Political Science

Political science involves the systematic study of the public affairs or politics of the state. The word politics derives from the ancient Greek polis or city-state and signifies the manner in which the inhabitants of the (city-) state are governed. Political scientists study all factors instrumental or influential in the acquisition and exercise of power for the purposes of public control or governance -- political leaders, governmental institutions, legal systems, public policy, political parties, public interest groups, political ideologies, social movements, media, economic systems, religion and its social institutions, culture, race, ethnicity, gender, demographics and social trends, scientific advances -- on a local, national and international level. They concern themselves with the dynamics of political stability as well as that of political change whether through the ballot box or via revolution in the street. Politics invariably involves competitive power struggles for the right, de jure or de facto, of control over others. The study of politics invariably focuses, therefore, upon conflict, whether that of competitive electoral politics or inter-state rivalry or warfare. Political science research may be descriptive, often using empirical methods (qualitative or quantitative) as well as prescriptive, recommending solutions to prevailing political problems.

Four fields define the academic discipline of political science: American politics, comparative politics, international affairs and political theory. The Yeshiva College Department of Political Science requires its majors to take an introductory course in each of these four fields to acquire an overview of the discipline. To cultivate individual interests through more in-depth study, majors fashion an area of concentration. The Department enthusiastically participates in the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Honors Program by regularly running Honors level courses each year. The Department strongly encourages students to pursue summer internships which afford them the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom and which help them to define their career ambitions.
The department seeks to foster an esprit de corps among students and faculty by organizing get-togethers each semester and by sponsoring extracurricular activities. The student-run Political Science Society plans social and educational activities, also with the Stern College Political Science Society, that are relevant to the study of political life – trips to the U.N. or Washington, D.C., lectures, films, etc. The Clarion, edited and published by students, is a journal of student- and faculty-written articles about politics.

The Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs, directed by Dr. Bevan, sponsors formal and informal lectures throughout the year pertaining to a panorama of international issues, political and nonpolitical. Student Board Members assist in running the Schneier Program. As a major, political science ranks within the top tier of college majors for its career options and opportunities. These careers include government, business, law, health care administration, academia, public consulting firms, public interest groups, public relations, investment analysis, urban planning, political communications, and electoral politics. The objective of the Department of Political Science is to help equip students with the knowledge, research and analytical skills necessary to live and to work in a competitive and fast changing global world.

Mission Statement

Political Science equips students with the knowledge and analytical skills required to be responsible democratic citizens in a globalized and turbulent world. Students study American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Political Theory to learn about the rule-making, rule-enforcing and rule-adjudicating functions of political institutions and to assess the efficacy of such institutions in achieving modern standards of political development. Political Science students concern themselves with the problematic of who gets what, when and how in the distribution of public power and other vital resources locally, nationally and internationally. They apply theoretical models of this problematic to the practical exigencies of political situations under diverse conditions across the globe. Students study the dynamics of power within institutions (like Congress or the Kremlin or the United Nations) as well as outside conventional institutions (e.g., protest movements, terrorism).

Student Learning Goals

Understand what constitutes a political problem.
Achieve command over technical terminology and concepts of the disciple.

For furthermore information about the Political Science Department at Yeshiva College, please contact Professor Joseph Luders at luders@yu.edu or 212-340-7849.

Program Information

Please see the Schedule of Classes for the current semester’s offerings.

Courses in Political Science are grouped according to the four fields of the discipline. Those numbered x1xx are courses in American Politcs; x2xx are in Comparative Politics; x3xx are in International Relations; and x4xx are in Political Theory. Courses numbered 1xxx are introductory level courses; 2xxx are electives, for which the introductory course is required; 3xxx are seminars that will usually have particular prerequisites and 4xxx courses are independent reading or research projects.

This course listing applies to Yeshiva College and to Stern College for Women. Courses given only at Stern College are so designated.

