WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2023-2024       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
Junior Government Tutorial: American Political Development
CSS 330
Spring 2024
Section: 01   02  

American Political Development (APD) is a both an object of study and a method of political analysis. APD scholars adopt a rigorously historical approach to the study of political authority, in all of its forms, in the United States. They are skeptical of statistical models and the assumption that political outcomes reflect only the intentions of rational political actors. Instead, scholars of APD focus on the deep institutional and structural factors that engender political change over long periods of time. To this end, they study topics like the role and significance of political culture and political ideas, the causes of political stability and political change, and the way in which state institutions shape behaviors and policy outcomes.

This tutorial will introduce you to a field of study that tries to answer big, theoretically-informed questions about the historical trajectory of American politics. More specifically, this seminar will provide a survey of APD-scholarship that explores a variety of different, politically salient subjects. The overarching aim of this course is to provide each of you with an historically informed perspective on questions vital to the health and functioning of American democracy.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS GOVT
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (CGST-MN)(CSS)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on APR-23-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459