Application requirement

Registration for Capstone courses is not available through Cougar Trail. You must be placed in the course by the department. See Erin Blevins in the main office after you have been advised to complete an application. Capstones are filled on a first come first served basis; however preference in Spring enrollment will be given to students graduating in May 2010 who complete the application by October 30, 2009.

The Capstone is a senior requirement for the major, designed to be completed within the last 9 hours of POLS coursework. There are two capstones offered each fall semester, three each spring, and one in Maymester. It is your responsibility to anticipate when you will need the capstone, and complete an application in a timely manner. Enrollment for each capstone is strictly limited to 25 students to ensure a high-quality culminating experience.

Regardless of the topic, all Capstone seminars include: intensive writing, independent research, opportunities to apply theories and concepts to new problems and cases, and the opportunity to go beyond comprehending the views of others to articulate and defend one’s own view.

Spring 2010 Capstone Seminars

 

POLS 405.001 The Political Economy of Global Capitalism
(Dr. Parson TR 10:50 am)

The current moment is characterized by the collapse of the political economy of global capitalism. The capstone seminar will provide an opportunity to explore and understand this moment through an historical examination of how we got where we are today. Based on a reading of world systems’ theory the seminar will read, discuss and react to analyses of three selected elements: Health (Malaria), Food (Corn), and Clothing (Cotton) in order to understand what one author describes as “disaster capitalism.” Based on this common reading, seminar participants will have the opportunity to research an aspect of their choice in the political economy of capitalism for presentation to and discussion by the seminar as a whole. The goal is to begin thinking about what transformations will be required to make the system less prone to disaster and more prone to promoting human welfare. (Parson)

 

POLS 405.090 Murder
(Dr. Mann W 4-6:45 pm)

This course will explore a variety of themes, theories, explanations, and predictions about murder, in a feature film-based setting. Topics will include: death penalty, psychotics, assassins, and genocide. Both perpetrators and victims will be studied through fiction, philosophy, politics, history, theatre, and film itself. Students will propose and complete an independent research project. (Mann)

 

POLS 405.091 Politics of Illusion
(Dr. Delfeld TR 5:30-6:45 pm)

There are two distinct problems having to do with “knowing things” in politics: first, information is hard to get, and takes a lot of effort to acquire; secondly, we have the illusion of knowing things, but in fact are misinformed regarding the level of certainty of our “knowledge”. Our perception of political life is dominated by three different illusions: that of understanding what we do not in fact understand (the difficulty of translating concepts from one language or context to another); that of partial or biased information being portrayed as authoritative (what is “news”, after all? What is an authority?); and that of dominant voices sounding like truth rather than partisan positions (the narrowness of most political dialogue, and the consequences of excluding voices). Overlaying all of these questions and problems are the questions, “What is knowledge itself? What do we know? What do we end up believing that we would not believe if a free flow of information were possible?” We will work on these themes throughout the course in both US and international contexts, although prior expertise in either is unnecessary. (Delfeld)

Maymester 2010 Capstone
(May 11 - 27)

 

POLS 405 No Passport Required: Globalization from a Community Perspective
(M-F 8:30 am - Noon; France)

This capstone is focused on exploring the connections between local communities and global processes. We want to begin to examine how global economic processes transform social relations at the local level. The goal is to recognize how powerfully globalization acts to shape and transform society and peoples lives. Issues like international competition, outsourcing, the environment, and regulatory systems affect students' daily lives in many ways, from the price you pay for gasoline to the kinds of jobs available after graduation. In order to dispel the conventional notion that globalization is something happening "over there," 4 local low-country case studies (shrimping, bio-diesel production and consumption, longshoreman union, and migrant farm workers), will be employed to demonstrate the presence of globalization "here." Based on a series of interviews with local stakeholders impacted by global economic processes, students will draw on common cross-cutting themes to develop a research project exploring global/local connections from a community perspective.