Checklists for Degree Requirements
Course Schedule
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2024-2025 Undergraduate Course Schedule (PDF format)
Course Descriptions
POLS 111: Power and Politics (3.0 units)
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course introduces students to core concepts and tools of political science and their relationship to politics.
POLS 211: Canadian Government
Term: Fall 2024
Description: How has colonialism shaped the development of Canadian government and politics? How did Canada become bilingual and multicultural? How does political change happen in Canada? During this course, we will explore these questions and others. In the first part of the course, we will examine important historical events that continue to shape Canadian politics today. In the second part of the course, we will assess the development and functioning of Canada’s electoral and governing institutions. In the third part of the course, we will analyze how historical events and political institutions shape contemporary issues in Canadian politics, including Quebec-Canada relations and ongoing issues of settler colonialism.
The format of this course is unlike many university courses. This course uses what is called a flipped classroom. It integrates online learning with face-to-face learning. You can work at your own pace online and review complex concepts as necessary. In class, we will use our time together for activities (e.g., discussions, simulations, guest speakers, writing or skills workshops). This approach is known to be more engaging for students and improve student success.
POLS 230: American Elections
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course provides a general introduction to the institutions and politics of the electoral process in the United States. The course integrates literature on the electoral system (including the system of primary elections), campaign financing, political parties, voting behaviour, political sociology, and political communication.
POLS 242: Comparative Politics: Contemporary Regimes
Term: Fall 2024
Description: The nature of political regimes in advanced industrial countries and the developing world.
POLS 250: Introduction to Political Theory
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course will survey and examine historical thinkers, and socio-political events, that have helped shape Western political thought. Ideas can be powerful catalysts for progressive change, but they can also be utilized to maintain and perpetuate oppression and exclusion. The study of the ideas and ideals of Western political thought reveal a diversity of assumptions (e.g. what is human nature?) and societal aspirations which invoke values like stability, individualism, community, equality, freedom and justice. Students will exam the writings of a diverse range of thinkers, ranging from Plato, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, to Emma Goldman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mary Wollstonecraft, Anna Cooper, W.E.B. Du Bois, JS Mill, Karl Marx and Frantz Fanon. These thinkers wrote about, and lived during, significant historical events in the development of Western democracies. From Athenian democracy and slavery, to the English Civil War, the French Revolution, colonialism, and industrialization and patriarchy, the history of political thought is ripe with examples of theorists diagnosing pressing societal predicaments, as well as exercising the intellectual skill of imagining collective solutions to these problems. Students will be expected to demonstrate both a comprehension of the material covered in the course and the ability to critically evaluate that material.
POLS 261: International Politics
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course provides an introduction to politics as a global phenomenon, and to International Relations as the discipline dedicated to the study of world politics. It discusses the evolution of the contemporary international system, and offers an overview of the main perspectives that can be used to make sense of world politics. It looks into how key issues and issue-areas might be considered from various angles and types of explanation, drawing from case studies for practical illustration. The course covers a broad array of concerns that structure the conduct of world politics in the 21st century, ranging from causes of conflict and insecurity to prospects for peace, cooperation, and the development of global community.
POLS 280: Introduction to Women, Gender, and Politics
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course analyzes and explores broad topics in gender and politics. It will cover issues as masculinity and power, gendered participation in political parties and social movements, feminism and the state, gender and violence, and key policy issues. It will examine both theoretically and empirically the ways in which power is gendered and how gender has served as a basis for political organization, the distribution of power, and the boundaries of public life. The course takes a global approach to learning about gender and politics and will draw on examples from around the world.
POLS 284: Introduction to Political Research
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An exploration of major issues and schools of thought in the philosophy of social science and an examination of contemporary approaches to the study of politics.
POLS 285: Introduction to Statistics
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course is an introduction to quantitative approaches to political science research. You will learn how to use quantitative techniques to make causal and descriptive inferences. The course will consist of weekly lectures and tutorials. Tutorials will involve seminar-style discussions and computer and pencil-and-paper based problems. No prior background in statistics is assumed or required.
POLS 312: Political Behaviour
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course provides an introduction to the principal theoretical perspectives and empirical debates in the study of elections, voting, public opinion, political participation and political culture in established democracies.
POLS 313: Mass Media and Politics in Canada
Term: Fall 2024
Description: A critical examination of the relationship between the mass media and politics, focusing on the functions of the media in modern liberal democracies and the ways in which news stories are created and packaged.
POLS 318: The Canadian Welfare State
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An examination of the character and functions of the Canadian welfare state. Theoretical explanations of the welfare state. The historical development of the Canadian welfare state. Proposals for social policy reform and their implications.
POLS 327: Topics in Comparative Politics
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An examination of key issues in comparative politics. Topics will vary from year to year.
POLS 332: Continuity and Change in Central and Eastern European Politics
Term: Fall 2024
Description: The politics of the Russian Federation and selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
POLS 359: Issues in Political Theory
Term: Fall 2024
Description: The course will focus on central issues that arise in political theory: citizens relation to the state and to each other. Specifically, the course will discuss problems of liberty, toleration, punishment, and multiculturalism; and inter-state problems such as global justice, just war, justice and the environment, and inter-generational justice.
POLS 367: American Foreign Policy
Term: Fall 2024 | Winter 2025
Description: An examination of American foreign policy, with particular emphasis on the analysis of concepts and issues and the study of decision-making processes.
POLS 384: Strategies of Political Research
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An exploration of major issues and schools of thought in the philosophy of social science and in examination of contemporary approaches to the study of politics.
