POLI223

This course is a study of American government and politics. It also serves as an advanced introduction to political science using American politics as a case study. During this semester, we will cover the foundations and basic processes of American government while exploring politics, campaigns and elections, institutions, civil liberties, and civil rights. We will also discuss current events as reported by news outlets such as the New York Times, Bergen Record, academic blogs, and political science research. Our discussions and readings are designed to accomplish three goals in addition to learning the basics of American government: to apply social scientific methods to understand distribution of power and social problems, to help students use logic and reasoning about political issues (past and present), and make sophisticated arguments about those issues.