First-Year Political Studies Courses

The main purpose of the first-year Political Studies course is to familiarize students with the central concepts of politics and the main fields of political studies. While the course will provide students with the foundations of studying politics, it will also allow students to understand and analyze the everyday role that politics plays in their lives.

POST 1000Y – Democracy, power and resistance in the global age

A critical introduction to power and politics and their relationship to political activism. Particular attention will be paid to themes such as democracy, justice, resistance, ideology, development, state-building and globalization. Course materials will focus on the global and North American contexts.

The first term of the course will concentrate on the central concepts of politics such as power, democracy, justice, community and ideology. In addition, we will discuss various aspects of international politics such as state sovereignty, humanitarian intervention, peace and conflict, and the impact of cultural and economic globalization on national cultures. In the second half of the course, we will explore central concepts in comparative political development including states, markets and civil society. These concepts are applied through a consideration of authoritarianism, democratization and development. Then, we will relate these concepts to the North American experience, focussing on Canadian and American political development and contemporary Canadian and American politics.

Course Format

Weekly lectures and tutorials; optional weekly workshop with the instructors. The purpose of the workshops is to allow interested students to interact with the instructor in a small group setting and to have the opportunity to discuss the course material. There will be an in-depth discussion of specific discussion questions and informal discussion of course materials or current events, depending on student preferences.

Course Texts

Global Politics: New Introduction
George Ritzer, The McDonaldization of Society

Topics

PART 1 : IDEAS AND CONCEPTS OF POWER, POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY

• What is Politics
• Where is power in politics and resistance?
• Do you believe what you see? Power and ideology in democracy
• Hobbes and liberalism: Does society exist beyond individual interest?
• Rousseau and politics of community: Can the individual exist without society?
• Marx and socialism: Is politics simply class struggle?

PART II : POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• What is international politics?
• Globalization of international politics
• Political economy of global politics
• Culture and global politics

For More Information

Course notes, assignments, and other details are available to enrolled students via myTrent >> learning system. For more information regarding this course or if you have any other questions, please contact the Political Studies department.