Academic Programs Catalog

James Madison College

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in James Madison College

Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy Major

1. The student must complete (44 to 49 credits):
a. All of the following courses (21 credits):
MC 270 Classical Republicanism 4
MC 271 Constitutionalism and Democracy 4
MC 370 Radical Challenges to Liberal Democracy 4
MC 371 Beyond Liberal Democracy?  New Directions in Political Theory 4
MC 497 Senior Seminar in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy (W) 5
b. One of the following courses (4 credits):
MC 373A Constitutionalism:  The Supreme Court 4
MC 373B Constitutionalism: The Presidency 4
MC 373C Constitutionalism: Congress 4
MC 375 Contemporary Developments in American Politics 4
MC 378 Law and Social Groups 4
These courses may not be used to fulfill both requirements b. and c.
c. One of the following courses (4 credits):
MC 272 Political Theory and Political Issues 4
MC 325 State and Society in Comparative Perspective 4
MC 326 U.S. Foreign Policy 4
MC 332 Literature and Politics in a Comparative Perspective 4
MC 341 Politics and Markets 4
MC 349 Economics of Legal Relationships in Comparative Perspective 4
MC 350 Evolution and Society 4
MC 351 Science and Social Policy 4
MC 368 The Civil Rights Movement and its Legacies 4
MC 369 Global Issues in Citizenship (W) 4
MC 372 Comparative Black Political Thought 4
MC 377 Culture, Politics and Post-Colonialism 4
MC 373A Constitutionalism: The Supreme Court 4
MC 373B Constitutionalism: The Presidency 4
MC 373C Constitutionalism: Congress 4
MC 375 Contemporary Developments in American Politics 4
MC 376 Modern Political Thought in the Muslim World 4
MC 378 Law and Social Groups 4
MC 381 American Politics and Equality 4
MC 383 African American Politics 4
MC 386 Women and Power in Comparative Perspective 4
MC 387 Jews and Anti–Semitism 4
MC 390 Advanced Topics in Public Affairs 4
MC 391 Selected Topics in Public Affairs 4
MC 395 Cultural Dimensions of Public Affairs 4
MC 482 Gender and Violent Conflict 4
James Madison College 390 and 391 must contain political theory and constitutional democracy content. Students should consult with their advisor prior to enrolling.
d. One of the following courses (3 or 4 credits):
MC 293 Methods for Strategic Analysis in Public Affairs 4
MC 295 Research Design and Quantitative Analysis in Public Policy 4
PHL 330 Formal Reasoning 4
PHL 480 Philosophy of Science 4
PLS 201 Introduction to Methods of Political Analysis 4
STT 421 Statistics I 3
One college–level mathematics course selected from Mathematics 126, 133, 152H, 153H.
e. One of the following two options (12 to 16 credits). Both the option and the related courses must be approved by the student's academic advisor.
(1) Four courses from one of the following disciplines or fields:  anthropology, economics, English, history, international relations, philosophy, political economy, political science, social relations, sociology, or a foreign language. With the approval of the student's academic advisor, another discipline or field may be substituted. At least two of the four courses must be at the 300–level or above with the following exception:  all of the courses in a foreign language must be at the 300–level or above.
(2) Four courses on a historically significant polity in another time and place.  One course must be in History; the other three courses may involve other aspects of life in the polity. Two of the three courses may be in the language of the polity.  Courses at the 300–400 level in the same language that was used to satisfy the College's foreign language requirement, or courses at the 100–200 level in another foreign language, may be counted toward this requirement.