This course seeks to provide class participants with a clear and intricate understanding of American political and institutional processes, one of the most interesting and elaborate in the world. As such, our aim is to gain an appreciation of the intricate influences outside government -- public opinion, citizen participation, interest groups, political parties, and the mass media on the workings of contemporary American government (i.e., judicial activity, the Congress, the presidency, and the Federal bureaucracy).
Moreover, the course is designed to equip students with the analytical, empirical, policy, and practical skills necessary to assess how the "practice of politics" can --- and does -- shape public policy outcomes; sometimes in ways not intended. The course will mix lecture, class discussions, real-world case studies, hands-on exercises with theoretical, empirical, policy-oriented, and applied reading assignments.
Moreover, the course is designed to equip students with the analytical, empirical, policy, and practical skills necessary to assess how the "practice of politics" can --- and does -- shape public policy outcomes; sometimes in ways not intended. The course will mix lecture, class discussions, real-world case studies, hands-on exercises with theoretical, empirical, policy-oriented, and applied reading assignments.
- Teacher: Keith Reeves