Course Description: 

We will begin by exploring how we as a nation, developed our particular political culture and how we have become socialized to it. We will examine the ides of the founders of our government and study at length those ideas we still retain from them and the rights and liberties we have all come to cherish because of their insight. We will examine how policies are made, who makes them, why some policies are chosen over others, why some succeed while others fail, and the people and institutions involved in the policy-making process. Since this is a Political Science course, your knowledge of history and an awareness of current events must, of necessity, be assumed. Historical citations may be used to make a point but they will rarely be explained in narrative form to which you may have become accustomed. Most of our discussions will deal with contemporary issues with the aim of involving you in our unique system of politics.