MSU PLS Summer 2021 Classes

March 24, 2021

MSU PLS is pleased to announce a wide variety of Summer Classes for 2021, including Political Science and ISS courses. To register for classes, please go to https://reg.msu.edu/

PLS 100 Intro to American Politics Anthony Jesuale
PLS 140 Intro to Comparative Politics Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz
PLS 170 Intro to Political Philosophy Arthur Melzer
PLS 200 Intro to Political Science Erica Frantz
PLS 201 Intro to Methods Political Anlysis Andrew Kerner
PLS 202 Intro to Data Analytics Shahryar Minhas
PLS 202 Intro to Data Analytics Nicolas Bichay
PLS 304 Minority Politics Nazita Lajevardi
PLS 313 American Public Policy Erika Rosebrook
PLS 320 Judicial Politics Rachel Schutte
PLS 321 Constitutional Law Melinda Gann Hall
PLS 377 American Political Thought J. Spiegler
PLS 392 Getting Ready for A Careeer Krista Zeig
PLS 422 Law for Public Policymakers Matthew Zalewski

 

 ISS 210-733, 738 VIDEO GAMES AND SOCIETY
What can video games teach us about society and the individual? In this class, you’ll play video games to find out. Video games, even more so than literature, provide the ability to experience the viewpoints of characters in their historical or fictional contexts. Gamers will be able to choose their own adventure from a menu of topics. Course Instructor Ryan Black.

ISS 305-731, 733 THE SOCIAL SCIENCE OF DECISION MAKING
On any given day, each of us will make hundreds of decisions. Some of these decisions
will be mindless and unimportant. Should I bring an umbrella with me? Some, however, have the potential to substantially alter one’s life: should I go to graduate school? This class will investigate what social science can tell us about how individuals make all sorts of decisions ranging from the mundane to the monumental. Instructor Ryan Black.

ISS 318-730, 732 PANDEMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
What can social science teach us about disease outbreaks and pandemics? Topics will include the history of pandemics, how they are portrayed in popular culture such as novels and movies, the psychology underlying individual and community responses to disease outbreaks in different contexts, and the politics of government and international approaches to pandemic control and preparedness. Instructor Erica Frantz.

ISS 325-730, 734 VIDEO GAMES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION
This section explores what video games can tell us about a variety of aspects of social, political, economic and military conflicts in society. Students will play video games to experience what this important and influential medium tells us about conflict in the 21st century. Instructor Ryan Black.

ISS 325 WAR AND REVOLUTION
Watch several classic, independent, and big-budget films with this age-old, Aristotelian question of the naturalness of political life in mind. How are individuals formed or deformed by the societies in which they live? How are our hearts and minds formed or deformed by liberal democracy in particular? Films include Wall-E, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Casablanca, as well as films by the Coen brothers (The Big Lebowski, A Serious Man), Woody Allen (Crimes and Misdemeanors), and Whit Stillman (Love and Friendship). Instructor Dustin Sebell.

ISS 328-730 SOCIAL SCIENCE OF SPORTS
Explore what sports can teach us about how people and institutions behave outside of sports. What doping and match-fixing tell us about when people are more likely to be corrupt. What referees and team owners illustrate about when racial discrimination occurs and how it might be prevented. Instructor Corwin Smidt.