Understanding US Politics

Topic outline

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  Understanding US Politics: course description, objectives, contents

  
  

  • Course Description Forum
  • Course Description File

    American Politics and its various aspects and operational layers within and outside the US  system  of  government  constitute  one  the  basics  in  the  study  of  United  States (civilization, history, and society). The course introduces the basics of the US system of government to Master 1 students of Anglophone Studies specialized in  Literature and  Civilization.  The  course  covers  the  first  semester  of  the  Master  programme  and consists of two sessions: one lecture and one tutorial per week. The lecture is devoted to  an  overall  introduction  to  the  different  concepts,  individual  and  collective  actors, institutions, procedures, and mechanisms that govern American politics. The tutorials are  devoted  to  class  discussions  based  on  students’  compulsory  weekly  in-depth readings of primary and secondary sources.

    
    

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  Lecture 1: The Idea of Democracy

  • Lecture 1: The Idea of Democracy File

    - Introduction

    - Historical and Philosophical Origins

    - Philosophical Contribution to American Democracy

    - References
    

  • The Idea of Democracy / TDs 1 & 2 File

    - Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan (Excerpts)

    - John Locke's Second Treatise of Government (Excerpts)

    - Two Stories of Democracy. From K. Hutchings, Modelling Democracy. Global Society 12:2 (1998).
    

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  Topic 2

  • TD 2: Reading Material & questions to consider File

    - Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" (1776) - excerpt.

    - The US Declaration of Independence (1776)
    

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  Topic 3

  • The Historical Origins of the US System of Government 1 File
  • The Origins of the US System of Government 2 File
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  Topic 4

  • The Three Branches / Checks and Balances File
  • Checks and Balances: Real Cases File
  • The Law-making process File
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  Topic 5

  • Elections in the US File