Pol 1201 Introduction to Comparative Politics
How should state systems be compared? How should differences as well as similarities in development be explained? Why do some states fail? Case studies of select states.
Pol 1501 Fundamentals of Political Science
Basic concepts and terminology of political science, the development of the state in historical and comparative perspective, political culture, political ideology, globalization and uneven political development.
Pol 2156 Women and the Law
(course given at Stern College for Women)
Pol 2165 Women and Politics
(course given at Stern College for Women)
Pol Israeli Political Thought
Creating the “new Jew” through independent statehood, collective memory of Biblical Israel, the Diaspora and modern Israel and the political function of memory; mamlachtiyut; the evolution of Zionism.
Pol 4580 Senior Project
Required of all majors, the project entails the revision of a research paper of the student’s choosing in his area of concentration.

Political Science involves the systematic study of the public affairs or politics of the state. Political Scientists study all factors instrumental and influential in the acquisition and exercise of power for the purposes of public control or governance on the local, national and international level. In a globalizing world emphasizing organizational skill, socio-political knowledge and communications, political scientists find a wide array of career options and opportunities. The Yeshiva College Department of Political Science seeks to help equip students with the knowledge, research and analytical skills necessary to live and to work in a competitive and fast changing global world. The major is designed to give the student a breadth of knowledge of the discipline while affording him the opportunity to gain specialized knowledge through an area of concentration of his choice.

Political Science Major Requirements: 33 Total Credits

There are three parts to the major:

Introductory courses that provide a foundation to the different sub-fields of the discipline
Elective course distribution that provides greater breadth and deeper understanding of each sub-field
Free electives that allow students to pursue the area(s) that they find most interesting.

Introductory Courses - Students must take three of the five following courses: 9 Credits

POLI 1101 Introduction to American Politics (offered every Spring) 3 Credits
POLI 1201 Introduction to Comparative Politics (offered every Fall) 3 Credits
POLI 1301 Introduction to International Relations (offered every Spring) 3 Credits
POLI 1401 Great Political Thinkers (offered every Fall) 3 Credits
POLI 1501 Fundamentals of Political Science* (offered every Fall) 3 Credits

It is advised to take the introductory courses by the end of the first semester of the junior year.

Electives: 24 Credits

Students must take at least one elective course in each of the subfields of political science: 12 Credits

American Politics
Comparative Politics
International Relations
Political Theory

Note: One of these courses may be a 4th introductory level course (not Fundamentals of Political Science)

The remaining four courses may be taken in any subfield of political science: 12 Credits

Since introductory courses are meant to provide a foundation in a subfield, it is strongly recommended that students take a field introductory course before they take an elective course in that subfield.

Students may use up to two courses cross-listed with other departments toward their elective requirements.

Students may also take one internship to count towards the elective requirement. Before students register for internship credit, they need to consult with the department and with the Academic Advisement Center to learn of specific requirements and restrictions of this option.

Political Science Minor Requirements: 18 Total Credits

Introductory Courses - Students must take two of the five following courses: 6 Credits

POLI 1101 Introduction to American Politics (offered every Spring) 3 Credits
POLI 1201 Introduction to Comparative Politics (offered every Fall) 3 Credits
POLI 1301 Introduction to International Relations (offered every Spring) 3 Credits
POLI 1401 Great Political Thinkers (offered every Fall) 3 Credits
POLI 1501 Fundamentals of Political Science* (offered every Fall) 3 Credits

*Recommended for those considering a major in the department, or for non-majors who would like a comprehensive overview of the discipline.

Electives: 12 Credits

Students must take at least one elective course in three of the four subfields of political science: 9 Credits

American Politics,
Comparative Politics
International Relations
Political Theory

The remaining one course may be taken in any subfield of political science: 3 Credits

Since introductory courses are meant to provide a foundation in a subfield, it is STRONGLY recommended that students take a field introductory course or Fundamentals before they take an elective course in that subfield.

The following list includes faculty who teach at the Beren (B) and/or Wilf (W) campus.

