SUMMER 2021 – POLT 10100 Introduction to US Politics
Can you explain your political ideology? We start the class with a framework of ideologies that will help us to understand different perspectives on the purpose and scope of government. We then use this framework as we learn about and evaluate the machinery of our institutions broadly defined: Congress, the presidency, bureaucracy, judiciary, parties, interest groups, media, and the electoral process.
We will use the lenses of ideology and the institutional machinery to understand specific policies such as social security, health care, taxes, civil liberties, and foreign policy. Throughout, we will constantly ask: how democratic is this place? Who is included and who is not? What are your criteria for measuring democracy?
3 CREDITS
MWF 10.00-11.50, June 2 - July 2, 2021
INSTRUCTOR: Juan Arroyo, Muller 316
PREREQUISITES: None
ICC THEMES: Power and Justice; World of Systems (Social Science Perspective)