In this course, the student will explore campaigns and elections, learning their purpose and significance and observing the impact that they have on the American political system. The course will focus on the history and evolution of elections and voting laws in the United States, as well as what compels individuals to run for office and how campaigns are structured. Also, the course will teach the student the role that political parties, interest groups, voters, and the media play in elections. Lastly, the student will take a closer look at electoral outcomes and the impact that elections have on public policy after votes are counted, as well as what types of proposals could be implemented to improve our electoral system. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: explain the importance of elections, voting, democracy, and citizenship in the United States; describe the various types of elections that exist within the American political system; identify the legal and constitutional bases of campaigns and elections in the United States; explain the types of individuals that run for political office and why; analyze the influence of incumbency in elections; explain how candidates develop campaigns and financing; discuss the role of money in political campaigns; discuss the influence of political parties on campaigns and elections; describe the characteristics of the U.S. party system; explain the role of interest groups in influence campaigns and election outcomes; explain the various influences and motivations of the American voter; describe the factors associated with both nonvoter and voter disenfranchisement in contemporary elections; analyze and explain the critical role of the media in campaigns and elections; explain how election outcomes impact government actions and public policy; analyze both historical and contemporary election reforms. (POLSC333)

Foundations and philosophical applications of Bayesian decision theory, game theory and theory of collective choice. Why should degrees of belief be probabilities? Is it always rational to maximize expected utility? If so, why and what is its utility? What is a solution to a game? What does a game-theoretic solution concept such as Nash equilibrium say about how rational players will, or should, act in a game? How are the values and the actions of groups, institutions and societies related to the values and actions of the individuals that constitute them?

After studying about the Election Process of the United States, you all will have to do a small research project that will answer the question: Do we need to have the Electoral College in voting?

This seminar will explore the difficulties of getting agreement on global definitions of sustainability; in particularly building international support for efforts to combat climate change created by greenhouse gas emissions as well as other international resource management efforts. We will focus on possible changes in the way global environmental agreements are formulated and implemented, especially on ways of shifting from the current "pollution control" approach to combating climate change to a more comprehensive strategy for taking advantage of sustainable development opportunities.

Comparative politics is the systematic study and comparison of the world's political systems. The course begins by discussing the factors and categories of analysis that political scientists and important international institutions like the World Bank, NATO, and the United Nations use regularly; it ends by comparing and contrasting governments from five different regions of the world: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Define the chief characteristics of a nation state; Identify and explain various comparative methodologies used to compare various political systems; Distinguish between unitary, federal, and confederal governmental models; Compare and contrast political cultures in selected countries; Compare and contrast political socialization in selected countries; Describe and explain patterns of representation and participation in selected countries; Compare and contrast the roles and functions of political parties in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of interest groups in selected countries; Identify and explain governance and policy-making in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the executive in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the judicial branch in selected countries; Compare and contrast the role of the bureaucracy and the policy process in selected countries; Describe and explain the political economy and development in selected countries; Identify and explain political challenges and changing agendas in selected countries. (Political Science 221)

This course provides students with an introduction to the basic institutions of American government, especially as established in the constitution, and with an introduction to currents of thought among social scientists about the workings of U.S. politics. This is a communication intensive course. As such you are required to write at least 20 pages – that's the C.I. requirement – and participate in class discussions.

This class introduces students to innovative as well as classic approaches to studying U.S. government. The writing assignments will help you explore, through a variety of lenses, statis and change in the American political system over the last three decades. In the end each student will have a solid grounding in our national political institutions and processes, sharper reading and writing skills, and insight into approaching politics critically and analytically.

Acclaimed British playwright David Edgar takes aim at American politics with his two-play cycle, Continental Divide, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. This Educator Guide explores the history of political activism and political theatre in the UK and the US.

The following lesson plans, grades kindergarten through 12, have been prepared by Project Vote Smart as a resource for teachers of government and social studies.

This course provides an introduction to the vast literature devoted to public opinion. In the next 12 weeks, we will survey the major theoretical approaches and empirical research in the field of political behavior (though we will only tangentially discuss political participation and voting). For the most part we will focus on American public opinion, though some of the work we will read is comparative in nature.

Dr. Randall Forsberg is executive director of the think tank she founded in 1980, the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies. In this video segment, she recalls the moment during arms negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union when she determined that the arms race is not driven by basic deterrence but by the imperative to gain superiority in threatening to win-without actually waging-nuclear war.In her wide-ranging interview for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: 'Visions of War and Peace,' Forsberg explores war-and-peace issues, military doctrine, the history and economics of nuclear-weapons development and policy, war-fighting capability and force structure, scenarios and resistance to arms reduction, the history of relations between the superpowers, and their interactions with developing nations. Seven countries, she asserts, account for 99 percent of nuclear weapons. The dispersal of weapons-in the form of the Rapid Deployment Force, tactical weapons, and missiles fitted with multiple warheads-heightens the risk of war in a world moving toward becoming what she calls 'a global nuclear porcupine.' Forsberg asserts that 'threatening to commit genocide as a way of conducting politics' is one of the most 'deeply immoral and subversive acts of government in the modern world.' Moreover, she maintains, a conventional military crisis could easily cross that nuclear threshold. Forsberg advocates the three Rs: 'reduce, restructure, and restrain' conventional forces-the other side of the military coin-that consume 75 percent of the U.S. military budget. She compares disarmament with abolitionism: most people understood that slavery was evil and didn't know when it would end, but they realized that they had to work until it was eliminated. Forsberg's analysis of the country's 'defense dependency' and of the shortcomings of the nuclear-freeze movement she spearheaded is laced with her optimism about Soviet Union general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms. She has never abandoned her vision of an educated public that will prevail in 'demilitarizing international relations" to achieve a "secure, stable permanent peace.'

A news camera captured this video excerpt of a 1965 voting rights demonstration, from People's Century: "Skin Deep".

Since 1845, Americans have been voting on Tuesdays -- but why? In this humorous talk, Jacob Soboroff shares the history of Election Day and shows how voting on a Tuesday affects voter turnout. A quiz, thought provoking question, and links for further study are provided to create a lesson around the 3-minute video. Educators may use the platform to easily "Flip" or create their own lesson for use with their students of any age or level.