As the chief legislative body in the land, Congress has a preeminent
role in governance of the country.  To the average citizen, Congress often
seems to represent a body of partisan politicians, interested more in
furthering their own careers than in overseeing the public good.  Yet the
paradox is that while the ordinary citizen seems to have a low opinion of
Congress, they seem to like their own district members.  Congress seems to
pass laws readily enough, even passing unanimous resolutions occasionally,
yet if we pay any attention to the media at all, we are confronted with a
picture of Congresspeople in conflict over most important issues.  How do we
account for these paradoxes?
	In this course, we will focus on developing an understanding of
Congress by initially focusing on the institution itself, and later by
integrating our understanding of Congress with the other institutions and
aspects of modern American society it interacts with.  Congress does not
exist in a vacuum, so an understanding of how and why Congress behaves with
regards to the Presidency, the Supreme Court, the media, and the general
public is as important as understanding the mechanisms of Congress itself.
	Special attention will be devoted in part of this course to
discussing the changes affecting Congress since the 1994 Republican takeover
of both houses.  The takeover initiated changes not only in the partisan
flavor of the Congress, but in many ways, it set a new path for the way that
Congress operates.
	Several texts will be assigned in this course; the text material
will be accompanied by audio-visual supplements.  Interaction and discussion
by students will form a significant part of the course, and group
participation and presentations will make up part of the final mark.  There
will be three exams in the course, and several (very brief) papers over the
length of the course.