POLS& 202 - American Government

5 Credits
This course explores the structure and dynamics of American national government. The course provides a broad-based introduction to the ideas and institutions that have shaped politics in the contemporary United States. Special areas of focus will include: the Constitution and the debates of the founding era, the institutions of modern American government, and the political behavior of the American mass public. The course will draw inspirationally on documents from America’s Revolutionary and Civil War periods as well as on key historical and contemporary Supreme Court opinions, Congressional laws, and Presidential policy papers. This course will also analyze how the dynamics of regional and global forces have impacted on domestic politics and American government, informing the shaping of its attitudes and policies to the rest of the world.

General education distribution area: Social Science.

Course Outcomes

Demonstrate basic knowledge about the functions of government.
Utilize analytical skills to evaluate political arguments.