The mission of the Department of Political Science is to communicate the knowledge of political science as a scholarly discipline through education of undergraduate and graduate students in the core principles and specialties of political science, to develop new knowledge in the field through critical research and scholastic inquiry, and to apply the knowledge of political science to serve the needs of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond.
We pride ourselves on providing excellent instruction to students, and we share your disappointment that Covid-19 has forced us to modify our approaches for less face-to-face interaction. However, we are also excited about how the upcoming changes will help us engage with you in different and in some ways more effective ways. We are committed to your success by creatively finding ways to use technology and meeting in person whenever possible.
Teaching great online courses and utilizing technology to improve instruction is not new to us. We’re good at doing this. We consistently present some of the highest-rated courses at UK, and we will continue to do so. Our new reality presents challenges, but we will easily and effectively reach the same learning outcomes as we always have. Likewise, though many discussions will happen online, we continue to be committed to strong out-of-class discussions, teaching, and mentorship. Your success is important to us. We will do everything possible to help you reach your goals.
Please take a moment to read more about our course offerings below. We are confident that you will see evidence that our faculty have spent many hours thinking thoughtfully about how to present quality instruction in these difficult times. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your instructor or me if you have any questions or concerns.
Clayton Thyne,
Department Chair
clayton.thyne@uky.edu
859-396-6871
PS101-001, Steve Voss: This course will combine some of the best features of in-person and online instruction. Each American Government topic will be divided up according to which portions are best delivered interactively in class and which accommodate student learning at their convenience by computer. The in-person portion will be delivered to half the class at a time to lower the student-teacher ratio, thereby encouraging student participation. (These sessions will be recorded, to the extent possible, for students who do not or cannot attend.). The remote portions will combine a mixture of recorded presentations — allowing students to learn at their own pace, pausing to take notes or study graphs/figures — and hands-on learning activities.
PS101-002, Robert (Trey) Wood: This section of PS101 will be a traditional, face-to-face format taking place in a large classroom that allows all students to safely and comfortably attend at the same time. Being an introductory course on American Government, much the class time will be devoted to a lecture style of teaching with opportunities for discussion throughout the class topics. The course will make use of PowerPoint slides and lecture to convey information on the day’s topic as well as graphs to build analytical skills needed for future classes. Students will be expected to attend class each day in order to gain the appropriate knowledge to be successful in class. All office hours will be scheduled and conducted over Zoom with opportunities for appointments as needed.
PS101-201, Rachel Blandau: This course will be taught entirely online via Canvas. Course content will be delivered through narrated PowerPoint lectures and assigned course readings. Weekly quizzes and several short papers will be utilized to assess comprehension of materials. There will be no scheduled course meeting, but students will have the opportunity to meet with the instructor via Zoom during scheduled office hours or by appointment.
PS210-001, Victoria Beall: This course will be taught entirely online through Zoom and Canvas. Students will view prerecorded video lectures through Canvas and attend class for discussion and application of course material via Zoom at the days/times listed in the course schedule. Students will also be expected to keep up with weekly readings from the required textbook. Before class meetings students will have the opportunity to submit any questions related to the material via Canvas as well as ask questions during the live Zoom class. One priority of this course is to encourage peer to peer and student to instructor interactions. To help facilitate this goal, students will work together in small teams assigned by the instructor on application exercises using the break-out rooms feature in Zoom during the live Zoom class.
PS210-002, Kelly Grenier: This course will be taught remotely via Zoom Tuesday/Thursday from 3:30 to 4:45. Each week, the corresponding module in Canvas will open to allow students to access the readings and reading guides, discussion thread based on the key concepts, and PowerPoints used during the lectures. Assessment comes from four tests, three think papers, and classroom capacity building exercises. There is no required textbook, instead, students will engage with primary and secondary sources including podcast, journal articles, documentaries, and bestsellers from experts in the field. Student hours are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and by appointment over Zoom.
