Topic for Fall 2017: Comparative Politics and International Relations
This seminar is intended to help students conceptualize and complete a senior experience project. Readings from comparative politics and international relations will be used to model the various stages of, and approaches to, conducting research.

Topic for Fall 2017: Research in American Politics
The first part of the seminar will be devoted to an overview of the scope and methods of political science research in voting behavior in the electorate, legislatures, and Congress. During the balance of the term, students will design and produce individual research projects or extensive literature reviews on topics of their choice related to American politics or policy. Projects must be descriptive or explanatory rather than prescriptive. Ideally, students entering this seminar should have some background in the topic they wish to study.

Topic for Winter 2018: Rethinking International Security
The purpose of this course is to (re)examine the topic of security. The seminar will consider international security from three different perspectives: national; homeland; and human. Through readings and discussion, we will consider how notions of security have changed over time, how security might be different for developed and developing countries, and how threats to security can be reduced or eliminated. Throughout the term we will draw from a number of theoretical approaches to the topic of security, including those offered by realism, liberalism, constructivism, and feminism.