To strengthen your analytical, research, and critical thinking skills with emphasis on state institutions, policy content, and processes. The states are an integral part of the continuing development of American democracy and American federalism. Although they are alike in many ways, the states also are enormously varied, and consequently provide and offer rich opportunities for productive comparative analysis of foundations, political institutions and processes, and policy arenas and content. States are the primary jurisdictions for dealing with many, perhaps most, some would argue, of the public policies that influence our daily lives. My philosophy is that serious students of politics can gain much of value through specific study of the states.
Students can learn much about our federal system of government and how it works.
They can learn much about many important political issues. Furthermore, students can learn that states can restrain progressive policies and processes, sometimes setting back needed changes in both content and dynamics in American politics and society. This course will only return maximum value to you if you approach the study of state government in an unbiased and objective manner, seeking to learn from both history and changes, and present actions in the states. We will emphasize history, the present, and the future in our exploration of states. Moreover, we will rely heavily on information technology for much of the critical course content and research.