PS210-003, Tiffany Barnes: This course will follow a traditional class format. Students will attend in-person, face-to-face instruction. All office hours will be held through Zoom (or by appointment).
PS210-201, Helen Kras: This course will be taught entirely online via Canvas. Course content will be delivered through recorded lectures and assigned course readings. There will be no textbook required for this course. Class readings will consist of journal articles, news articles, documentaries, and podcasts. Weekly assignments will be utilized to assess comprehension of materials. There will be no scheduled course meetings, but students will have the opportunity to meet with the instructor via Zoom individually or in groups.
PS230-001, Clayton Thyne: This course will follow a traditional class format. Students will attend in-person, face-to-face instruction. All office hours will be held through Zoom (or by appointment).
PS230-002, Bryce Beschorner: This is an introductory course to the study of international relations. The goal of the course is to teach students basic concepts and theories that are useful for making sense of contemporary debates and challenges in international politics as well as basic methods and ethics of scientific inquiry. Students will learn how social scientists analyze international relations in a variety of policy areas, including both military/defense and economics. This course will be run as a lecture and will be fully online. Students are expected to have access to and a working knowledge of Zoom.
PS230-201, Jennifer Flinchum: This is a part-of-term course and will run from March 22 until May 14. The course will be taught entirely online, using Canvas, and will not have any scheduled meetings. Course content will be delivered through pre-recorded lectures available on Canvas and assigned readings from the textbook. All assignments and exams for this class will be distributed and submitted through Canvas. Online office hours (via Zoom) will be held every week at a predetermined time or, for students who are unable to attend during these times, via appointment.
PS360-001, Peter Lynch: This course will be taught remotely, and will utilize both Zoom and Canvas. Students are expected to attend lectures via Zoom during the regularly scheduled course hours. Lectures will utilize Zoom’s screen share function, so they will be nearly identical to an in-person course. Students can ask questions live or via the chat box in Zoom. All office hours will be held via Zoom at regularly scheduled times (or by appointment).
PS360-002, Alexander Denison: This course will largely be a traditional course. Students are expected to show up to class in person, though students can also attend and participate via zoom if they’re more comfortable with that format. The course will be a combination of lectures, discussion sessions and scheduled simulations. All office hours will be held via zoom at regularly scheduled times or by individual appointment.
PS363-002, Jennifer Fransen: This course will be taught entirely online through zoom/canvas. Students are expected to attend class on the days and times listed in the course catalog. Lecture will be over zoom and when necessary will utilize screen sharing. Students will be able to ask questions live or in the chat option in zoom. This course will be nearly identical to in person instruction. All office hours will be held via zoom at regular scheduled times or by appointment.
PS372-001, Wais Mehrabi: The general goal of this course is to help students understand and conduct quantitative research in political science and related areas of academic inquiry. This course will follow a traditional in-person class format. Students are expected to show up for in-class instruction to the extent allowed by university rules and public-health guidelines. The course will be lecture based with opportunities for individual and small group work in the form of practice problems to reinforce and provide examples of lecture material. All office hours will be held via Zoom at regularly scheduled times, or by appointment.
PS372-002, Matthew Cain: This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom and Canvas. Students are expected to attend class via Zoom at the days and times listed in the course schedule. Lectures will utilize zoom’s screen share and whiteboard functions, so the course will be very similar to an in-person course. Students can ask questions live or use the chat box, and they will work together in smaller break-out rooms in Zoom to work through assignments. All office hours will be held via zoom at regularly scheduled times (or by appointment).
PS372-201, Tasnia Symoom: This course will be completely online Students are expected to read the textbook, watch lecture videos, read related readings online and do their assignments and quizzes on a weekly basis. The lectures videos and other course materials will be posted in canvas beforehand so that the students can work at their own pace. The office hours will be on zoom and students also can make an appointment for a zoom meeting. In this way, they will get opportunities to stay connected with their instructor regarding their course. Also, students will take their mid-term, final exams on canvas.
