American Government

This course will enable regular or visiting faculty members to examine topics in American Politics not treated in the established curriculum. Subjects may therefore vary each time the course is offered.

A legal system is an integral part of a nation's political system. It provides mechanisms for implementing and reformulating public policies, for resolving individual and group conflicts, and for holding political and economic processes to certain standards of fairness. This course will examine selected features of the American legal system and the ways it deals with basic social problems, e.g., regulating criminal law enforcement, controlling physical and environmental hazards that stem from industrial technology, and regulating the struggle for economic power. Readings and lectures will explore how the American legal system's approach to these problems has changed over time. Dist: SOC; WCult: W.

This course explores the influence of domestic politics on U. S. foreign policy. It begins with theories in international relations on how domestic institutions and political elites affect statecraft, particularly with respect to war. The remainder of the course applies the theories to the U.S. case. We examine changes in the constitutional system brought about by the creation of the national security state, as well as the role of Congress and the Supreme Court in overseeing the executive. We then turn to public opinion, the media and advocacy groups as sources of support and constraint on presidential decisions.

Although most Americans believe that environmental protection should be a policy priority, environmental regulation is routinely criticized for delivering only modest benefits at an exorbitant cost. This course provides an overview of the development and current state of environmental law and policy in the United States, with special attention to the recurring technical and political challenges that frustrate policymakers' attempts to solve environmental problems. Dist: SOC.

This course explores how political leaders in the U.S. reconcile the constraints of public office with the opportunities to make major changes in society. Drawing from diverse materials on the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, the course addresses the following questions: How does leadership differ in the public and private spheres? What personal skills and attributes affect the success or failure of leaders of political institutions? What criteria do/should citizens apply to public leaders? How do political context and historical contingencyshape institutional leadership? Dist: SOC; WCult: W.

Why do people hold false or unsupported beliefs about politics and why are so those beliefs so hard to change? This course will explore the psychological factors that make people vulnerable to political misinformation and conspiracy theories and the reasons that corrections so often fail to change their minds. We will also analyze how those tendencies are exploited by political elites and consider possible approaches that journalists and civic reformers could employ to combat misperceptions. Dist. SOC.

This course focuses on the role of political parties in the American political system. Besides understanding the structure of political parties and why they form, we will also focus on how American political parties have changed over time. In particular, we will study political parties through three broad perspectives: Parties-in-the electorate (the actions of voters), parties-in-government (the actions of elected officials), and party organization (how parties build and use collective resources). Topics covered in this course include: political parties and the American Founding, American political party formation, party system change, third parties and why they fail, the role of interest groups in politics, the evolution of party ideology, and party polarization. We will also pay particular attention to the role of hyper-partisanship in our contemporary political era.

Pollsters in politics and marketing researchers in business all devote a great deal of energy to discovering the attitudes of the public, regarding public policies and politicians for the former and products and services for the latter. In this course, we will explore the general techniques that political pollsters and marketing researchers use to discover how the public thinks, and we will compare how this information is used in different contexts. We will discuss questions such as: can similar techniques be used to introduce unfamiliar politicians and products to the public? does "brand strategy" apply to politicians and products in similar ways? how is advertising used to improve the market share of candidates and products? can negative advertising be applied with equal effect to harm competitors in the business and political realms? how will politicians and businesses seek to understand and influence the preferences of the public as technological changes produce new opportunities and challenges regarding interactions with the public?

A study of the American federal system of government in which authority is distributed between the national and state governments. Readings, lectures, and discussions will focus specifically on likely explanations of the origins, maintenance, and/or changes in public policies in the states. Specific topics include the original and changing federal relationship, cooperative, competitive, and `free rider' relationships among the states, public policy preferences of the public in the states, and similarities and differences among major political institutions in the states. Prerequisite: Government 3, or permission of the instructor. Dist: SOC; WCult: NA/W.

This course will deepen your understanding of policymaking and make following the news fun. Main topics are: how policy conflicts turn on different interpretations of enduring values such as freedom and equality; how political actors frame issues strategically; how policy instruments such as incentives
work in theory and practice; and 4) how policies and the political process shape each other. Prerequisite: Gov 3 or permission of the instructor. Dist: SOC; WCult: NA/W.

The results of public opinion polls frequently dominate political news coverage and they often alter the behavior of politicians; moreover, political polls have started becoming news in their own right in recent years.  In this course, we will explore the techniques that pollsters use to examine public attitudes and we will consider how that information can, and should, be used to formulate public policy.  We will engage questions such as: To what degree can the public form meaningful preferences about complex political issues?  What does a political opinion consist of, and how can it be measured?  How can potential errors in polls be avoided?  How does partisanship influence public opinion, and where do Americans stand on key policy issues?  To what extent should politicians try to change public opinion rather than respond to it?  How has the nature and role of public opinion shifted in an era of rapidly advancing polling technology and a changing media environment?  In addition to examining the pertinent literature on topics such as these, we will conduct and analyze an actual public opinion survey as a class.  Through a combination of theoretical and hands-on learning, students will leave the course with a firm understanding of these dynamics. Dist: SOC; WCult: W.