POLS 388: Politics of Migration
Term: Fall 2024
Description: Migration is at the centre of contemporary politics around the world, and claims about migrants have played a key role in the shift toward exclusionary, nationalist populism in many countries. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a broad but detailed introduction to the complex politics of both international and internal migration on a global scale. The first half of the course deals with core issues such as the differences between migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees; why people move; migrant legal status and rights; migration and integration policy and governance; and effects of and responses to migration. The second half applies this foundation to the world’s major regions, with weeks on the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Asia–Pacific region.
POLS 392: Topics in Canadian Politics - TBD
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An examination of selected aspects of Canadian politics and government, including institutions and behavioural approaches. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 393: Topics in Comparative Politics - TBD
Term: Fall 2024
Description: A comparative examination of the politics and government of different countries, or theories or themes in comparative politics. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 395: Topics in International Political Economy
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An examination of different topics and issues in global political economy, such as the role of international financial institutions, the politics of global trade, or the global distribution of wealth. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2024-25, the Department of Political Studies will be organizing enrollment in 400-level courses by a balloting system. Students will be asked to submit a form listing their preferences for 400-level courses. Based on this information the department will assign students to courses manually, prior to the July registration period. The purpose of this system is to ensure that (to the extent possible) every student gets some of their top choices of courses.
POLS 402: Science and Justice
Term: Fall 2024
Description: Advances in biological knowledge bring us closer to a world where we may have the ability to directly manipulate our genetic make-up. With this ability comes new questions concerning the demands of distributive justice. This course examines key developments in biology (especially human genetics), and demonstrates why and how theories of justice may require revision in light of these changes. Issues addressed include eugenics, the therapy/enhancement distinction, aging, enhancement in sport, future generations, and reproductive freedom. The course is designed to explore the different challenges society faces as a consequence of the genetic revolution and to help equip students with the critical and analytical skills needed to think rationally and cogently about the regulation of new biomedical technologies.
POLS 403: Gender Politics: Questions & Challenges | LGBTQ+ Politics
Term: Fall 2024
Description: What are the effects of colonialism on gender and sexuality in what we now call Canada? How has LGBTQ politics changed over time? What is the future of LGBTQ politics in Canada? This course explores these questions and others. In the first part of the course, we will examine how states have produced, policed, and attempted to erase various gender and sexual identities and practices. The second part of the course traces the development of modern LGBTQ movements, which emerged in response to such state actions. In the final part of the course, we will consider important developments in LGBTQ politics since the legalization of same-sex marriage. We will learn from a range of sources, such as short and long texts, videos, and films. The course will focus especially on LGBTQ politics in Canada and the United States, but we will also speak about other contexts where applicable.
POLS 415: Canadian Federalism
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An examination of the evolution and operation of the Canadian federal system. Topics include the concept and meaning of federalism, the implications of provincial/federal interdependence, and the politics of constitutional reform.
POLS 434: Multiculturalism
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course explores the political implications of multiculturalism from a variety of perspectives, including theory, policy, and historical meaning. Issues include: history and policy of multiculturalism in the Canadian, US and global contexts; the construction of ‘race’ and anti‐racism; and the role of multiculturalism in citizenship inclusion and exclusion.
POLS 440: Politics of Ethnicity and Nationalism
Term: Fall 2024
Description: An exploration of the causes of ethnic conflict, but focuses in particular on the strategies which states use to manage or resolve such conflicts. The review of state strategies is comprehensive in nature: using case studies, it includes approaches which are morally unacceptable as well as approaches which many consider morally desirable.
POLS 441: Gender and International Relations
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This seminar investigates the central place of gender in International Politics (IR). It introduces students to gender analysis of global politics, and feminist approaches to IR by interrogating how ideas about gender affect foreign policy, nationalism, international power relations, war, and peace. While the study of IR has long focused on states and their political and economic power in the international system, this seminar moves between the centers of power and the margins of international politics to see how power flows between gendered bodies and institutions.
POLS 445: Dialectics of Development
Term: Fall 2024
Description: A critical examination of selected 'new' theories of development (neo-Marxism, postmodernism, new social movements, rational choice, flexible specialization, etc.), followed by a study of selected Asian countries' development strategies to evaluate the relevance of the theories.
POLS 459: Anarchist Political Theory
Term: Fall 2024
Description: Once described as the ‘art of not being governed,’ anarchist politics holds open the possibility of politics without rule, governance without a state, organization without a political order. Political science often treats anarchist politics as a problem to be solved: the end (or collapse) of the sovereign through corruption, war—civil or otherwise, or collapsing civil institutions means the end of politics itself. But is it possible to have politics without the social hierarchy of the ruler and the ruled? Rather than the end of politics and the indication of a failure of governance, can anarchic politics be a possibility?
This course considers the contemporary possibility of anarchist politics, attempting to illuminate the politics that might come from resistance to rule. Anarchist politics come in a multitude of forms—organized resistance to state authority and expressions of power to mutual aid societies and cooperative politics all fall within the umbrella of anarchist politics. Resistance and revolution have taken a central focus within popular conception of anarchist politics, but this class explores the broad history of anarchist political theory.
This is an advanced political science seminar; students will be asked to think both critically and experimentally about both anarchist political theory and practice. We will explore both through close engagement with anarchist political pamphlets, key texts in late modern and contemporary political theory—including Proudhon, Kropotkin, Bakunin, Sterner, Gen-Dor, and Rancière, amongst others—and current expressions of anarchist politics. In this manner we will trace anarchist political theory’s development as a constellation of resistant theories and techniques, as well as their place in contemporary politics.
