Course subject matter, rules and helpful advice

Examines the senses of talking for the terms "politics" and "political science."

Examines the cultural practices that formed "the West," and the Governments of Rome and Athens

Examines absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, the enlightment, etc

Rights of Englishmen, voting, political parties, and an intro to the new colonies

The fallout from the French/Indian war, the taxes, etc., and the rebellion

Covers the Declaration of Independence and the first part of the Revolutionary War.

Finishes the story of the American revolution and lays groundwork for the formation of government in 1787

Covers colonial governing structures, the governments of the new states, the convention plans and the resulting 3-branch creature

Examining the structure and design of the new three-branch creature

Finishes up discussing the new American governing institutions. Then starts slavery and begins developing American politics

The brief period of non-partisan "virtue politics," the rise of agrarian ideology and the federalist agenda. Next time: parties will form.

Covers the Jefferson-Hamilton dispute and the resulting creation of political parties

The election of 1800 and how it changed the electoral college

Shows how agrarian ideology captured American politics and discusses the significance of Jackson

Finishes up the discussion of what Jacksonian democracy really was, and shows how different the party model had become from "virtue politics"

As Hamilton's America comes to pass, Jefferson's Dies, and American Politics Adopts a Labor-Capital Dichotomy

Tells the story of Roosevelt and the rise of the new Democratic hegemony in American politics

The new role of the president, the new federalism, the new bureuacratic state, and the new wealth and deficit politics

Tries to show the relationship of today's left/right psychology to the Jefferson/Hamilton dispute, and then begins the story of liberalism fall from grace, with the Great Society and Nixon

Tells the story of Reagan and why he was ideologically important

Course subject matter, rules and helpful advice

Examines what politics and "political science" is, and outlines the cultural practices that created "the West"

After looking at the Roman Republic and Athens, students are introduced to different terminology about "government," and then a discussion ensues: are there limits to the usefulness of democracy?

Begins with the medieval world of absolute monarchy and chains of being; and ends with the birth of liberty, the Glorious Revolution and the rise of democratic practices.

This lectures transitions from the Glorious Revolution to the conditions that lead to revolt and independence in America. The next lecture will continue the story.

Describes and summarizes how the Revolutionary War was won. Also provides an introduction to slavery in America -- the slave trade, statistics etc.

Begins examining governing arrangements in the early and late colonial period, then after independence and through the 1787 creation.

Looks at Congress' enumerated powers and explores the difficulty of having modern government within those strictures. Also looks at how the Courts have largely abandoned enumerated powers and asks normative questions about whether this is good or bad.

Tells the story of the creation of political parties. Tells how American elections change from a non-partisan system based upon "virtue" into a two-party system based upon the forthright expression of political passion and solicitation.

Covers the ascendancy of Jefferson and the outbreak of the two-party system. Also covers the difference between agrarian and federalist ideology, and the ascendency of Jacksonian America. Also looks at how campaigning and event-politics breaks out.

Covers the transformation from agrarian to industrial culture and the rise of laissez faire. Also covers the rise of progressivism, FDR (the New Deal), and the political death of laissez faire.

Finishes up the significance of Roosevelt. Heads into the ideological significance of the Great Society and the ascendency of Reagan. Then, the contemporary belief sets (liberal/conservative) are explored.

Class discussion about how to fix the energy problem. Builds into an examination of cognition and ideology. Students are asked to question what purpose ideology serves and whether it is good or bad.

Shows students how the mechanics of the electoral college changed once partisanship broke out (resulting in the twelfth amendment). Also covers the expected procedure for tied elections and the history of the nomination system (from caucus to primaries).

Examines how party machines developed in the 1800s and early 1900s, and how parties as organizations then devolved into mere "hubs" for interest groups. Discussion leads to the topic of candidate-centered politics.

Introduces the problems inherent in democratic theory and in thinking of majority sentiment as legitimate. Then, introduces a new way of thinking about how such sentiment can intelligently fits within a pluralistic universe (outside of democratic theory.