American National Government

Catalog description

Three lecture. Introduction to the American national government; constitutional and philosophical foundations, federalism, structure and evolution of the federal government, and recent trends and issues in the federal government. Students will be able to: explain constitutions, federalism and their relationship to the American political system; describe, explain, interpret, compare and appraise the major theories of democracy; describe the institutions of government, their functions, and the interaction between them; describe how policy is formulated and the influences on that formation, as well as how a citizen may influence policy formation; describe and explain political organizations, their purposes and their actions; interpret the process and meaning of elections and campaigns. General Education: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Institutions in the Americas