POLS 462: Studies in National Security
Term: Fall 2024 | Winter 2025
Description: Contemporary aspects of Canadian international security policy. Topics include: the evolution of policy towards NATO; bilateral defence arrangements with the US; collective security and cooperative security; peacekeeping; defence economics; the role of domestic factors in the shaping of strategy; and aid of the civil power.
POLS 478: Politics of Artificial Intelligence
Term: Fall 2024
Description: This course provides a broad, in-depth introduction to the politics of artificial intelligence (AI) and covers topics such as the technical fundamentals of existing AI, computational propaganda, surveillance, decision-making, autonomous weapons, political economy, regulation and governance, and speculative possibilities such as 'superintelligence'.
POLS 492: Topics in Political Studies: TBD
Term: Fall 2024
Description: TBD
POLS 493: Topics in Political Studies: TBD
Term: Fall 2024
Description: TBD
POLS 511: Directed Special Reading (3.0 units)
Students arrange their course of reading in consultation with members of the Department. They are expected to write reports on their readings and to discuss them in seminars.
POLS 590: Thesis (9.0 units)
The thesis is optional and counts as one course toward an honours concentration in Political Studies. The thesis subject must be selected at the end of the penultimate year after consultation with members of the Department, and the thesis must be submitted by 31 March of the final year. The student can choose to pay for the binding of the departmental copy.
Learning Hours: 348 (24 Seminar, 24 Practicum, 24 Group Learning, 12 Individual Instruction, 48 Off-Campus Activity, 216 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite - Level 4 or above and registration in a POLS Major, Joint Honours, or PPE Plan and [POLS 250/3.0 and POLS 350/3.0] or POLS 250/6.0* and a minimum GPA of 2.50 on all units in POLS.
More information about this course:
What is an honours thesis?
An honours thesis is a 50-60 page research paper based on two terms' worth of research on a topic that is broader or more complex than can normally be handled in a term paper for a course. More than length alone, the honours thesis is distinguished by its analytical detail and sophistication; the need for a disciplined, multi-stage investigation of a research question; and by its scope relative to the work you have done to this point. The major benefit is that you get to engage in this extended project with the one-on-one supervision of a faculty member over the course of an entire academic year. In the end, the honours thesis can be an ideal way to prepare for grad school or delve deeply into an intellectual puzzle or issue. Many view it as the culmination of their undergraduate career. You will not work alone. Throughout the year, POLS 590 students will gather with the undergraduate chair and discuss common issues such as methodology, writing discipline, timelines, structure or formatting issues. These meetings are part of the course but not evaluated. They are designed to help you connect with others who are working through the same process – but likely on different subjects.
You can read more about POLS 590 here.
PPEC 200: Introduction to the Study of Politics, Philosophy and Economics
Term: Fall 2024
PPEC 200 is a required course for ֱ PPE program, but it is open (subject to space) to any student with the prerequisites. As the title suggests, it's about the intersection between politics, philosophy, and economics. The focus is on economic life, but from the perspective of assessment and criticism rather than explanation and prediction. People of good faith will often disagree in their assessments, forcing us to ask how we can make decisions about economic policies and institutions despite not having a common vision of what's best. Thus the course is meant to introduce students to the philosophical and political analysis of economic questions. It's about economics but not a course in economics; in face of empirical uncertainty and disagreement, we will typically ask what implications competing principles would have in different factual scenarios. The course aims to include points of view from the right and the left, but cannot claim to be comprehensive. The first part of the course is conceptual (utility, efficiency, wellbeing, equality), the second part institutional (markets, firms, public goods), and the final part applied (sweatshops and exploitation, race and the economics of discrimination, gender and the division of labour, unconditional basic income, socialism).
PPEC 300: Topics in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
Term: Fall 2024
Description: PPEC 300 is the core course for the PPE program at the third-year level, though it is open to students in other programs if they have taken PPEC 200 (or by permission of instructor). The main purpose of PPEC 300 is to engage with normative questions in empirical context, integrating philosophy and social science. In Fall 2024, PPEC 300 will cover three topics: equal opportunity, social media vs. deliberative democracy, and climate change / carbon taxes. The course will examine questions of fact and principle, and how we deal with disagreement about such questions.
NOTE This course is the required third-year core course for the PPEC degree plan, but it is open to other students with the prerequisites (PPEC 200).
POLS 112: Enduring Political Debates (3.0 units)
Term: Winter 2025
Description: This course examines important and enduring debates in politics and political science. Topics will vary year to year.
POLS 212: Canadian Politics
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An analysis of the processes, groups, parties, voters, and culture of Canadian politics.
POLS 243: States, Ethnic Diversity, and Conflict
Term: Winter 2025
Description: A comparative examination of the ways in which states around the world respond to national, ethnic, linguistic, religious, and racial diversity. The course examines responses that include the morally reprehensible, such as genocide, and the morally defensible, such as federalism and power-sharing.
POLS 262: International Political Economy
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An introduction to the major issues in the study of international political economy, including transnationalism, integration, globalization, and underdevelopment.
