| Unit name | Democracy and US Government |
|---|---|
| Unit code | POLI21226 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Van Veeren |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit examines the cultures, institutions, and controversies that mark contemporary US American politics. In particular, the unit develops an understanding of US politics as the product of a set of historically-produced cultural forces in US politics rather than as a set of institutions of government. As the unit explores, the origin of these forces, their interplay and tensions, how they relate to different understandings of democracy, and how these forces produce, are refracted through, and reshape the traditional institutions of US government can be used to understand developments in US politics, including the results of the most recent Presidential election.
In other words, over the course of the term, we therefore use the linkages between US American political cultures and the institutions of US government in order to assess the claims made that the US is a ‘pre-eminent’ democracy, exploring how democracy is not possible unless cultures of privilege are overcome, and critiquing debates that focus on the structure of institutions to ‘engineer’ democracy.
Whilst the unit will address illustrative and traditional topic areas, such as political parties, Congress and the Presidency, we will also focus on race, masculinity, economic inequality, mass media and cultures of (in)security. Throughout, students are expected to apply their accumulated knowledge to discuss broader questions relating to the nature of democracy.
Unit aims:
• To present an analysis of US government and politics and probe common assumptions and stereotypes about the US American system.
• To introduce the core issues confronting the US political system at the beginning of the 21st century.
• To critically evaluate the performance of US American government against its claims to be one of the world’s principal democracies.
• To present an analytical lens through which students can evaluate political, institutional and contextual explanations.
The learning outcomes of this unit are to develop:
2 hours of lectures and 1 hour seminar
Both assessments assess all learning outcomes.
