Syllabus
Outline of topics that will be covered in the class:
Basic intro
The basic settings, basic principles
Historical background: Evolution of the Constitution and its basic principles: federalism, checks and balances, division of powers, legitimacy of the government, political culture, flexible/inflexible constitution?, civil liberties, constitutionalism 3. Outline of the Structure of the Government – Key players
Federal v. State
Executive: President, Office of the White House, Departments
Legislative: Congress
Judiciary: Courts
Bureaucracy
- basic structure, who does what, basic requirements for elections into the office.
- explain structure of departments, White House Office 4. Elections nominations, primaries, general elections, delegates vs. electors, electoral college
Who can vote? 5. The Executive Branch
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Annotation
This course aims to provide the students with in-depth knowledge and understanding of the U.S. government. It focuses on the the theory, organization, functions, politics, and problems of the United States political system.
The course primarily focuses on the federal level of government, however, attention is also paid the state-level government and the interaction between the state and the federal level. The course examines the mechanics of the government, the division of powers, checks and balances.
It is mostly analytical, however, it tries to provide the historical context and follows the chronological evolution of the U.S. government. The major topics include the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government; political parties, campaigns, elections; bureaucracy; opinion and the formulation of public policy.
Issues of political culture will also be debated. The course uses a variety of textual as well as audiovisual material.