POLS 320: Indigenous Politics
Term: Winter 2025
Description: This course examines Indigenous politics in a Canadian and comparative context. The first section of the course will introduce students to Indigenous politics in Canada. Topics covered in these weeks will include legal definitions of Indigenous peoples both in Canadian and international law (particularly UNDRIP), and a historical overview of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Politics in Canada. The second section of the course will critically investigate central questions in Indigenous politics in Canada. These include land, membership, and self-determination. We will discuss the Indian Act, Aboriginal title, treaties and land claims. The last four weeks will situate Indigenous politics in Canada in both the global and local context. Students will also be encouraged throughout the course to reflect on their own relationship to and knowledge of Indigenous politics and settler colonialism through in-class and self-reflection activities.
POLS 331: American Government
Term: Winter 2025
Description: Survey of the political process in the United States; functioning and interaction of the principal formal and informal political institutions, the relationship between those institutions and their environment, the making of public policy, and current issues and trends.
POLS 350: Political Theory: History
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An introduction to political theory, and a complement to POLS 250. Topics may vary year to year, but typically include historical thinkers from the late 18th century to the first half of the 20th century. POLS 350 surveys a diverse range of political traditions, such as conservatism, feminism, Black Political Thought, utilitarianism, and Marxism. Students will be expected to demonstrate an ability to both comprehend and critically evaluate the material.
POLS 354: Democratic Theory
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An exploration of the normative underpinnings of democracy, based on a survey of selected historical texts, contemporary theories, and current problems.
POLS 358: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Capitalism
Term: Winter 2025
Description: Selected topics in the critique of capitalism, e.g. Marxism, democracy, the environment, globalization, employment and popular culture.
POLS 367: American Foreign Policy
Term: Fall 2024 | Winter 2025
Description: An examination of American foreign policy, with particular emphasis on the analysis of concepts and issues and the study of decision-making processes.
POLS 383: Law and the Governmental Process
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An examination of the role of law in politics, the differences between legal and political reasoning, the law and politics of constitution‐making, and the political character of criminal and civil law. Topics include the victim’s rights movement, pornography and censorship, and the role of litigation in political life.
POLS 396: Topics in International Relations
Term: Winter 2025
Description: Issues in global politics, international relations, international diplomacy, or foreign policy will be examined in this course. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2024-25, the Department of Political Studies will be organizing enrollment in 400-level courses by a balloting system. Students will be asked to submit a form listing their preferences for 400-level courses. Based on this information the department will assign students to courses manually, prior to the July registration period. The purpose of this system is to ensure that (to the extent possible) every student gets some of their top choices of courses.
POLS 401: Political Theory: Questions and Challenges
Term: Winter 2025
Description: This course will consider various theoretical writings and topics in political science. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 410: Seminar in Canadian Politics
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An examination of key issues in Canadian politics. Topics will vary from year to year.
POLS 414: Politics in Quebec
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An introduction to the political history of Quebec: the development of ideologies (including nationalism), constitutional developments, and the building of the Quebec state during the Quiet Revolution. Some contemporary issues in Quebec politics, and the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada.
POLS 421: Elections
Description: An examination of the importance of elections to the maintenance of democratic systems. Six themes are discussed: the history and theory of democratic participation; the legal framework; campaign organization; why people vote the way they do; the manifestation of social cleavages during campaigns; and the future of electoral participation. Canadian examples are placed in a comparative context.
POLS 437: The Politics of Representation
Term: Winter 2025
Description: Across democracies, marginalized groups - such as Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities - are under-represented in elected office. This course examines contemporary debates about the importance, causes, and consequences of the representation of marginalized groups in Canadian politics.
POLS 439: American Politics
Term: Winter 2025
Description: The United States Supreme Court: The Supreme Court has played a pivotal role in defining the terms of constitutional government in the United States. In this course, we will approach the work of the Supreme Court from both legal and political perspectives, in order to better understand the nature and function of judicial power in the U.S. We aim to understand how the Supreme Court makes decisions, and the places in which law and politics meet. The centerpiece of the course will be the Supreme Court simulation. Each student will be assigned to play a role on the court, and that means using legal argumentation in much the same way that the justices do. Meanwhile, we will try to be aware of the extent to which politics seeps into Supreme Court decision making. Though the course will, necessarily, make reference to decisions of the court, it is not primarily a course in constitutional law.
POLS 447: Social Movements *NEW course*
Term: Winter 2025
Description: Survey of main theories on and methods of studying social movements within the field of political science.
POLS 453: Modern Political Philosophy - TBD
Term: Winter 2025
Description: An examination of a particular problem or theme in Western political thought post-1500; issues covered might include property, revolution, sovereignty, republicanism, or gender.
POLS 458: Ethics of War and Intervention
Term: Winter 2025
Description: War is the use of organized, purposive violence between two or more groups. We often imagine these groups to be states, but intra-state conflicts have been more common since the Second World War, and so-called ‘extra-state’ conflicts between states and non-state actors in foreign territories have been among the most important since the early 2000s. Regardless of its form, however, war raises urgent ethical questions because it may lead to death, tremendous suffering, and other terrible consequences. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a broad and strong foundation in the core ethical debates over war and violent humanitarian intervention.
The most prominent general approaches to the ethics of war are ‘realism’, the view that war is and should not be subject to moral consideration, ‘pacifism’, the view that war is unethical, and ‘just war’, the view that war can be ethical if it is initiated for the right reasons, conducted within specific constraints, and concluded in a principled way. This latter approach dominates most ethical discussions of war, and the course is structured around its three themes: jus ad bellum (‘just resort to war’), jus in bello (‘just conduct in war’), and jus post bellum (‘justice after war’). This is not an endorsement of the long, heterogeneous, and contradictory just war ‘tradition’, but instead recognition that it is the standard that all serious ethical discussions of war work either within or against. A wide variety of topics are covered, including state authority in war, revolution, terrorism, autonomous weapons, and the allocation of responsibility after war is over.
