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At Stanford, we are lucky among American colleges to have an institution like the Hoover Institution on our campus. Unfortunately, most students don’t really take advantage of the opportunity. Hoover is at once a pre-eminent research institution, historical archive, and a bastion of conservative politics in a liberal academic world. Hoover can also be a fantastic resource for students, conservative and liberal, who are interested in learning from esteemed fellows about fields including history, economics, public policy, and geopolitics.
To better connect students with the Hoover Institution, the Review has compiled a list of courses being taught this year by Hoover fellows, as well as five recommendations of particular classes that Review staff have enjoyed.
Top Five Course Recommendations:
HISTORY 153: Creation of the Constitution, Professor Michael McConnell. Spring Quarter. 5 Units.
This class frequently appears on this list, and for good reason. Professor McConnell delivers insightful, thought-provoking lectures exploring how the Framers crafted the Constitution, from its intellectual origins in the works of William Blackstone and Baron de Montesquieu, to the political bargaining at the Constitutional Convention. Although this class is taught within the law school, Professor McConnell, a former appellate judge and constitutional law scholar, encourages undergraduates to enroll. --Ben Esposito ‘22
HISTORY 23N: The Soviet Union and the World: View from the Hoover Archives, Professor Norman Naimark. Winter 2022. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
Professor Naimark’s seminar is taught out of the Hoover Institution archives, one of the largest Soviet archives outside of Russia. It’s a great opportunity to learn Soviet history, develop some archival research skills, and spend time with one of Stanford’s professorial treasures. Professor Naimark is full of wisdom and wit. --Maxwell Meyer ‘22
INTLPOL 268: Hack Lab, Professor Alex Stamos and Riana Pfefferkorn. Autumn Quarter. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
Hack Lab is aimed towards social science students and covers material ranging from how computer systems are hacked to public policy solutions to protect against such dangers. Given that the US government gets hacked by China seemingly every year, this class is more relevant than ever. Alex Lee ‘23 notes the dual perspective presented by Stamos, Facebook’s former Chief Security Officer and Riana Pfefferkorn, a research scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory, provides “a comprehensive picture of cybersecurity, addressing past cases and recent issues.”
POLISCI 237: Varieties of Conservatism in America, Peter Berkowitz. Spring Quarter. 5 Units.
While this is the first time this course has been taught, Dr. Berkowitz’s reputation as a scholar of American conservatism precedes himself. He regularly contributes his insights on political theory and current events to the pages of The Wall Street Journal and RealClearPolitics and was a senior advisor to the Secretary of State under President Trump.
ECON 11N: Understanding the Welfare System, Thomas MacCurdy. Autumn 2021. 3 units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
In Econ 11N, Understanding the Welfare System, Professor MacCurdy focuses on the fundamental economic concept that people respond to incentives when teaching about the history of welfare in the United States. In this Introsem, students are challenged to think about the benefits and drawbacks of different ways to structure welfare programs and will complete a project at the end of the quarter designing their own welfare system with a fixed budget. --Walker Stewart ‘23
For Freshmen and Sophomores: IntroSems and ESF
COMPLIT 37Q: Zionism and the Novel, Professor Russell Berman. Spring 2022. 3 Units. Fulfills Writing 2, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED.
ECON 11N: Understanding the Welfare System, Thomas MacCurdy. Autumn 2021. 3 units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
ESF 17: What Can You Do for Your Country? Professor Russell Berman and Dr. Ruth Starkman. Autumn 2021. 7 Units. Fulfills WAY-A-II, Writing 1, THINK.
HISTORY 23N: The Soviet Union and the World: View from the Hoover Archives, Professor Norman Naimark. Winter 2022. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
HISTORY 24N: Stalin's Terror: Causes, Crimes, Consequences, Professor Norman Naimark. Autumn 2021. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
INTNLREL 60Q: United Nations Peacekeeping, Bertrand Patenaude. Winter Quarter. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-ED. Sophomore Preference
Autumn Quarter
ECON 1: Principles of Economics, Professors John Taylor, Mark Duggan, and Pascaline Dupas. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
ECON 126: Economics of Health and Medical Care, Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya and Thomas MaCurdy. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
ECON 241: Public Economics I, Professor Caroline Hoxby. 2-5 Units.
ECON 257: Industrial Organization 1, Professor Brad Larsen. 2-5 Units.
FINANCE 377: China's Financial System, Professor Darrell Duffie. 3 Units.
GERMAN 267: Prospects for Transatlantic Relations: What Holds the West Together? Professor Russell Berman and Professor Michael Huether. 1-2 Units.
HISTORY 201C: The U.S., U.N. Peacekeeping, and Humanitarian War, Bertrand Patenaude. 4-5 Units. [IR majors can fulfill the WiM requirement by enrolling in INTNLREL 140C for 5 units] Fulfills WAY-SI.
HISTORY 202S: The History of Genocide, Professor Norman Naimark. 4-5 Units.
INTLPOL 256: Technology and National Security: Past, Present, and Future, Dr. Herb Lin. 3-4 Units.
INTLPOL 268: Hack Lab, Professor Alex Stamos and Riana Pfefferkorn. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
INTLPOL 340: Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition, Steve Blank, Dr. Joseph Felter, and Raj Shah. 4 Units.
POLISCI 1: The Science of Politics, Professors Justin Grimmer and Kenneth Schultz. 3-5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
POLISCI 118P: U.S. Relations with Iran, Professor Abbas Milani. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
PUBLPOL 132: The Politics of Policy Making, Lanhee Chen and Matthew Spence. 3 Units.
Winter Quarter
CS 152: Trust and Safety Engineering, Professor Alex Stamos. 3 Units.
ECON 258: Industrial Organization IIA, Professor Brad Larsen. 2-5 Units.
EDUC 365: Social, Emotional, and Personality Development, Professor William Damon. 3 Units.
FINANCE 320: Debt Markets, Professor Darrell Duffie. 3 Units
HISTORY 224C: Genocide and Humanitarian Intervention, Bertrand Patenaude. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
HISTORY 226D: The Holocaust: Insights from New Research, Professors Norman Naimark and Katherine Jolluck. Units 4-5. Fulfills WAY-SI.
HISTORY 226E: Famine in the Modern World, Bertrand Patenaude. 3 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
HISTORY 258A: Back to the Future: Media, Art, and Politics in the 1980s, Professor Jennifer Burns. 3-5 Units.
INTLPOL 218: Political Mobilization and Democratic Breakthroughs, Professor Michael McFaul and Amr Hamzawy. 3-5 Units.
INTLPOL 321: Fundamentals of Cyber Policy and Security, Andrew Grotto. 4-5 Units.
MS&E 241: Economic Analysis, Professor James Sweeney. 3-4 Units.
MS&E 441: Policy and Economics Research Roundtable, Professor James Sweeney. 1 Unit.
POLISCI 120B: Campaigns, Voting, Media, and Elections, Professor Shanto Iyengar 4-5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
POLISCI 245R: Politics in Modern Iran, Professor Abbas Milani. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
POLISCI 422F: Seminar on Electoral Change, Professor Morris Fiorina. 3-5 Units.
PUBLPOL 231: Health Law: Finance and Insurance, Professor Laurence Baker. 3 Units
PUBLPOL 308: Political Analysis for Public Policymakers, Lanhee Chen and Professor Bruce Cain. 4 Units.
Spring Quarter
AMSTUD 150C/HISTORY 150C: The United States in the Twentieth Century, Professor Jennifer Burns. 5 units.
COLLEGE 105: The Politics of Development, Professor Saad Gulzar, Professor Soledad Prillaman, and Nate Grubman. 4 Units.
ECON 126: Economics of Health and Medical Care, Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya and Thomas MaCurdy. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
GERMAN 147: The Conservative Revolution, Professor Russell Berman. 3-5 Units.
HISTORY 153: Creation of the Constitution, Professor Michael McConnell. 5 Units.
INTNLREL 115: Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence, Professor Amy Zegart. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
MS&E 243: Energy and Environmental Policy Analysis, Professor James Sweeney. 3 Units.
MS&E 297: "Hacking for Defense": Solving National Security issues with the Lean Launchpad, Steve Blank, Dr. Joseph Felter, Steve Weinstein. 3-4 Units.
MS&E 441: Policy and Economics Research Roundtable, Professor James Sweeney. 1 Unit.
PEDS 223: Human Rights and Global Health, Bertrand Patenaude. 3 Units.
POLISCI 1, Professor Jonathan Rodden and Professor Jeremy Weinstein. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
POLISCI 149S: Islam, Iran, and the West, Professor Abbas Milani. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-SI.
POLISCI 150C: Causal Inference for Social Science, Professor Saad Gulzar. 5 Units. Fulfills WAY-AQR.
POLISCI 237: Varieties of Conservatism in America, Peter Berkowitz. 5 Units.
POLISCI 355C: Causal Inference for Social Science, Professor Saad Gulzar. 5 Units.
Summer Quarter
POLISCI 120Z: What's Wrong with American Government? An Institutional Approach, Professor Morris Fiorina. 4 Units.
