Highlight on Courses
Courses in the Government program are varied and comprehensive in their coverage
of topics in the study of American government and politics. Students
investigate and use a range of methods to explore the context of contemporary
policymaking and politics. Classes are seminars that maximize student
exchange and usually involve course work that culminates in a final
analysis and presentation of findings to the class. Course materials
respond to current events and there are frequent guest lectures by high-level
practitioners with hands-on experience in government or other relevant
organizations. A more complete description of the curriculum and full
course descriptions can be found in the Curriculum
and Course Descriptions sections
of this website.
Following are three of the most recent additions to the Government program curriculum.
470.688 Political Institutions and the Policy Process
Bridging the divide between political science theories of policymaking and the actual
workings of the policy process in the institutions of national government, this course
examines the individual contributions of each of the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches of government as well as the interactions and struggles between those branches.
How do these various institutions set the policy agenda, develop and deliberate policy
alternatives, make authoritative policy decisions, and implement those decisions? In what
ways are the interactions between these institutions best considered conflict or
cooperation? Also, how do outside actors and institutions -- the media, interest groups,
public opinion, parties and campaigns -- affect policymaking in these various
institutional settings? Drawing on the Constitutional design and historical development
of these institutions as well as contemporary practice, this course examines the purposes,
processes, and outcomes of policymaking from an institutional perspective.
470. 689 Growing Apart? America and Europe in the 21st Century
The tension between the United States and Europe over the war in Iraq, as well as the
casting of an "Old Europe," a "New Europe," and a "go-it-alone" America has brought into
sharp relief that the two major high income centers of the world economy may be following
very different paths of development, politically, economically, and culturally. This course
surveys how America and Europe are both similar and different, and how, despite the supposed
homogenizing effects of globalization, those differences are actually becoming more, rather
than less, pronounced over time. The class will examine how the U.S. and Europe have,
sometimes developed along similar lines, and sometimes developed along quite different lines;
politically, economically, and culturally. This course traces these developments and surveys
what why this historical moment seems to be one of "growing apart"
and what still holds them together despite such differences.
470.677 Governing in China and America: Comparisons and Bridges
Everyday Americans open newspapers and other media to find articles about China's
remarkable accomplishments and the problems that it still faces. Everyday the
Chinese learn about developments in the United States from television or through
other media. Yet, China remains a mystery to most Americans and America remains
a land of dreams for most Chinese. In the globalizing world, Chinese and Americans
increasingly use the same words to discuss issues of the day, but the meanings of
the words may differ. This course will bring together students and scholars from
two leading universities to provide an introduction to one another of China and
American domestic politics and government, of Sino-American relations, and of the
way in which scholars and students in China and America see their own countries and
one another's countries. The course features interactive teleconferences with a
graduate class at Fudan University's Center for American Studies in Shanghai, China.
In addition to the teleconferencing, the course will be taught on-line, but also
feature a number of guest speakers.