Courses and Descriptions
HLS 202 The Political System - Theories/Theme 3 Credits
This course serves as a gateway to the subfields of comparative politics and international relations. The concept of the political system helps political scientists to organize political interrelations into patterns that allow systematic selection and interpretation of information and the study of processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of settings. The course introduces students to the main brands of normative theory prescribing the principles directing the operation of the political system, to some of the most important methods used to compare political systems and/or their components, and to the foremost approaches utilized in the study of the relations between political systems and their environments. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 202. Students may not get credit for both HLS 202 and POL 202.
HLS 203 Homeland Security 3 Credits
The course is designed to help students increase their knowledge and understanding of homeland security policy. The course will consider why and how homeland security problems impact the public agenda, why some solutions are adopted and others rejected, and why some policies appear to succeed while others appear to fail. The course will primarily examine policy making at the national level in the United States, but will also analyze examples at the state and local level, as well as placing U.S. policy in a comparative perspective. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 203. Students may not get credit for both HLS 203 and POL 203.
HLS 204 Development and Structure of the US Intelligence Community 3 Credits
This course provides a historical review of intelligence following World War II. It will examine the major functions of intelligence, as well as intelligence as a part of the foreign policy process: collection, analysis, counterintelligence, and convert action. Students will be introduced to a range of collection procedures: human, open source, electronic, photographic, and signal, with emphasis placed on interpreting and writing intelligence summaries. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 204. Students may not get credit for both POL 204 and HLS 204.
HLS 205 Spies, Double Agents, and Moles: The World of Counterintelligence 3 Credits
This course provides in-depth exposure to historical, open-source investigations and concepts that illustrate the defensive, offensive, investigative, and collection efforts of counterintelligence (CI) activities. This course looks through the ideological and political prisms of how and why the Western and Eastern blocs fought the Cold War with agents, double agents, sleepers, and moles, and how MICE (money, ideology, compromise, and ego) and RASCALS (reciprocation, authority, scarcity, commitment, liking, and social proof) caused thousands to betray their countries and become the ‘enemy within’. Counterintelligence (CI) is a critical element of US national security policy and interests both in the United States and abroad, and the course will focus on activities that comprise counterintelligence functional activities, including the detection of espionage and elicitation; counterintelligence interviews/debriefings; and the collection of counterintelligence information.
HLS 220 Terrorism & Counter Terrorism 3 Credits
This course introduces students to the arguments about the definition of terrorism, the historical use of terrorism and the roles of ideology, religion, and psychological factors that help explain and predict it. The course seeks to identify the components of national security policy aimed at countering such elements and their cost, both in financial and civil right terms. Finally, to illuminate both the definition and the policies discussed, the course will offer brief comparisons with other states, especially Israel, the UK, and Russia. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 220. Students may not get credit for both HLS 220 and POL 220.
HLS 270 Networking/Telecommunications 3 Credits
This course provides an introduction to business data communications and networking. The Internet and OSI models are discussed. Network technologies include local area networks, backbone, wide area networks, and the Internet. Introduction to network design, security, and network management are also provided.
Prerequisite(s): CIS 185.
HLS 295 Special Topics in Homeland Security 3 Credits
Specific topics will vary by semester and instructor, exploring current and emerging areas of importance in the interdisciplinary field of Homeland Security.
HLS 300 U.S. Constitutional Law 3 Credits
The role of the Supreme Court in the American political system is assessed. Topics include the staffing and functioning of the Supreme Court and the federal judicial bureaucracy, the origins and development of judicial review, and the role of the Supreme Court in national policy-making. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 300. Students may not get credit for both HLS 300 and POL 300.
HLS 301 Civil Liberties in the US 3 Credits
The American doctrine of civil liberties in theory and practice. Emphasis on analyzing the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and religion, the right of privacy, and the problem of discrimination in the context of contemporary issues and problems. Particular attention to the role of the Supreme Court in this area. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 301. Students may not get credit for both HLS 301 and POL 301.
HLS 304 Political Behavior: Fear, Risk and Crisis 3 Credits
The course focuses on various analytical approaches in behavioral political science. It does so by advancing students' knowledge of the cognitive aspects of whether citizens engage in various types of political behavior-e.g., voting/non-voting, the formation of political partisanship and ideology, issue perceptions, responding to risk and uncertainty in the political environment, and engaging in civic political participation. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 304. Students may not get credit for both HLS 304 and POL 304.
HLS 311 Borders and the State 3 Credits
Borders have a prominent place in politics and human history. In the twentieth century, the best-known barriers were the militarized Maginot Line and the Iron Curtain. Today, the political popularity of borders persists but the nature and quality of these borders and the threats they were created to repel have changed. Modern borders are designed not to keep militaries out, but to deter a perceived invasion of “undesirables”—with terrorists and unwanted immigrants leading the list of state concerns. Nowhere is this more evident than along the geographic fault lines dividing rich and poor regions, e.g. the Mediterranean Sea and the U.S.-Mexican border region. This course will examine the dynamic interactions between the question of how to govern borders and the twenty-first century liberal state with its diluted sovereignty— due to immigration, trade and international laws and regimes.
