News & Events 7/10/2023

July 10th, 2023

The class is being taught MWF 3-3:50pm and TAs need to be available at those times, plus schedule an office hour at their convenience. Wages follow the department pay scale for TAs ($14/hour or higher if you have TAed in the political science department previously). Applicants should have already taken 170 and received an A or A- in that course. 

The WomanStats Database is the most comprehensive database on the status of women in the world today.  We code for nearly 400 variables for 176 countries, and we currently have over 300,000 data points, with more added every day!  One reason we are unique is that we compile both qualitative and quantitative information in our database, examining practice, law, as well as prevalence data. You can check out the database at http://womanstats.org/ We are looking to hire students who will be available to work at least 10 hours per week contributing to this database. Pay starts at $14.
 
You will have to pass a coding proficiency examination before you can become part of the team. You will train on a paid basis for three to four weeks and then be evaluated on your coding ability. We need our coders to have demonstrated both accuracy and reliability. Also, because of the training investment involved, we give preference in hiring to coder candidates who are planning to be at BYU for at least two more years .  This position is open to students in any major. This position is most useful for people who are interested in global women's issues. If interested, please send a resume that includes your GPA and anticipated graduation data as well as a paragraph about your interest in global women's issues to Celeste Beesley at celeste_beesley@byu.edu.

POLI 368R section 002: Plato’s Political Philosophy
We are all faced with issues such as ‘fake news,’ ‘alternative facts,’ book-banning, demagogue-instigated insurrections that threaten democracy, socialized healthcare, euthanasia and suicide, the role of women in political life and in society more broadly, and the threat of empty knowledge posed by ChatGPT. What do all of these have in common? –Among other things, that they were first systematically addressed by the Ancient Greek philosopher, Plato. (Well, he didn’t know about ChatGPT, but his thinking about empty knowledge remains paramount.) In this class, we will learn how philosophers like Plato address these and a host of other political questions. We will read some of history’s most influential books (the Apology, the Republic, etc.). And we will scrutinize our most fundamental political commitments.
 
POLI 368R section 003: Environmental Ethics
You might think it cruel to club baby seals or irresponsible to dump toxic waste in ponds, but just how far do your moral responsibilities extend? E.g., should you refrain from eating meat, from flying in airplanes, or from stepping on plants? Just how much should governments intervene in ‘environmental’ issues? Can aesthetic and religious connections to nature prohibit mining, hunting, harvesting trees, building houses, etc.? In this class, we will examine questions like these and topics such as climate change, our duties to future persons, animal ethics, wilderness preservation, Indigenous American philosophy, ecofeminism, ecopolitics, and eco-hope.

POLI 359R Democracy and Democratization
POLI 359R is a survey of diverse theories of democracy and democratization. The course explores important questions related to democratic transition and consolidation and the problem of democratic backsliding. The course is divided in three parts. The first part discusses criteria used to delineate democratic regimes and types of democracies. The second part deals with major theories of transition and consolidation with an emphasis on works starting from the 1970s and 1980s. The last part of the course considers cases of democratic reversal and debates surrounding the internal-external dimensions of democratic development.

POLI 358 Latin American Politics
Conceptual and contemporary issues in Latin America's search for political order and economic development.