Significantly strengthen their preparation for the department’s PhD program comprehensive examination in the field of comparative politics by developing their own understanding of how elements of the field fit together.

Comparative politics is a sprawling and dynamic field of study, with ancient roots. The course examines current scholarship in light of the evolution of the field, and in relation to knowledge in other disciplines. Approaches to the study of comparative politics, and comparative politics as a method of analysis, will be examined. Topics vary modestly from year to year, but typically include such issues as: political order and change, constitutionalism and civic virtue, the sources of resistance and rebellion, culture and institutions, cooperation and social capital, democracy and authoritarianism, and transnational influences on domestic politics. Work will be discussed for both substantive findings and methodological contributions. Students will read some of the great books produced by the field in recent decades, as well as cutting-edge work from the journal literature.

Term 1 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Friday

Counts as either one of Comparative or IR course field requirement

This seminar is about the remaking of the global order in the period since 2008. The time for incremental changes within a stable structure is over. The current battle is over the structure itself. Some pillars remain resilient, and are even expanding, owing to innovative entrepreneurship. But most are fragmenting, decaying, or being redrawn through shifting domestic forces and strategic competition. Will the postwar global order survive? And what explains the different trajectories of key regimes of globalization?

Several simultaneous global disruptions are testing the resilience of the global liberal order and the response of policy makers. First, the global system has been facing new types of systemic risks connected to the increased connectivity (global finance, cyber space, interdependent systems) and to growing ecological pressures (climate change, biodiversity, global ocean governance). Second, the world is living through the greatest shift in the global balance power in a century, with over 20% of global GDP shifting toward emerging powers over the last 15 years, putting great pressures on institutions. Third, the resulting global power transition and the rise of China have led to the growing securitization of the global economy and mistrust. Fourth, rising inequality and growing perception of an unfair game have led to rising populism and a major questioning of globalization. Finally, technology and the Internet (Fourth Industrial Revolution) are putting all domestic work and welfare systems under pressure to adjust. These five disruptions generate and amplify large-scale uncertainty and trigger entrepreneurial initiatives to cope with it.

This seminar focuses on the impact of these disruptions on the global order and develops diverse responses to them. After a review of theoretical approaches about human cognition, systemic risks, global governance structures, and power transition, we turn our attention to the diverging trajectories and outcomes in the battle for new rules in five key regimes since 2008: G20 and global financial coordination (partial investment in fixing the system- followed by stalemate); the battle for digital governance (Internet and AI); the global climate regime (the success of the Paris Agreement); the fragmenting trade regime (multi-level competition for rules); and the gradual emergence of a new paradigm in global biodiversity and global ocean governance, as well as in the global development regime (both thanks to a UN-led process around SDGs and initiatives by large countries and regional units).

The course will include a variety of activities, including lively lectures, guest speakers, movie excerpts, discussions, and debates. Invitations to global online events will be included.

The course may also involve digital or in-person participation to global summits (such as the Paris Peace Forum, T20 Forum, and others) with partial travel support, based on feasibility, pandemic conditions, and availability.

Term 1 | 2:00-5:00 PM | Wednesday

This course can count as either a US Politics field requirement or Comparative field requirement

This cross-listed (graduate and undergraduate) seminar investigates the politics of policymaking in the US. In part, the course focuses on long-term, general issues, such as: presidential decision making and leadership; representation and the legislative process in Congress; bureaucratic policymaking; and the respective influences of political parties, interest groups, public opinion and the media, and experts and policy research. It also explores policymaking in several areas—such as economic policy, climate change, health care, immigration, gay and lesbian rights, and foreign policy. Finally, it gives significant attention to various topics of current concern: economic inequality, racial conflict and inequality, partisan polarization and “post-truth” politics, and election integrity and voting rights. We will make comparisons between the US and other countries, especially Canada, and give attention to relevant developments surrounding the 2022 congressional elections.

Term 1 | 2:00-5:00PM | Tuesday

Counts as Comparative course field requirement

This graduate seminar on the political economy of development asks: Who makes choices about development and who benefits from those choices? Under what conditions do communities and civil society contribute to and benefit from economic development? In this graduate seminar, we will examine the current research on the political economy of development. We will focus on work from and about the Global South and prioritize recent research and advances in the literature over foundational political economy readings. We will examine issues of public goods and service provision, social policy, governance, minority rights, civil society, infrastructure, and public health as they pertain to economic and political development. We will pay particular attention to how political scientists design and implement research projects on development, especially in teams and with vulnerable communities.

This course has two goals: to familiarize students with cutting edge research in political economy and to develop research projects on the political economy of development. Students will write a research proposal and a final research paper (co-authorship encouraged) that they will present in a conference-style presentation. Master’s students are welcome but the workload and expectations are set at the doctoral level.

Term 2 | 2:00-5:00PM | Thursday

Counts as Comparative course field requirement

This graduate seminar focuses on the policies that structure migration and migrants’ lives. We consider two sets of policies. The first concerns the rules, procedures, and barriers to entry into a state’s territory, spanning a host of legal statuses, including permanent admission, temporary visas and asylum. The politics of entry always entails policies of exclusion. Why do many advanced capitalist countries favor the free movement of goods, services, and capital, but balk at the free movement of people? Who is excluded, and why? What determines entry policy? A second set of policies encompasses programs and laws related to integration. Integration involves membership, and thus we consider the laws and procedures to access citizenship. Citizenship generally ensures the fullest set of rights, the greatest security of residence, and clearest path to political voice. Beyond citizenship, integration policies can also include initiatives like refugee settlement programs or policies of multiculturalism. Comparatively, across both entry and integration policies, scholars debate whether countries are converging toward a common policy stance, and what drives convergence, or whether instead we find variation. How do ideas, institutions and interests drive entry and integration policy? This class is open to students outside of political science, and will draw on a range of interdisciplinary scholarship.

Term 1 | 2:00-5:00 PM | Thursday

Counts as a Political Theory course field requirement

This course surveys and challenges Western approaches to land, place, and territory. We begin with surveys of the concept of place, the history of territory, and the political economy of land. Part II covers theories of territorial right, and will address issues related to land attachment, nationalism, and the property-territory distinction. In Part III, we explore the Westphalian system of territorial sovereignty, including its relationship to migration, borders, colonialism, and empire. In the concluding section of the course, Part IV, we will consider alternatives to the Western approach to territory by reading indigenous scholarship on land, including Glen Coulthard’s Red Skins, White Masks and Audra Simpson's Mohawk Interruptus.

Term 2 | 2:00-5:00 PM | Monday

In this seminar, we explore the theme of ‘identity’ in political theory. We begin in the first week with the meaning of identity itself by key contemporary political theorists before turning to look at how it plays out in key thinkers in the history of political thought. For the remainder of the term we examine various aspects of ‘identity’, including feminism, multiculturalism, indigeneity, queer politics, post colonialism, and disability. We also consider the theme of intersectionality. At the completion of this course, students should have a good understanding of key thinkers who have contributed to theorizing ‘identity’ and key debates in contemporary political thought.

Term 1 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Wednesday

Counts as Political Theory field requirement

Critical Theory examines ways in which prevailing conceptions of social and political life perpetuate relations of domination, oppression, and injustice. Following Marx, Critical Theorists of the early Frankfurt School focused on question of class division, political economy, and ideology. More recently, Critical Theory has expanded its purview to address injustices rooted in prevailing conceptions and practices of gender, sexuality, racialization and racism, nationalism, and other topics.

This course will focus on the politics of “race,” racism, and racialization. The construction, perpetuation, and transformation of “racial” (or racialized) identities has long been a central feature of modern politics. Critical theorists of “race” maintain that the significance of “race” is not to be found in our biology, or our DNA, but in the social and political processes through which “race” and racialized social identities and inequalities are constructed, perpetuated and contested. The field of critical “race” theory (or critical “race” studies) is highly interdisciplinary, but we will explore critical approaches to the politics of “race” chiefly through works contemporary political theory.

Term 1 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Monday

Counts as Political Theory field requirement

In politically turbulent times, democratic institutions once thought stable are under attack. Similarly, many rights long-believed to be universal, unalienable, and necessary for democratic politics are questioned.

In this course, we explore and rethink some of the very foundations of democracy by asking: Who constitutes a demos in a democracy? Who is authorized to speak in the name of a democratic people? Who should have a hand in making the laws and policies that can affect others? How should citizens relate to one another, to their representatives, and to outsiders? What are the necessary conditions for democratic inclusion and what normative consequences do non-participation and exclusion have? What constitutional mechanisms can give ordinary citizens an effective role in democratic decision-making?

In asking such questions, this course aims to bring into conversation different ways of critically interrogating the very foundations as well as the future possibilities of democratic practices. In doing so, we interrogate the concept of democracy from a variety of normative, institutional, and theoretical perspectives. We will pay attention to some of the on-going as well as new debates in democratic theory and politics: debates over the promise and limits of political deliberation and representation; debates over the relationship between democracy and capitalism; debates over citizenship and who counts as a “people”; and debates over democratic responsibility.

Term 2 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Friday

(Counts toward either one of US politics, Canadian Politics, or Comparative Politics field requirement)

This seminar course surveys the literatures on parties, electoral systems, party systems, and structural aspects of voting. The course is comparative, but makes special reference to Canada and the US.

Topics include:

• Parties and party systems, the concepts.
• Origins and impact of electoral systems, and their interaction with other political institutions.
• Origins, dimensional underpinnings, and transformation of party systems in consolidated democracies.
• Emergent party systems in post-authoritarian regimes

Term 1 | 2:00-5:00 PM | Monday

Counts as Core IR requirement

This seminar introduces participants to some of the major theoretical debates in the academic field of International Relations. Given the breadth and depth of this field, the course cannot claim to be comprehensive, much less exhaustive. However, it does provide insight into several core ways of conceptualising the contemporary international system and the dynamics animating it. It aims to allow participants to engage with some of the most prominent texts, authors, and schools of thought in (English-language) International Relations Theory and to develop their appreciation of how these contributions are in conversation with each other. It also seeks to create space for participants to explore of how a range of contemporary scholars both draw on and critique – at times profoundly – these texts and approaches. Participants are required to come to each class prepared to analyse assigned texts in detail and to engage actively and constructively in seminar discussions.

The seminar is theoretically focused, reading-intensive, and stresses critical and constructive analytical thinking. It aims to prepare participants for sustained academic engagement in the International Relations field – and to contribute to the further development of this scholarship.

Learning goals include:

• deepening understanding of some of the common bases and reference points of contemporary (English-language) IR scholarship;
• engagement with contemporary extensions of and critical reflections on these intellectual foundations;
• honing ability to read and critically engage with IR scholarship, including texts using a range of methodological approaches;
• creating a basis from which to build original theoretical arguments; and
• enhancing capacity to engage in academic discussions of International Relations theory.

Term 2 | 2:00-5:00 PM | Tuesday

Counts as IR course field requirement

This seminar reflects on the politics of global sustainability and justice, striving for critical thought that integrates both rigorous analysis and ethical reflection. The focus is on the consequences of political discourses, institutions, and power struggles for global ecological change, taking an interdisciplinary approach that does not assume a background in international relations. How, in what ways, and to what extent is global environmental politics making a difference for advancing global sustainability and justice? How and why is this changing over time? What does this suggest for the future? To answer these questions, the seminar analyzes topics such as the causes and consequences of unsustainable development, the ecological shadows of consumption, the power of environmentalism as a social movement, the social justice consequences of climate change, the contradictions of technology, the effectiveness of international agreements, the rising importance of city-level governance, the eco-business of multinational corporations, and the value of certification and eco-consumerism. The seminar further strives to assess the merits of various pathways toward environmental sustainability and social justice.

Term 2 | 2:00-5:00 PM | Tuesday

Counts as IR course field requirement

This course will apply international relations theories to examine ongoing and emerging political and economic dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region. Among the topics it addresses are the balance of power in the region, trade and economic integration, strategies of key states, alliance relationships, venues for regional cooperation, territorial disputes, and power competition between China and the United States.

Term 2 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Tuesday

Counts as a Methods field requirement

This seminar will prepare graduate students to be both thoughtful designers of their own qualitative research projects and careful consumers of other scholars' work. The course revolves around the following question: How can the intensive analysis of a small number of cases help us draw inferences about causal relationships in the social world? We will focus on two broad, complementary strategies of qualitative research: comparison across a small set of cases and process-tracing within one or more cases. In addition to considering these general strategies, the course will examine a set of specific tasks and challenges that qualitative researchers face as they design and carry out their projects, including case selection and the assessment of qualitative evidence. A key aim of the course is to help students make informed choices among alternative methodological approaches in their own research and to assess the tradeoffs made by other scholars. To that end, we will consider the ways in which the logic of qualitative research may both resemble, and depart from, the logic of quantitative work. We will pay close attention to the tradeoffs that analysts confront when choosing among qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. What is gained, and what is lost, when we choose to study a small number of cases or even just a single case?

The themes of this course span subfield boundaries. The course will be useful to most students of international relations and comparative, Canadian, or U.S. politics as well as to students of political theory who are interested in empirical causal relationships or in critically assessing empirical work. Alongside methodological texts, we will read and critique substantive works of political science drawn from across the discipline. Over the course of the term, students will develop their own qualitative research designs, which might later form the basis of a dissertation prospectus or thesis proposal.

While a course in qualitative methods, POLI 571A teaches some technical material, including Bayesian updating and some basic statistical concepts.

Term 2 | 2:00-5:00 PM | Friday

Counts as Methods requirement

This course covers the basic principles of ordinary least squares regression as a tool for statistical analysis. Because the primary reason for using regression is to make causal claims, this course focuses on both the mechanics of regression, the assumptions required to make causal claims, and interpretation. The course is broken into four parts. First, we cover the Neyman causal model (potential outcomes) framework. Second, we cover the fundamental matrix algebra behind least squares and its interpretation as a way of estimating the conditional expectation function. Third, we bring these two concepts together to derive the key assumptions required to draw both statistical and causal inferences using regression. Finally, we cover violations of these mathematical assumptions frequently faced in empirical research and discuss solutions. This course assumes completion of POLI 572A (or similar course in basic mathematical statistics). While we will use some basic matrix algebra, the course does not assume prior knowledge of this topic and the course will focus on practical applications of linear regression models.

In a broader sense, this course starts by giving you a grounding in the theory that undergirds statistical analysis and the assumptions that are required to use mathematical statistics to make inferences about the world. Then, in the last third of the course, we turn to applying these models to the real world and address how 1) we evaluate or judge whether the models of the assumption hold and 2) what we do when the assumptions are not reasonable.

Term 1 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Thursday

Counts as Methods requirement

This course introduces basic statistical methods used in the study of political science, and the social sciences at large. Statistics are an efficient and accepted way of communicating ideas; they are a means of bridging the gap between implication and inference. Contemporary political science research in all subfields utilizes statistical techniques and, consequently, a basic understanding of these methods is crucial if one is to be a sophisticated consumer of political science literature and to become a producer of such research.

The lectures, homework, and exams are designed to instruct you in the understanding and proper use of social science methods and promote your critical analysis of statistical findings. Students will learn to describe data, understand the impact of randomness in statistical research, conduct statistical tests, and most importantly learn to evaluate the implications of quantitative results. Students will learn to compute most of the techniques discussed in class both “by hand” and “by computer”. We will also devote portions of the course to the use of statistical software and commonly used archival sources of political science data.