LFU:online

Students advance their knowledge in political science by specialising in different areas of the field.

This course explores the political institutions of American Democracy and the significant challenges to effective governance in America due to changes in modern media, growing economic inequality, identity politics, and extreme partisan polarization.

Assigned readings throughout the semester will incorporate a variety of classic and contemporary scholarship examining politics in America. Course lectures will provide students with an overview of the basic structure and workings of the American political system with a critical perspective of the institutions of American democracy.  Readings and discussions will focus on the significant threats to American democracy related to growing media fragmentation, inequality, and political polarization.

Lecture inputs, weekly readings, and group discussions.

Active class participation, reading/writing assignments, and final exam

•    The Enduring Debate: Classic and Contemporary Readings in American Politics, 9th Edition by David T. Canon, John J. Coleman, & Kenneth R. Mayer.
•   -Selected readings from Why We`re Polarized by Ezra Klein, The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency by John Dickerson, Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism by Eitan Hersh and additional primary documents and readings. All selected will be provided to studens electronicall and posted on OLAT

successful completion of compulsory modules 1 to 3