Politics 351 - The Supreme Court

This course will focus on the most important cases decided by the United States Supreme Court since 1803. Each week will focus on a different seminal Supreme Court case and the political context surrounding the case. The cases will focus on topics such as judicial review, reproductive rights, school desegregation, free speech, gay marriage, and affirmative action. As a final project, students will create a presentation on a Supreme Court case that is not covered in the course. Students will also submit reaction papers each week. The learning objectives of the course include: understanding how to read a federal court case, examining the way politics influences Supreme Court decisions, and exploring the way Supreme Court decision making has an impact on American society.

This course is open to juniors and seniors; Prereq: POLIT-104 or POLIT-235.