Leader Psychology and International Relations

Description:  Recently, interest in the role of leaders in foreign policy decision-making and IR scholarship resurfaced. The original question 'Do leaders matter?' was supplanted by a flurry of new questions - including most importantly: 'How much and in what ways do leaders matter?' This course seeks to answer this question by exploring a variety of theories and approaches. Through investigating how leaders matter, students develop a greater understanding of IR and a grasp on one of the primary sources of variation in foreign policy decision-making and behavior.

American Foreign Policy

Description:  This course is designed as an overview of the history, sources of, and debates within, American Foreign Policy. First, students briefly examine the history of the United States' foreign policy. Second, students extensively review the various actors involved in and sources of American foreign policy.  Finally, students explore contemporary issues in American Foreign Policy. 

Data Analysis and Visualization

Description:  This course is an introduction to Data Analysis and Visualization. This course introduces students to R for analyzing data, and LaTeX for writing analytical reports. Each week reviews a new technique in data analysis. Initial class meetings are spent setting up the programs used throughout the course. The remainder of the course builds skills within statistical inference and data presentation. The final weeks of the course are spent on Term Papers. Students design their own research, and execute a pilot of their study design.

Political Psychology

Description: This course is designed to be a broad overview of the field of political psychology. Political psychology is both a "field" in and of itself, as well as a family of approaches used in other fields of political science. At its core, political psychology is concerned with the causes, dynamics, and consequences of human thinking and action in the context of politics. The goal of the course will be to review, discuss and evaluate historically important classics in political psychology as well as contemporary contributions and controversies. 

Introduction to International Relations

Description:  This course is an introduction to International Relations. The course is organized as an International Relations Theory course. The goal of the course is to equip students with approaches to global politics that can help them make sense of both historical and ongoing events. Additionally, with the right mindset, these approaches and perspectives can be used to navigate everyday life.

Introduction to Political Science

Description:  This course is an introduction to Political Science. The course gives an overview of the discipline, through a survey of it's sub-fields, and a primer on research design. By building a solid scientific foundation for exploring politics, students can at the very least better anticipate and prepare for life-changing events on the horizon. In some cases, students may even learn how they can impact political outcomes.