PS391-002, Jillienne Haglund: This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom and Canvas. Students will view prerecorded video lectures through Canvas and attend live discussion via Zoom at the days/times listed in the course schedule. The course will also utilize various multimedia resources, such as videos and podcasts related to course topics. During the live Zoom discussions, students can ask questions or use the chat box feature. Students will also work together in small groups on activities using the break-out rooms feature in Zoom. All office hours will be held via Zoom at regularly scheduled times, or by appointment.
PS391-003, Tiffany Barnes: This course will follow a traditional class format. Students will attend in-person, face-to-face instruction. All office hours will be held through Zoom (or by appointment).
PS391-201, William (Chip) O’Connell: This will be a fully online, synchronous course. Lectures and discussions will be held during scheduled class hours through Zoom. In general, lectures will occur on Monday and Wednesday, and Friday will be reserved for class discussions, although this format may vary week to week. There will be one textbook that students must purchase (or rent), but most reading material will come from articles that will be uploaded to Canvas. During the live Zoom lectures and discussions, students will be encouraged to ask questions and comment on class material, but students will also be welcome to use the chat box feature. All office hours will be held via Zoom at regularly scheduled times, or by appointment.
PS410-001, Clayton Thyne: This course will follow a traditional class format. Students will attend in-person, face-to-face instruction. All office hours will be held through Zoom (or by appointment).
PS433-001, Horace Bartilow: International Political Economy (IPE) is the study of those international and global phenomena that have an inherently economic, political, and social dimension. IPE scholars are often concerned with the intersection of economics and politics. IPE scholars look for developments in a World in which economics and politics - wealth and power are intimately connected at the most basic levels of analysis. This course will introduce students to the methodologies and significant research of IPE scholars. Most importantly, the course will teach students HOW to analyze IPE research. To this end the instructor’s lectures will focus on the various theories of IPE as well as the STATISTICAL RESEARCH DESIGNS utilized by IPE researchers. Students should have a BASIC FOUNDATION IN WORLD POLITICS, ECONOMICS AND STATISTICAL POLITICAL ANALYSIS. Student will be challenged to grapple with the complexity of issues that will be covered and the interactive methodologies that characterize IPE research. This course will be taught entirely online through Zoom and Canvas. Students will have the opportunity to download recorded lecture lectures from Canvas in the event that they miss information during the online lectures.
PS437-001, Jillienne Haglund: This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom and Canvas. Students will view prerecorded video lectures through Canvas and attend live discussion via Zoom at the days/times listed in the course schedule. The course will also utilize various multimedia resources, such as videos and podcasts related to course topics. During the live Zoom discussions, students can ask questions or use the chat box feature. Students will also work together in small groups on activities using the break-out rooms feature in Zoom. All office hours will be held via Zoom at regularly scheduled times, or by appointment.
PS439-001, Horace Bartilow: This course provides an overview of the evolution of United States foreign relations with Latin America. The first part of the course will provide a theoretical and historical foundation for our analysis. The course explores different theories for why the United States interacts with other nations in the international system. During the section on historical antecedents, the course will explore the consequences of the U.S.’s earliest interventions in Latin America. The second part of the course will focus primarily on the latter half of the 20th century. The course will explore the ways in which the Cold War (1945-1990) shaped U.S. policy throughout the region. The case studies in this section of the course offer an opportunity to evaluate different facets of the Cold War. For instance, we will explore contrasting models of decision-making during a national security crisis, the strategies the U.S. employed to support military regimes, and the effects U.S. policy on human rights. As the century comes to a close, we will address sweeping changes that occurred throughout the region, namely democratization, immigration and curbing the flow of narcotics. This course will be taught entirely online through Zoom and Canvas. Students will have the opportunity to download recorded lecture lectures from Canvas in the event that they miss information during the online lectures.