POLS 462: Studies in National Security
Term: Fall 2024 | Winter 2025
Description: Contemporary aspects of Canadian international security policy. Topics include: the evolution of policy towards NATO; bilateral defence arrangements with the US; collective security and cooperative security; peacekeeping; defence economics; the role of domestic factors in the shaping of strategy; and aid of the civil power.
POLS 467: International Political Economy
Term: Winter 2025
Description: Theoretical approaches and issues within the field, while paying particular attention to hegemony and leadership, the economic dimension of post war and post cold war security, trade, money, debt, underdevelopment, regionalism, and international organization.
POLS 468: The International Relations of the Middle East
Term: Winter 2025
Description: This course offers an analysis of Middle Eastern politics from the perspective of the field of international relations. Themes covered in this course include, the historical evolution of various identities in the region, the history and role of outside actors in the Middle East, contemporary Middle Eastern state and social relations, and the role that Middle Eastern states play in contemporary world politics.
POLS 494: Topics in Political Studies: TBD
Term: Winter 2025
Description: TBA
POLS 496: Topics in Political Studies - TBD
Term: Winter 2025
Description: TBD
POLS 511: Directed Special Reading (3.0 units)
Students arrange their course of reading in consultation with members of the Department. They are expected to write reports on their readings and to discuss them in seminars.
POLS 598 Internship in Political Studies (3.0 units)
Term: Winter 2025
An internship and online experiential learning course. Internships should be in a setting relevant to political studies. Roles may include assisting with the day-to-day tasks of an organization, special projects, event planning, community activism, report writing, and/or other responsibilities that provide practical experience and enhance students' skillset.
NOTE Students will be given a grade of Pass/Fail for work done.
PPEC 400: Research Seminar in Politics, Philosophy and Economics
Term: Winter 2025
Politics, Philosophy and Economics approach problems from discipline specific perspectives, but the questions asked have fundamental similarities. In this course students will be exposed to research methods from all three different disciplines, while completing a research intensive project. Peer review and presentation skills will be emphasized.
Courses Not Offered in 2024/2025
POLS 101: Contemporary Issues in Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of current political issues. By examining an issue or problem students will be exposed to political institutions, processes and concepts in political science. The subject matter will change depending on the instructor and current political events.
NOTE: This course does not lead to further courses in Political Studies. Not available for credit towards any POLS Plan.
POLS 241: Comparative Politics: Transformations
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of how and why societies change and the context in which transformation occurs.
POLS 244 Comparative Politics: Democracy and Democratization
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: A comparative exploration of the apparent disjuncture between the normative assumptions of liberal democratic theory and the realities of democracy-building.
POLS 251: Political Ideologies
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course introduces students to a range of contemporary ideologies, such as liberalism, socialism, conservatism, fascism, feminism, anarchism, ecologism, fundamentalism, and nationalism. It includes primary and secondary readings, and will focus on the critical interpretation of these competing belief systems.
POLS 263: Introduction to International Security
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course introduces students to current theoretical and policy debates about the nature of 'international security.' In addition to addressing the meaning of this contested concept, we will examine three principal ways in which security has been organized by states, specifically: collective security, collective defence, and security communities. NOTE Also offered at Bader College, UK
POLS 264: World Politics in Historical Perspective
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course examines the evolution of global politics in the modern era, from the institutionalization of sovereignty in the Peace of Westphalia to the contemporary period.
POLS 310: Principles of the Canadian Constitution
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the evolution of constitutional principles in Canada. Topics include developments in federal‐provincial relations, the role of the courts in federal‐provincial disputes, and the nexus between the community values of federalism and the individual rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
POLS 319: Public Discourse in Canada: Issues and Debates
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An introduction to Canadian political thinkers who have addressed important themes in contemporary Canadian public, legal and theoretical discourse, including multiculturalism, critical race theory, antipornography campaigns, sexual violence, globalization and modern alienation.
POLS 328: Topics in European Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
An examination of key issues in European politics. Topics will vary from year to year; consult the department homepage.
POLS 329: European Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An introduction to European politics. The themes and geographic focus vary from year to year; they may include current political institutions and forces, the historical evolution of the European polities, and both Western and Eastern Europe.
POLS 335: Topics in British Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25 (Only offered at Bader College, UK)
Description: An examination of key issues in British politics. Topics will vary from year to year; consult the department homepage.
POLS 336: British Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Contemporary problems facing Britain as a result of its historical evolution: economic stagnation, centrifugal forces of nationalism and communal violence, and the decline of the two-party system.
POLS 338: European Integration
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course provides an introduction to the European Union. The first part deals with the history of the EU, the theories used to explain European integration, the EU's institutions and EU decision-making. In the second part, current issues and concerns in the EU, such as Brexit, the Eurozone crisis, the refugee "crisis," and climate change are discussed. NOTE Also offered at Bader College, UK.
POLS 339: Politics of India
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course provides an overview of the society, economy, and politics of India through the lens of some of the most influential theories in comparative politics. This format is designed to engage with the key debates in the field and challenge the canonical texts by drawing on the experience of a large multiethnic non-western democracy.
POLS 341: Chinese Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: The course begins with an historical overview of the late Qing dynasty, the origins of the Chinese revolution, and 50 years of the People’s Republic of China. It then focuses primarily on political science concepts and approaches to the study of Chinese politics as well as issues of reform in various sectors of China’s economy and polity.
POLS 342: Latin American Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Comparative study of Latin American politics. Topics include the political legacies of colonialism and independence, the evolution of class structures, populism, the role of the military, and the transition to democracy and free market policies. Emphasis is on the countries of continental South America.
POLS 346: Development Theory
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: A critical examination of the current theories of development influenced by various post-Marxist, postmodernist and postcolonial tendencies. Growth strategies practised by the state and alternative visions offered by the social movements will also be discussed.
POLS 347: The Politics of Africa
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Major issues in the contemporary politics and political economy of sub‐Saharan Africa. The development of the colonial and post‐colonial state, capitalist development and the role of indigenous and international capital, and political and socio‐economic aspects of class, ethnicity and gender.
POLS 348: Middle East Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the politics of the Middle East, including the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and European colonialism, the rise of nationalism, the role of religion, the nature of the state and political participation in different countries in the region.
POLS 349: Contemporary Antisemitism: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course addresses key questions about contemporary antisemitism. It examines various ways antisemitism has been conceptualized, identifies its main attributes, and asks how it resembles and differs from other forms of racism. It also examines how its contemporary manifestations are similar and different from the past, and how it gets expressed in the social and political arenas, and other domains.
POLS 351: Liberal Theory
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the major theories and critiques of liberalism, focusing on the rival conceptions of freedom and equality that animate classical ‘laissez-faire’ liberalism, egalitarian liberalism, left-libertarianism, and perfectionist liberalism, and the critical responses these various kinds of liberalism have provoked from communitarians, feminists, Marxists, and others.
POLS 352: Women and the History of Political Thought
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Drawing on historical texts, this course explores the representations of women and the constructions of femininity and masculinity, the body, and gender relations in the history of political thought, and explores contemporary feminist responses to these texts and ideas.
POLS 353: History of Political Thought
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An analysis of the origin and development of certain major ideas in the western political tradition.
POLS 355: Issues in Contemporary Political Theory
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course discusses important contemporary issues that arise in political theory. Examples include: liberty and paternalism, toleration, punishment, multiculturalism, climate change, intergenerational justice (or injustice), and violence.
POLS 360: International Relations Theory
*Not offered in 2024-25
This course examines the theoretical approaches, concepts, and debates (e.g. levels of analysis, causality, methodology, historiography) that shape the evolution of International Relations as a discipline, including subfields (e.g. international security and international organizations) and how they relate to the conduct of international politics.
POLS 361: Regional International Organizations
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: A survey of selected regional international organizations for political cooperation, military security and economic integration in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
POLS 364: International Peace and Security
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the concept of international security and the causes of war and conditions of peace. Topics include: the role of nuclear weapons after the Cold War; the economics of security; new security themes (environmental and ethnic factors); regional security and peacekeeping; alliance dynamics; and European security and the future of NATO.
POLS 366: The United Nations
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the principles, institutions and politics of the United Nations, assessing its effectiveness in maintaining international peace and promoting cooperation among states.
POLS 369: Canadian Foreign Policy
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An analysis of Canadian foreign policy, its major objectives and orientations. Topics covered include Canada's role and interests in major international organizations and its relations with key countries and regions.
POLS 380: Puzzles in Political Economy
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: The course introduces students to the scientific method and its application to various puzzles in Canadian and comparative political economy. Following a primer on research methods, several empirical and theoretical puzzles are examined (e.g. relationships between voting and economic interests, the origins and drivers of government taxation, etc.).
POLS 382: Gender and Social Policy
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Topics include theoretical perspectives on women and politics, patterns of women’s political socialization and political action, feminist movements, and feminist contributions to contemporary political discourse.
POLS 386: Political Economy and Mass Media
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the history and political economy of the mass media, exploring the impact of a partisan press, ownership and use of technology on how our identity has been shaped. It will draw upon a comparative assessment of the mass media in advanced liberal democracies.
POLS 387: Politics and Culture
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: The course explores contemporary approaches to understanding the politics of culture. In the everyday behaviours, attitudes and practices that form our culture, politics play a role. The course considers a range of diverse theoretical perspectives on the interrelationship of culture with social, political, and economic power.
POLS 391: Introduction to Electoral Systems
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course introduces students to the various families of electoral systems in use around the world. It examines their variations and assesses the consequences of electoral systems on political parties, legislatures and governments.
POLS 394: Topics in Political Theory
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An exploration of different aspects of political thought, political theory, and political philosophy. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 397: Topics in Gender and Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An investigation of selected problems in feminist and gender analysis, examining the different authors and issues. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 398: Specialized Program in International Law and Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Only offered at Bader College, UK, as part of the Field School in International Law and Politics. This course provides foundational knowledge about the relationship between international politics and international law. It then explores more specific aspects of international law, including international criminal law and the Law of Armed Conflict, and situates the central statutes, customs, and institutions of international law within the broader context of global governance.
POLS 400: Seminar in Political Science
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This seminar will examine key texts in the discipline of political science. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 404: Canadian Politics: Questions and Challenges
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of key issues in Canadian Politics. Topics will vary from year to year.
POLS 405: International Relations: Questions & Challenges
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Issues in global politics, international relations, international diplomacy, or foreign policy will be examined in this course. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 406: Comparative Politics: Questions & Challenges
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: A comparative examination of the politics and government of different countries, theories or themes in comparative politics. The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 412: Provincial Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Content varies from year to year.
POLS 419: Political Communications
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: A critical examination of the rhetoric of political persuasion, the framing and construction of political messages and the way in which meaning is interpreted and created in the political system. The mass media are an important, though not exclusive, focus of this course.