Ruth A. Bevan
Professor Emerita of Political Science
David W. Petegorsky Chair in Political Science (W)
Chuck Freilich
Visiting Professor of Political Science (B)
Matthew Holbreich
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Political Science (B)
Straus Center Fellow
Matthew Incantalupo
Assistant Professor of Political Science (W)
Adina Levine
Adjunct Instructor of Political Science (B/W)
Senator Joseph Lieberman
Chair in Public Policy and Public Service (B/W)
Joseph E. Luders
Associate Professor in Political Science (B);
David and Ruth Gottesman Chair in Political Science
Chair, Department of Political Science
Joanna Phua
Adjunct Instructor in Political Science (B)
Joel Strauss
Adjunct Instructor in Political Science (B)
Maria Zaitseva
Clinical Assistant Professor in Political Science (W)

Location, Location, Location

For political scientists New York City is an unparalleled social-political laboratory. An immigrant city, with its multi-ethnic, multi-racial and multi-religious population base, New York City represents the pinnacle of cosmopolitanism. Yeshiva University exists in one of the more vibrant immigrant enclaves of the city, Washington Heights, whose cliffs alongside the Hudson River the troops of General George Washington defended during the American revolution. New York’s Wall Street and Madison Avenue are geographic signifiers that denote, around the world, high finance, multinational corporatism, the advertising kingdom and the communications network, all of which make New York City a global hub. Comprised of five boroughs, four of which are clustered around “the City” (Manhattan), an island about 13 miles long and 2 miles wide, with a total population of some eight million inhabitants, how is such a city governable?

Add to this mix the presence of the United Nations. The U.N. brings diplomats to New York City as both employees and privileged residents – privileged because their U.N. status allows them to live in the city in various ways as “exceptions to the rule” – like having parking privileges on the busy streets of New York! You will find consulates of states from around the world nestled among the brownstones on Manhattan’s east side. Anyone can schedule an appointment with a consulate official and get first-hand information about that official’s country. Rising into the clouds from its perch on the banks of the East River around midtown, the tablet-shaped U.N. building with its panoply of national flags decorating its front courtyard has immortalized this New York City vista through photographs snapped by tourists and professionals alike that have appeared in every possible venue around the world. Does the U.N. really help govern the world?

And, of course, one can jump on Amtrak and be in Washington, D.C. or Boston within four hours, in Philadelphia within even less time. Want to attend a session of Congress? See Independence Hall? Follow the Liberty Trail? Or see the Liberty Bell? You’ll find Amtrak at Penn Station at 34^th Street in Manhattan. To get to Penn Station, take the #1 subway train at 181^st St. and St. Nicholas Ave – only a few blocks from the YC campus.

And then, of course, there is Jewish New York. A rich history connects Jews with this fabled metropolis! You can devote Sundays to exploring…. The Tenement Museum. The Jewish Museum. The Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park. YIVO. The Leo Baeck Institute. The various Jewish organizations. The synagogues. Brooklyn. The Yiddish theater. The regular theater. The Israeli consulate. The U.N.’s Isaiah Wall. The Israel Day Parade. And Yeshiva University where you’ll arrive back home!

To study political science in New York City from the vantage point of Yeshiva University in Washington Heights is like studying a body in motion. And we can’t even list all the libraries and archives the city has to offer. It’s impossible not to find what you need or want in New York City – unless you don’t know what you need or what you want. In that case there is another resource available to you – the faculty around you at Yeshiva University who stand ready to help under almost all circumstances.

The very first thing to learn about studying political science is to know where you are -- observe your environment. Look around. Ask questions. What’s going on? Who are those people? What do they want? How do they want to get it? Can they get it given the circumstances? Should they rightfully get it? How do you know if they should rightfully get it? As students of Yeshiva College, you reside in Washington Heights. Where does the name come from again? Who lives in Washington Heights besides you?

People are the resource of political scientists. People make our work exciting and challenging. Their needs, their hopes for a better life, all of these things figure potentially into eventual political considerations. People’s needs, whether in Washington Heights or Kuala Lumpur or Beersheva, drive the inquiry and research of political scientists in democratic states. The ancient Greeks taught us that the aim of politics should be the good life, meaning the ethically harmonious life. How should we define that good life today in our globalized world?

Observe. Listen. Question. These are the tools of the political scientist. Where can you do all of these things as well as in New York City? Doesn’t New York City just beg the question?