POL-420 American Institutions

The purpose of this course is to provide an advanced study of the institutions of American government. The formal political institutions include: the presidency, Congress and federal courts (Supreme Court). The course examines the interrelationship and interactions among these three political institutions, with particular emphasis on institutional approaches, development, and structure. The course will also explore some of the foundational mechanisms that provide support for the formal institutions, including voting, federalism, and religion. Course content will focus on scholarly research in these and related areas. This course will provide both a broad overall conception of the current field of Political Science, as well as major areas of specialization. Prerequisite: POL-215.

Credits

3