POL 238 - Topic: U.S. State Politics

As gridlock has deepened in Congress and the Supreme Court has delegated more issues to the state level, the salience and importance of state politics has increased dramatically. This course examines state politics within the American federal system. Our detailed consideration of America’s “laboratories of democracy” will provide historical, political, and institutional context for understanding the contemporary challenges facing subnational levels of government in the United States. Topics to be investigated include: the structure, functions, and governance of state politics; nationalization of local politics; election administration and state political actors; participation, representation, and the role of state political parties and social movements; policymaking and state legislatures; ballot initiatives and direct democracy; rural vs. urban political divisions; and the relationships between local, state, and federal governments. These topics will be explored in the context of currently contentious policy areas at the state level, including education, public health, abortion, guns, the environment, and more.