PS439-002, Jesse Johnson: This course will be a traditional, in-person course to the fullest extent allowed by university rules and public-health guidelines. Students will be expected to physically attend class wearing a mask. Accommodations will be made for students with university-excused absences.
PS439-003, Daniel Morey: This course will be a traditional, in-person course to the fullest extent allowed by university rules and public-health guidelines. Early class meetings will focus on lecture material to allow student research teams to design a research plan. Later class meetings will be devoted to research team meetings and presentations to the course instructor. All office hours will be held via Zoom at regularly scheduled times, or by appointment. Enrollment by permission only.
PS458-001, Travis Taylor: This course will be live and synchronous via Zoom. Students and the instructor will meet at the scheduled class time in a Zoom meeting. The course will be conducted largely as it would be if it were held in person. The instructor will deliver a lecture, students can interact with the instructor live by asking questions or seeking clarification using Zoom's chat or raise hand functions, and students will work in teams using Zoom's breakout rooms to apply the course content to real-world problems. Student time (formerly known as office hours) will be held via Zoom at the appointed times (or by appointment).
PS461-001, Travis Taylor: This course will be live and synchronous via Zoom. Students and the instructor will meet at the scheduled class time in a Zoom meeting. The course will be conducted largely as it would be if it were held in person. The instructor and students will engage in live, interactive discussions of Supreme Court cases and jurisprudential regimes and apply the rules of law to hypothetical case scenarios. Students will have the ability to ask questions or seek clarification in real time using Zoom's chat or raise hand functions. Student time (formerly known as office hours) will be held via Zoom at the appointed times (or by appointment).
PS463G-001, Travis Taylor: This course will be live and synchronous via Zoom. Students and the instructor will meet at the scheduled class time in a Zoom meeting. The course will be conducted largely as it would be if it were held in person. The instructor will deliver a lecture, students can interact with the instructor live by asking questions or seeking clarification using Zoom's chat or raise hand functions, and students will work in teams using Zoom's breakout rooms to apply the course content to real-world problems. Student time (formerly known as office hours) will be held via Zoom at the appointed times (or by appointment).
PS465G-001, Michael Zilis: This course will be taught remotely via Zoom. Class discussion regarding Constitutional Law cases is a key aspect and, as such, the course is designed in a way that students will be able to interact with their peers and the instructor very easily via Zoom and Canvas. In addition, select class meeting times will be used “simulate” pending Supreme Court cases via Zoom, with students playing the roles of attorneys and justices. All office hours will be held via Zoom at regularly scheduled times (or by appointment). Therefore, the content and instruction in this class is very much similar to the traditional/in-person class, but it is adapted for the online environment.
PS476-001, Stephen Voss: This course will be a traditional, in-person course to the fullest extent allowed by university rules and public-health guidelines. It combines two very different subject matters: elections & voting behavior (usually studied with rigorous scientific methods) and campaigning (which changes rapidly and does not offer such a copious literature). The former topic represents the majority of the course and the required readings. Most class meetings will probe that material in person, although leaving time to discuss the latest campaign events and link them to course topics. To cover campaigning, Prof. Voss is cooperating with a nationwide group of professors who are lining up featured speakers of renown for Zoom sessions. Certain in-person meetings will be cancelled to compensate for the time students will spend participating in or watching those sessions, but when and how many will depend on the consortium’s success at securing guest speakers.
PS484-001, Richard Waterman: This course will largely be taught exclusively online. Students are expected to participate via zoom during the normal class hours. The course will primarily be run as a discussion seminar, and students will have ample opportunities to interact with each other as we discuss the material. All office hours will be held via zoom at regularly scheduled times (or by appointment).
PS489G-001, Richard Waterman: This course will largely be taught exclusively online. Students are expected to participate via zoom during the normal class hours. The course will primarily be run as a discussion seminar, and students will have ample opportunities to interact with each other as we discuss the material. All office hours will be held via zoom at regularly scheduled times (or by appointment).