Spring 2020  |  POL 4315W Section 001: State Governments: Laboratories of Democracy (65349)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2020 - 05/04/2020
Mon, Wed 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 120
Enrollment Status:
Closed (56 of 55 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
State governments are rarely at the forefront of the minds of the American public, but in recent years they have made critical decisions about issues like education, health care, climate change, and same-sex marriage. State governments perform a host of vital services, and they regulate and tax a wide array of business activities. Moreover, the states have adopted a very wide range of approaches in addressing these and other policy issues. This course examines the institutional and political changes that sparked the recent "resurgence of the states," and it investigates why state policies differ so dramatically from one another. In addition to playing a central and increasingly important role in the U.S. political system, the American states provide an unusually advantageous venue in which to conduct research about political behavior and policymaking. They are broadly similar in many ways, but they also offer significant variation across a range of social, political, economic, and institutional characteristics that are central to theories about politics. As a result, it becomes possible for scholars to evaluate hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships in a valid way. This course pursues two related objectives. Its first goal is to give students a better understanding of American state governments' substantive significance. Its second goal is to use the states as an analytical venue in which students can hone their research and writing skills. Students will design and complete an original research paper on an aspect of state politics of their choosing. They will develop a research question, gather and critically evaluate appropriate and relevant evidence, and discuss the implications of their research. prereq: 1001 or equiv, non-pol sci grad major or instr consent
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ajkarch+POL4315W+Spring2020
Class Description:
State governments have been incredibly active in recent years, making critical decisions about such diverse issues as climate change, same-sex marriage, health care, and immigration. This course examines the institutional and political changes that sparked this resurgence of the states and help explain why state policies in these and other areas differ so dramatically.
Grading:
10% Homework Assignments
10% First Writing Assignment
20% Midterm Exam
10% Second Writing Assignment
25% Final Research Paper
25% Final Exam
Exam Format:
All exams will consist of multiple-choice questions, short identifications, and essay questions.
Class Format:
75% Lecture
10% Discussion
15% Small Group Activities
Workload:
50-75 pages of reading per week; the three writing assignments use "scaffolding" and culminate in a 15-page original research paper
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65349/1203
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
12 November 2019

ClassInfo Links - Spring 2020 Political Science Classes

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