American Political Parties
GOVT 238
Spring 2013
| Section:
01
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This course explores the origins, purposes, roles, and consequences of political parties in the American political system. After a brief consideration of the broader theories behind political party systems, we will turn our focus to the party system in the United States. We will first consider the origin and evolution of political. Following this historical review, we will consider American political parties in their contemporary form. V. O. Key (1964) presented a tripartite definition of political parties which we will use to structure our exploration of parties for the rest of the course: party as organization, party in government, and party in the electorate. In these sections, we will address political party polarization, party identification, parties fund-raising, and many other related topics. From this rich examination of political parties in the U.S. context, we will discuss why parties exist and enable democracy, but also discuss their potential flaws and failures. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS GOVT |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CIVI-MN)(GOVT)(GOVT-American) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Aldrich, John H. 2001 WHY PARTIES? A SECOND LOOK. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Levendusky, Matthew. 2009. THE PARTISAN SORT: HOW LIBERALS BECAME DEMOCRATS AND CONSERVATIVES BECAME REPUBLICANS. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Sundquist, James L. DYNAMICS OF THE PARTY SYSTEM: ALIGNMENT AND REALIGNMENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 2nd Edition. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly reading response questions, group presentation, individual research proposal, midterm, final exam |
| Instructor(s): Freeze,Melanie S. Times: ..T.R.. 09:00AM-10:20AM; Location: PAC136; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 25 | | SR major: 9 | JR major: 9 | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 2 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 9 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 4 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 4 |
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