Spring 2008

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 generalsuch as democracy, the quality of political system as a whole, and political cultureto the particular, such as political parties, the judiciary, and the media.

Course has been cancelled

Texts

There is a required list, a recommended reading list, and a course packet available at IT Copy on the 500 block of MLK. Selected texts: Aldrich, John. Why Parties? Chicago, 1996 Brader, Ted. Campaigning for Hearts and Minds, Chicago, 2006. Dawson, Michael, Behind the Mule. Chicago, 2001. Eliasoph, Nina. Avoiding Politics. Cambridge, 1998. Gerring, John. Party Ideologies in America 1828-1996. Cambridge, 1998. Louis Hartz, The Liberal Tradition in America. Harcourt, 2nd Harves ed., 1991. John Hibbing and Elisabeth Theiss-Morse. Stealth Democracy. Chicago 2004. McCloskey, Robert. The American Supreme Court 4th Ed. Chicago, 2004. McCubbins, Mathew D. Setting the Agenda, Cambridge, 2005. Mettler, Suzanne, Soldiers to Citizens Oxford, 2005. Orren, Karen and Stephen Skowronek, The Search for American Political Development. Cambridge, 2004. Whittington, Kieth. Constitutional Construction, Harvard, 1999. Zaller, John. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion, Cambridge, 1993. Requirements include class presentations, several papers, short weekly reports, and a final exam. Class participation is expected.

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