HLS 314 Congressional Power and National Security Policy 3 Credits
The purpose of this course is for students to identify, examine, analyze, and interpret the role of Congress in shaping national security policy with a particular emphasis on the institution’s role in the Global War on Terror. Particular attention is paid to the role of the US government being able to balance individual rights and liberties within the national security state. Last, the course also takes an in-depth analysis of the U.S. Congress, looking comparatively at how legislatures in other nations have dealt with crafting their own security policies. The course will address the following questions: First, what is the role of Congress in national security policy, what does it do, and why? Second, what are the various ways of studying the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government in the US system as it relates to the Global War on Terror? Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 314. Students may not get credit for both HLS 314 and POL 314.
HLS 316 Presidential Power and National Security Policy 3 Credits
This course examines the development of the National Security State since the Second World War, and the ways in which it has affected, and been affected by, the Federal Executive. Topics to be covered will include the post-World War II redefinition of “national security”, the Cold War (with a special focus upon war powers during Korea and Vietnam) and the changes that have occurred with the “War on Terror." Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 316. Students may not get credit for both POL 316 and HLS 316.
HLS 319 Terrorism, Revolutions and Political Violence 3 Credits
Revolutions are the mad inspiration of history. Trotsky’s characterization calls attention to three important dimensions of violent political participation: the historical settings, ideology, and emotional fervor of the practitioners. The course focuses on these dimensions by analyzing revolutionary and terrorist movements in the 20th century. Special attention is given to the use of violence in the post-Cold War new world disorder. Note: this course is cross-listed as POL 319. Students may only get credit for one course: HLS 319 or POL 319.
HLS 320 Defense Policy and Analysis 3 Credits
The United States has been a world superpower for over 75 years, in a bipolar world alongside the Soviet Union after the end of World War II, as the sole superpower in a unipolar world after the collapse of communism in the 1990s, and today in a world that increasingly looks like it will become multipolar. America must contend with numerous risks to its national security: ongoing wars overseas, terrorist threats, rogue nations, a rising China, and the effects of climate change. Can the United States, through its military, retain primacy? How? In this class we will explore these challenges facing the country and consider possible solutions. The course begins with an overview of U.S. grand strategy and the structure and implementation of defense policy. Throughout the course, students will become familiar with issues, cases, data, institutions, actors, trends, and options in the strategic implementation of defense policy. The primary focus of the course is on the Department of Defense (DoD) as well as key actors in the White House, committees in Congress, State Department, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
HLS 322 Countering Domestic Extremism in the United States 3 Credits
Domestic extremism is an issue the United States government has had to contend with since its inception, from Shay's and the Whiskey Rebellions in the 18th century, to the Ku Klux Klan throughout the 19th & 20th centuries, to the threat of domestic terrorism today. Broadly defined, extremism has profound and specific impacts on our government and everyday life. Given the limited, enumerated powers the U.S. Constitution grants the national government, cooperation between local, state, and federal agencies is essential to counter domestic threats arising from extremists across the political spectrum. This course will examine threats to U.S. domestic security both before and after the September 11th attacks with a focus on critiquing the ability of our federal system of government to prevent and respond to the evolving threats posed by individuals and groups within the United States.
HLS 325 Public Administration 3 Credits
Public administration in modern society, emphasizing the administrative formulation of public policy and its implementation. Attention on who gets what, when, and how from the decisions of administrative units; the role administrators have in policy-making compared to elected legislators, chief executives and judges; the effect administrators have on the benefits citizens receive from government; and the effect administrators have on citizens’ behavior. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 325. Students may not get credit for both HLS 325 and POL 325.
HLS 331 Critical Infrastructure 3 Credits
Overall the course draws on the fundamentals of risk management strategies and policies related to manmade and natural threats to critical infrastructure. The course provides students with tools and critical thinking skills in order to identify and analyze challenges and opportunities to the nation’s infrastructure. The emphasis of this course is on "hands-on" experience whereby students will "learn by doing" analysis.
HLS 332 Disaster Management and Incident Response 3 Credits
This course provides an overview of various types of natural and manmade disasters that communities are vulnerable to, and how to develop corresponding preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation strategies. Upon completing this course, students will be able to assess and develop preparedness plans for: disaster response, monitoring and evaluation plans for disaster response; early warning systems plans for risk reductions; and, response, recovery, and mitigation strategies. Students will also learn about existing and developing domestic and international Disaster Risk Reduction models. This includes, but is not limited to strategies that prevent and minimize casualties during disasters, and logistic and operational challenges. Special consideration will also be given to the impact of the social and political processes associated with disaster policy and planning.
HLS 334 Cyber Strategy 3 Credits
The course examines issues and challenges related to national security concerns and cybersecurity. The course provides students with tools and critical thinking skills in order to identify and analyze challenges and opportunities to the nation’s cyber infrastructure. The emphasis of this course is on "hands-on" experience whereby students will "learn by doing" analysis.
Prerequisite(s): Completion or transfer of HLS 203 or HLS 204 or POL 100 or POL 102 or permission of instructor.
HLS 341 Cybersecurity Policy: Hacktivism and Cyberviolence 3 Credits
Hactivism is a process designed to be “the creative use of computer technology for the purposes of facilitating online protests, performing civil disobedience in cyberspace.
Prerequisite(s): Completion or transfer of HLS 203 or HLS 204 or POL 100 or POL 102 or permission of instructor.
HLS 346 The Politics and Ethics of Emergencies 3 Credits
This course explores historic and present day cases, ranging across Europe and the US, in which liberal democratic governments, under stress because of subversion, sabotage, invasion, rebellion, or the effects of economically caused chaos, take on emergency powers to become so-called “states of exception.” While in some cases such states have imposed mild and limited emergency measures, others have employed more draconian measures, suspending, if not dissolving, constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties, often for indeterminate and protracted periods. How various states have behaved in emergency situations will be the major content of this course. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 346. Students may not get credit for both HLS 346 and POL 346.
HLS 350 U.S. Foreign Policy and Security Policy 3 Credits
Principles, institutions, and processes involved in the formulation and implementation of policies regarding the nation’s military, economic, and environmental security within the global framework. Strands, trends, and problem areas in U.S. foreign policy, with focus on the changing global environment of the post-Cold War world. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 350. Students may get credit only once.
HLS 351 Critical Views of Global Security 3 Credits
This course will examine the foundations of international security. It will examine the concept of security from both the macro and micro level. We will discuss a mix of security strategies (balance of power, alliances, rearmament, collective security, deterrence), theoretical perspective on security (Neorealism, Neoliberalism, Critical Theory, Copenhagen School), great power and third world security, democratic and non-democratic security, classic threats (changes in relative power, proliferation) and new threats (enviroment, population movements, terrorism), and concepts of security ranging from state survial, to societal security, to unit level-variables such as Human Security. Note: This course is cross-listed as HLS 351. Students may not get credit for both HLS 351 and POL 351.
HLS 353 Cyber War 3 Credits
Cyber-attacks are a growing concern for the international community. When does a cyber-attack constitute an act of war, or is it merely an inconvenience? Is cyber power military power? How prevalent are such attacks, and to what extent can cyber-attacks lead to conventional conflicts? Will cyber-attacks by non-state actors render more power to such players in destabilizing states? This course explores the different types of issues experienced in cyber wars, including mechanisms through which targeting of communication technology could escalate tensions and lead to an armed conflict, and ways through which states and international organizations could limit the destructive potential of cyber technology.
HLS 361 Courts, Judges and Politics 3 Credits
In-depth examination of the nature of judicial decision-making and the impact that judicial decisions have on society. Considers the sources of judicial authority, judicial fact-finding, statutory and constitutional interpretation, individual and collective processes of judicial decision-making, relations between judges and other government officials, and the political consequences of judicial decisions with particular emphasis on federal courts and judges. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 361. Students may not get credit for both POL 361 and HLS 361.
HLS 363 Human Rights in Global Context 3 Credits
Examines human rights – droits de l’homme, derechos humanos, Menschenrechte, “the rights of man” – are, literally, the rights that one has because one is human. What does it mean to have a right? How are being human and having rights related? This course provides an introduction to theory and global practice of human rights. Human rights claims play an increasingly central role in political and social struggles across the world. The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 signaled a proliferation of international human rights law and transnational non-governmental activism. While the promotion of human rights has become global, adherence to those standards remains highly uneven and gross violations and atrocities continue to occur. Given the breath and complexity of the human rights movement, including its engagement with law, politics and morals, in radically different cultures, this course is by its very nature multidisciplinary. Note: This course is cross-listed as POL 363. Students may not get credit for both HLS 363 and POL 363.
HLS 420 Enterprise Security 3 Credits
Students will be provided with complete coverage of computer security in all forms including hardware, network, and software program security. Through hands-on labs, students will learn firsthand how enterprise systems can be compromised and how computer professionals can prevent and provide counterattacks for security intrusions.
Prerequisite(s): CSC 260 with a minimum grade of D.
HLS 491 Internship in NJ Homeland Security 1-4 Credits
Students work under supervision in a public agency, political party, or public interest group. A minimum of 52 hours of field work per credit required, with regular reports and a concluding critique analyzing and evaluating the experience. Primarily for seniors and qualified juniors. No more than six credits allowed toward graduation.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor.