IGS-Sponsored Seminars & Colloquia

The Institute of Governmental Studies hosts one of the most active programs of social science seminars on campus, averaging dozens each academic year. These seminars draw participants from many different departments and schools including public policy, political science, history, statistics, law, sociology, economics, and journalism. All seminars are held in 119 Moses Hall (Harris Room), unless noted otherwise. See the individual seminar pages or the IGS calendar for further details on upcoming offerings.

A list of past seminar and colloquium speakers and guests is available here.

American Political History

This seminar meets about six times a year and explores topics in American political history, often using the lens of biography. Faculty and graduate student participants are drawn from disciplines such as history, political science, journalism, public policy, law, and business. Guest speakers are renowned authors of recent historical works.

American Politics

The Colloquium in American Politics brings together faculty and graduate students in American politics to share their work in an informal setting. The seminar meets weekly and covers a broad range of topics in American politics. Anyone working on American politics, political behavior, public law or public administration is welcome. Students who will take the workshop for credit as PS 230 will make at least one presentation of work-in-progress per semester and will serve as a discussant for another student or faculty member's presentation at least once per semester. There are also occasional presentations by invited speakers. For more information, contact Eric Schickler at eschickler@berkeley.edu or seminar coordinator Els DeGraauw at degraauw@berkeley.edu.

Harris Seminar

Created by the Joseph P. Harris Trust, this seminar covers a wide spectrum of ideas and topics related to study of political science and public policy. Guests come from the world of practical politics, government, academia, and the media. For more information, contact Ethan Rarick at erarick@berkeley.edu or (510) 642-5158.

Law, Politics, and Business

Law and politics shape and constrain the business enterprise; business and the dynamic forces driving an increasingly globalized economy structure and challenge existing political and legal institutions and alignments. Bringing together faculty, students and practitioners from a range of traditional academic disciplines and the professional schools, this monthly seminar provides a forum for research that crosses disciplinary lines, exploring the relationships of law, politics, public policy and the business enterprise. It is open to all interested faculty and graduate students. For more information, contact Gordon Silverstein at gsilver@berkeley.edu or Bruce Huber at bhuber@berkeley.edu.

Positive Political Theory

Positive Political Theory (PPT) is the use of formal methods to study politics and, especially, institutions. The PPT seminar meets every other Monday. For more information, contact Professor Robert Powell at rpowell@berkeley.edu or (510) 642-4635, Professor Gerard Roland at groland@berkeley.edu or (510) 642-4321, or seminar coordinator Ben Lessing at lessing@berkeley.edu.

Race, Ethnicity and Immigration

This colloquium invites speakers from the Berkeley campus and other institutions to report on research touching on various aspects of race, ethnicity, and immigration. One important theme explored by the colloquium is the changing shape of ethnic politics in the country. A second, closely related theme is the impact of immigration on the nation and on California's political and economic life. The 2000 Census showed important changes in the country's ethnic make-up, with large increases in the Latino population, the emergence of a group of residents who prefer to identify themselves as bi-racial, and changing patterns of naturalization among the various immigrant groups. These changes have altered the meaning of the civil rights revolution and have important implications for public opinion, electoral outcomes and government policy. For more information, contact Loan K. Le at lkle@berkeley.edu or (510) 642-4907.