printer friendly pagePOLISCI 231: High-Stakes Politics: Case Studies in Political Philosophy, Institutions, and Interests (CLASSICS 382, POLISCI 331)
Normative political theory combined with positive political theory to better explain how major texts may have responded to and influenced changes in formal and informal institutions. Emphasis is on historical periods in which catastrophic institutional failure was a recent memory or a realistic possibility. Case studies include Greek city-states in the classical period and the northern Atlantic community of the 17th and 18th centuries including upheavals in England and the American Revolutionary era.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Weingast, B. (PI)
POLISCI 232T: The Dialogue of Democracy (AMSTUD 137, COMM 137W, COMM 237, POLISCI 332T)
All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Fishkin, J. (PI)
POLISCI 233F: Science, technology and society and the humanities in the face of the looming disaster (FRENCH 228, ITALIAN 228)
How STS and the Humanities can together help think out the looming catastrophes that put the future of humankind in jeopardy.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors:
Dupuy, J. (PI)
POLISCI 234P: Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (AMSTUD 135, COMM 135, COMM 235, COMM 335, POLISCI 334P)
This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Fishkin, J. (PI)
;
Vannette, D. (PI)
POLISCI 237M: Politics and Evil (ETHICSOC 237M)
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the political theorist Hannah Arendt wrote that ¿the problem of evil will be the fundamental question of postwar intellectual life in Europe.¿ This question remains fundamental today. The acts to which the word ¿evil¿ might apply¿genocide, terrorism, torture, human trafficking, etc.¿persist. The rhetoric of evil also remains central to American political discourse, both as a means of condemning such acts and of justifying preventive and punitive measures intended to combat them. In this advanced undergraduate seminar, we will examine the intersection of politics and evil by considering works by philosophers and political theorists, with occasional forays into film and media. The thinkers covered will include: Hannah Arendt, Immanuel Kant, Niccolò Machiavelli, Friedrich Nietzche, and Michael Walzer.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
POLISCI 237S: Civil Society and Democracy in Comparative Perspective (ETHICSOC 237)
A cross-national approach to the study of civil societies and their role in democracy. The concept of civil society--historical, normative, and empirical. Is civil society a universal or culturally relative concept? Does civil society provide a supportive platform for democracy or defend a protected realm of private action against the state? How are the norms of individual rights, the common good, and tolerance balanced in diverse civil societies? Results of theoretical exploration applied to student-conducted empirical research projects on civil societies in eight countries. Summary comparative discussions. Prerequisite: a course on civil society or political theory. Students will conduct original research in teams of two on the selected nations. Enrollment limited to 18. Enrollment preference given to students who have taken
PoliSci 236S/
EthicSoc 232T.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
PSYCH 9N: Reading the Brain: the Scientific, Ethical, and Legal Implications of Brain Imaging
It's hard to pick up a newspaper without seeing a story that involves brain imaging, from research on psychological disorders to its use for lie detection or "neuromarketing". The methods are indeed very powerful, but many of the claims seen in the press are results of overly strong interpretations. In this course, you will learn to evaluate claims based on brain imaging research. We will also explore the deeper ethical and philosophical issues that arise from our ability to peer into our own brains in action. The course will start by discussing how to understand and interpret the findings of brain imaging research. We will discuss how new statistical methods provide the ability to accurately predict thoughts and behaviors from brain images. We will explore how this research has the potential to change our concepts of the self, personal responsibility and free will. We will also discuss the ethics of brain imaging, such as how the ability to detect thoughts relates to personal privacy and mental illness. Finally, we will discuss the legal implications of these techniques, such as their use in lie detection or as evidence against legal culpability.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Poldrack, R. (PI)
PUBLPOL 103C: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, IPS 208, PHIL 171, PHIL 271, POLISCI 103, POLISCI 136S, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 307)
Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality. Counts as Writing in the Major for PoliSci majors.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Reich, R. (PI)
;
Cooper, E. (TA)
PUBLPOL 103D: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (CSRE 178, ETHICSOC 133, HUMBIO 178, PHIL 175A, PHIL 275A, POLISCI 133, URBANST 122)
Ethical and political questions in public service work, including volunteering, service learning, humanitarian assistance, and public service professions such as medicine and teaching. Motives and outcomes in service work. Connections between service work and justice. Is mandatory service an oxymoron? History of public service in the U.S. Issues in crosscultural service work. Integration with the Haas Center for Public Service to connect service activities and public service aspirations with academic experiences at Stanford.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-EDP
Instructors:
Schnaubelt, T. (PI)
;
Terra, L. (PI)
PUBLPOL 103E: Ethics on the Edge Public Policy Core Seminar (PUBLPOL 203E)
[Note: This two-credit seminar accompanies Ethics on the Edge (Public Policy 134) but can also be taken as a stand-alone course upon permission from the instructor. Enrollment preference will be given to Public Policy majors seeking to fulfill the core requirement (and are required to do so) or upon permission of instructor. (The required course, Public Policy 103C, can be fulfilled by taking Ethics on the Edge (Public Policy 134, 3 units) and this Ethics on the Edge Public Policy Core Seminar (Public Policy 103E, 2 units) for a total of 5 units.) This course is not required for students taking Public Policy 134 to gain Ways of Thinking credit or to gain credit towards Ethics in Society, Science, Technology and Society, or general course credit.] The seminar-style course will explore additional foundational readings on organizational ethics (business, non-profit, and governmental organizations) and policy ethics. Themes will include the Baltimore police brutality incidents, FIFA corruption scandals, and negotiations around the Iran nuclear agreement. Organizing themes include, among others: ethics of leadership; ethics of persuasion and compromise; the influence of bias in organizational and policy ethics; discrepancies between discourse and action; and interpreting and explaining ethics. In addition, the course will offer training in a wide variety of skills for effective communication of ethics for policy purposes (presentations, website discourse, commenting in meetings and conferences, interviews, statement of personal views, interacting with the media, prioritizing arguments, and mapping complex ethical analysis). Most of the assignments allow students flexibility to explore topics of their choice. The objective is to engage actively and improve skills in a supportive environment. A short, analytically rigorous final paper in lieu of final exam. Attendance required. Grading will be based on short assignments, class participation, and the short final paper. *Public Policy majors taking the course to complete the core requirements must obtain a letter grade. Other students may take the course for a letter grade or C/NC.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors:
Liautaud, S. (PI)
;
Todisco, M. (TA)
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