Politics 377 - American Polit. Development

When and why does politics change in the United States? How do past transformations shape later political and policy choices? This course combines historical, institutional, and comparative perspectives to examine the growth and development of American political institutions and the evolution of state-society relations in the U.S. Key themes include: the distinctive or "exceptional" status of American politics compared to other advanced democracies; the role of culture and ideas in shaping American institutions and civic identities over time; and the ways in which race and gender have figured historically in the articulation of state power.

Prereq: POLIT-104.