Ethnic Politics
This MIT graduate seminar surveys the classic and contemporary literature on ethnic politics, drawing readings from political science, anthropology, sociology, and economics. Students work through material spanning all four subfields of political science, American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory, examining how scholars have measured ethnic identity, explained ethnic conflict, and modeled voting and coalition behavior along ethnic lines. The course is built for graduate students from any subfield, with no assumed background in the topic, and culminates in an original research project that applies the methods and debates covered in class. Materials on MIT OpenCourseWare include the full syllabus and reading list. No video lectures are provided; the course is structured around discussion of assigned texts and development of independent research. Free to access, with no certificate offered.