First-Year Studies: The American Polity

Political science is the systematic study of politics and political life, and this can and should be broadly defined. This course is an introductory study in American politics, specifically, and provides an explanation of how the American political process works. The class examines the basic principles of American politics, the problems of collective decision making, the purposes of government, the formal institutions of national government—Congress, the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the bureaucracy—congressional and presidential elections, the role of the media, and the mobilization of citizens through political parties and interest groups. Our examination of these institutions and ideas will be interdisciplinary in nature and will present a number of the major general theories underlying the study of American government. This will thus give students the knowledge of the structure and operation of the institutions of the American political system and how their roles intersect, compete, and complement each other. Additionally, students will become familiar with the actors and the institutions within our federal government and those institutions affecting our federal government. From this investigation, students will gain an awareness of the role of citizens, interest groups, political parties, and politicians within the American political system. Moreover, they will better understand the role of politics and strategy in the operation and impact of the government. Taken collectively, the students will develop the ability to synthesize the material from the course to develop their own opinions regarding the proper role of the government in our society. We will be talking about politically charged and often divisive issues, including abortion, immigration, race relations, and homosexuality. This seminar will be an open, nonpartisan forum for discussion and debate. As such, this course will be driven by data, not dogma. We will use a variety of approaches based in logic and evidence to find answers to various puzzles about American policy, and we will treat this material as social scientists—not ideologues. Comfort with numbers and statistics is expected.