Spring 2007

GOV 381J • Political Institutions and Processes

Course Description

This seminar introduces graduate students to the study of American politics and government. The course reviews both current and classic scholarship in issues in American political science, and addresses a range of topics, from the general - such as democracy, the quality of political system as a whole, and political culture - to the particular, such as political parties, the judiciary, and the media.

Grading Policy

Course requirements include weekly reports, book reviews, and a review essay, in-class presentations, a take-home final, and seminar participation.

There is a required list, a recommended reading list, and a course packet available at Jenn's on Guadalupe at Dean Keaton.

Texts

Dawson, Michael, Black Visions. Chicago, 2001. Eliasoph, Nina. Avoiding Politics. Cambridge, 1998. John Hibbing and Elisabeth Theiss- Morse. Stealth Democracy. Chicago 2004. McCloskey, Robert. The American Supreme Court 3rd Ed. Chicago, 2000. Mettler, Suzanne. Soldiers to Citizens. Oxford, 2005. Jones, Bryan and Frank Baumgartner. The Politics of Attention. Chicago, 2005. Pierson, Paul and Jacob Hacker, Off Center. Yale, 2005. Fiorina, Morris. Culture War? 2nd Ed. Longman, 2006.

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