POLS 422: Public Opinion
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course provides an extensive survey of the principle theoretical perspectives and empirical debates in the study of political opinion.
POLS 430 Seminar in Comparative Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Topics vary from year to year, and may include class, ethnic, and regional politics, law and politics, interests and interest articulation, and democracy and democratization.
POLS 431: European Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Multi-level politics in Europe: the European Union and its member states. Development of the EU, institutions and policy processes at the EU level, how the domestic politics of European states affects the EU and vice-versa. Economic union, supranationalism, political impulsion for economic integration, accession of new member states.
POLS 432: The Modern Welfare State
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An exploration of the emergence and functioning of the modern welfare state in comparative perspective.
POLS 433: Problems of American Democracy
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Focuses on recent debates about the sources of malaise in the American system, with a special emphasis on understanding the dynamics of mass public opinion and the factors influencing public disaffection from political institutions.
POLS 435: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course introduces students to some of the important questions about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What is the history of the conflict? How did distinct national identities emerge? What issues are at stake for the actors involved? How do domestic factors shape Palestinian-Israeli relations? Why have peacemaking efforts been unsuccessful? The purpose of the course is to explain the political phenomenon of conflict in the Middle East. The course will seek to understand why political actors act the way they do, using theoretical lenses and analytical concepts that have been developed in the fields of nationalism, ethnic conflict, and conflict resolution more generally.
POLS 436: Race and U.S. Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course puts race front and center in American politics. Topics include the subjugation of Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans during the 19th and 20th centuries; the civil rights movement; contemporary manifestations of racial discrimination and their impact on who gets elected to positions of power and whose prerogatives become law.
POLS 442: Latin American Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Advanced research course focusing on problems relating to the consolidation of democracy in contemporary Latin America. Topics may include political parties and elections, economic policy, mass media, social movements, and political violence. Case studies are drawn largely from continental South America.
POLS 443: Gender and Globalization
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: General issues and selected specific topics reflecting an interdisciplinary approach combining international political economy, feminist theory and comparative politics. Case studies from both industrialized and developing nations.
POLS 444: Ethnicity and Development
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course explores the dominant themes in the field of ethnic politics and development. We examine the role of social norms, group-differentiated rights, electoral politics and patronage, status inequality, and the historical role of ethnicity in the state-building process on development outcomes.
POLS 450: Political Theory: Appeals to Human Nature
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An analysis of texts that take the nature of humans as the basis for political argument. Emphasis is on the search for foundations for political claims and the nature of 20th-century relativism, cultural and moral.
POLS 451: Seminar in Political Theory
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of key issues in political theory. Topics will vary from year to year.
POLS 455: Ethics of Migration
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course provides a broad but in-depth foundation for normatively addressing a range of urgent ethical questions regarding migration. Topics covered include border controls, asylum seekers and refugees, detention, deportation, temporary foreign workers, majority-group nationalism, the rights of non-citizens, and migrant integration, among others.
POLS 456: Theories of Identity Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An investigation into different theoretical perspectives on the issue of 'identity' and the import of these perspectives for the 'politics of identity'. Theories of gender, race, class, nation, and sexual orientation, from a variety of perspectives, including Marxist, feminist, postmodern, and psychoanalytic theory.
POLS 457: Issues in Global Justice
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An exploration of issues in international politics from a theoretical and normative perspective, including global redistributive justice, just war theory, theories of secession, and normative theories of humanitarian intervention. Among the questions posed are whether we have an obligation to redistribute wealth to strangers, what can justify secession, intervention and war; and the terms on which people can migrate to other countries.
POLS 460: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This IR seminar introduces students to major issues shaping the study and conduct of international politics in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Asia-Pacific. Seminar topics examine the involvement of major powers in the region, regional institutions and regimes, norms and identities, transnational crime, non‐state actors, and natural disasters.
POLS 461: International Regimes
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An exploration of problems of order and change in the international system with particular attention to the theory and practice of co‐operation, ranging from classic concepts of international organization to current debates about international regimes.
POLS 463: International Relations Theory
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: Critical examination of selected themes, issues and works in classical and contemporary international relations theory.
POLS 464: Russian Foreign Policy
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the determinants of Russian Foreign Policy, and the extent to which they have changed over the last half-century. The course will cover both historical and contemporary issues in Russian foreign relations, with a particular focus on the causes and potential outcomes of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
POLS 465: The Politics of War
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: A consideration of the main types of war theory, including descriptive, legal, normative, causal, process, and consequential, with applications to selected case studies.
POLS 466: Politics of War in Africa
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the political dimensions of violent conflict in Africa, including the causes of inter‐state and intra‐state conflict, and responses such as peacebuilding and global governance initiatives.
POLS 469: Issues in Canadian Foreign Policy
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: This course focuses on Canadian-American relations, emphasizing the interaction in both bilateral and multilateral contexts. Primary concern with issues of trade, investment and resources, with some attention paid to security issues.
POLS 470: Seminar in International Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: The theoretical problems of analyzing foreign policy and the practical issues of diplomatic action.
POLS 471: Politics and Science in Technological Societies
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of connections between politics, science and technology. Topics include: ideologies and the autonomy of science; science in the Warfare State; controlling the social uses of science.
POLS 482 Public Policy
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of key issues in the political economy of public policy. Topics will vary from year to year.
POLS 483: Justice and Gender
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of how contemporary theories of justice fare from the standpoint of gender (specifically inequalities in gender relations) and what a just, non‐gendered society might look like.
