This course introduces students to the American political system.
Politics is the study of who gets what, when, and how.  In order to
understand this process, we explore the intellectual foundations of
the United States and how these foundations have impacted Americans
throughout our political history.  Topics of discussion will be the
American constitution, political institutions, campaigns, the media,
and public policy.  This course is structured to examine the
fundamental tensions that citizens and politicians face in a
democratic system of governance.