My hope is that this will make the world of politics more interesting and accessible to you, and provide you with some new insights into what politics is all about. The readings for this class form the basis for our class sessions and your written work. Unlike some courses, readings will not be reviewed systematically in class. The materials presented in class will assume that students have read and understood the reading assignments. In order to get full value from the course, students must complete the readings before the classes in which they will be discussed .
Readings come from four sources.
The readings for each section of the course are indicated on the course outline. The Wasserman book provides a review of the basics of the American political system. The schedule for completing these assignment is provided in the course outline. To help you see how some of the processes we study in class produce real world policy effect on people and groups in your community, everyone will participate in a service learning project. Groups of students will select a site, from a list provided by me, and participate in a service learning project at that site during the semester.