Political Research Seminar (395-0-23)

Topic

Politics, Groups, and Identities

Instructors

Martin Naunov

Meeting Info

Scott Hall 201 Ripton Room: Wed 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

COURSE TITLE: Politics, Groups, and Identity

This course examines how identities shape and are shaped by political and social life. It explores what it means to identify with a group, how boundaries between "us" and "them" are constructed, and how those boundaries influence how we see ourselves, others, and politics. The course also attends to the heterogeneity within groups, examining how hierarchies, biases, and norms of belonging operate among those who share a census-style identity category but not always the same lived experience. Bringing together insights from political science, psychology, and sociology, the course invites students to think critically about the double-edged nature of group identification—its capacity to foster solidarity and empowerment, but also exclusion and inequality. Building on the concepts and tools introduced throughout the quarter, students will complete an original research paper that investigates a question of their own choosing about the construction or consequences of group identities and boundaries.

Registration Requirements

Juniors/Seniors only

Learning Objectives

The aim of the course is twofold. The first goal is to familiarize students with key theories, findings, and debates about social identity and intergroup relations in political life. The second is for students to develop an independent research paper that builds on topics and themes explored in these debates and throughout the course.

Teaching Method

Seminar

Evaluation Method

Student performance will be assessed based on class participation, short writing assignments designed to build toward the final research paper, and the final research paper itself.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression