The American State

Catalog description

As we have increasingly looked to the federal government to provide and protect policies and rights that benefit its citizens, how have the branches of government risen to this occasion? Where have they struggled? What obstacles have they faced? This course is an investigation of the political, institutional, and legal development of the American state in the contemporary era. Topics will include an examination of some foundational questions about the role of the federal government; the ways in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches have provided (or gotten in the way of) providing benefits and rights; and a variety of policy areas including the politics of mass incarceration, civil rights, and the welfare state, among others.