POLS 484: The Politics of Globalization
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of the major theoretical debates and issues in contemporary globalization, including the historical roots of globalization, and the impact of globalization on culture, economics, trade, global governance, and global social movements.
POLS 485: Seminar in Gender & Politics
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: An examination of key issues in gender and politics. Topics will vary from year to year.
POLS 486: The Politics of Rights
*Not offered in 2024-25
Description: A difficult challenge facing a liberal-democratic polity is how to distinguish allowable state action from the protected sphere of human activity. The course examines contemporary debates about whether rights provide an appropriate critical standard for evaluating state action and looks at different institutional methods to assess the justification of state actions.
POLS 495: Topics in Political Studies
Description: The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 497: Topics in Political Studies
Description: The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 498: Topics in Political Studies
Description: The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 499: Topics in Political Studies
Description: The focus of this course will vary from year to year.
POLS 510: Directed Special Reading (6.0 units)
Description: Students arrange their course of reading in consultation with members of the Department. They are expected to write reports on their readings and to discuss them in seminars.
Non-POLS Substitutions
Courses from the following list of "substitutions" may be counted towards a POLS plan, up to a limit of 12.0 units for the Major and 6.0 units for the Joint Honours and Minor.
Global Development Studies
DEVS 230: The Global Political Economy of Development /3.0
Description: Applying global political economy perspectives to key aspects of development finance. Topics include the introduction of basic economic terms, the role of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization, and the growing roles of Transnational Corporations and financial markets in development. NOTE: Also offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online. Learning Hours may vary.
DEVS 411: Post-Placement Seminar in Development Studies /3.0
Description: Required for students who have successfully completed the course requirements for DEVS 410. The course will provide a forum for students to debrief and to critically examine their placement experience. Evaluation based on presentation, participation, journal synthesis and a final report. NOTE: In order to take DEVS 411, you must first take DEVS 410, a 6.0 unit course that will count towards your electives but will NOT count as a POLS credit. DEVS 411 is also an exclusion for POLS 598 Internship in Political Studies; you may take one or the other, but NOT both.
Interdisciplinary Studies
**The following Interdisciplinary Studies courses are offered only at the Bader International Study Centre, Herstmonceux, which is currently closed until further notice. As a result, these courses are not available at this time.
IDIS 304: British Studies I /3.0 **
Description: An interdisciplinary introduction to the broad development of British life and culture, focusing on British national identity. The course usually combines British art history, history, literature and geography.
IDIS 305: British Studies II /3.0 **
Description: An interdisciplinary introduction to the broad development of British life and culture, focusing on cultural and political conflicts in British society. The course usually combines British art history, history, literature and geography.
International Studies
**The following International Studies courses are offered only at the Bader International Study Centre, Herstmonceux, which is currently closed until further notice. As a result, these courses are not available at this time.
INTS 300: Special Studies in Britain and Europe in a Global Context I /3.0 **
Description: This course will offer a unique opportunity to study a special topic in Britain and Europe in a global context. Topics will vary each term, and the course may not be offered every year.
INTS 301: Special Studies in Britain and Europe in a Global Context II /3.0 **
Description: This course will offer a unique opportunity to study a special topic in Britain and Europe in a global context. Topics will vary each term, and the course may not be offered every year. For detailed course description, see www.queensu.ca/bisc
INTS 303: The Global Village: Case Studies of South Eastern England /3.0 **
Description: This course will examine ways in which South East England has been and is connected to the world. Students will develop an appropriate research methodology drawing on local archival and oral resources to investigate selected topics. Topics will vary yearly and may be examined from a variety of perspectives: historical, sociological, cultural or within a multidisciplinary framework.
INTS 312: Seminar in Modern European Studies I /3.0 **
Description: This course will offer a unique opportunity to study a special topic in Modern European Studies. Topics will vary each term, and the course may not be offered every year. For a detailed course description, see www.queensu.ca/bisc
INTS 313: Seminar in Modern European Studies II /3.0 **
Description: This course will offer a unique opportunity to study a special topic in Modern European Studies. Topics will vary each term, and the course may not be offered every year. For a detailed course description, see www.queensu.ca/bisc
INTS 320: Fascism in Europe: From Napoleon to Hitler /3.0 **
Description: An introduction to the growth of the fascist mentality in Europe from a cultural perspective. The course will treat the Third Reich as part of the broader conservative and nationalist challenge to liberalism.
Law
LAW 201: Introduction to Canadian Law /3.0
Description: Law 201 is designed for students from all disciplines, but will be of particular interest to students in history, political science, or business. The course provides students with an introduction to the Canadian legal and judicial systems. Students will learn the sources of law in Canadian common law jurisdictions, as well as the basic workings of the Canadian court system. Students will be introduced to the role of lawyers and judges, and legal ethics.
Languages, Literatures, and Culture
LLCU 319: Roots of Fascism: Resistance to Liberalism in the 19th Century /3.0
Description: A survey of various currents of thought from 19th‐century Europe that illustrate conservative discomfort with industrial society and help to make the outbreak of fascism understandable after 1918. The course will distinguish between conservative, nationalist, aesthetic, and religious trends, illustrated by relevant readings from different countries.
LLCU 320: Fascism in Europe from Napoleon to Hitler /3.0
Description: An introduction from a cultural perspective to the growth of the fascist mentality in Europe and the emergence of fascist regimes. The course will treat Italian Fascism and the Third Reich as part of the broader conservative and nationalist challenge to liberalism.