Listed in: Political Science, as POSC-319
Jonathan M. Obert (Section 01)
[AP, LP, IL] Politics are not frozen in time, but are rather the product of developmental processes. Building on a survey of crucial works in the American Political Development (APD) literature and on general approaches (rational choice, sociological, etc.) to understanding institutional change, this course will introduce ways of thinking historically about political institutions in the U.S. Why did the party system evolve the way it did? Where did the rules and procedures of Congress come from? Where and when did important public services (transportation and communication infrastructure, protection for property, social insurance, etc.) become the provenance of state bureaucracies? How has the function and power of the Presidency changed over time? How did western expansion, imperialism, and military experience shape the federal government? These are a few of the substantive questions we will address in this course.
More broadly, however, this course helps us think about politics in a temporal way. History and political science are intrinsically related, but to understand the current debates and questions we need to be explicit about the types of processes (long-term, short-term, episodic, cyclic, etc.) that shape the institutions and events we see. Hence a key component of this course will be interrogating how scholars address the historiographic problem of studying politics, with the aim of cultivating the analytic tools necessary to situate contemporary political debates in the stream of time.
Limited to 25 students. Spring semester. Professor Obert.
If Overenrolled: Priority first given to fourth-year students, then to a balance of sophomores and juniors, randomly determined, followed by first-year students and 5-college students.
Cost: $19.00 ?
Section 01
W 02:00 PM - 04:30 PM CHAP 205
| ISBN | Title | Publisher | Author(s) | Comment | Book Store | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Politics in time : history, institutions, and social analysis | Princeton University Press (2004) | Paul Pierson | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Civic ideals : conflicting visions of citizenship in U.S. history | Yale University Press (1999) | Rogers Smith | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The two reconstructions : the struggle for Black enfranchisement | University of Chicago Press (2004) | Richard M. Valelly | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Disjointed pluralism : institutional innovation and the development of the U.S. Congress | Princeton University Press (2001) | Eric Schickler | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Electoral realignments: a critique of an American genre | Yale University Press (2004) | David R Mayhew | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton, Revised Edition | Harvard University Press (1997) | Stephen Skowronek | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Building the Judiciary: Law, Courts, and the Politics of Institutional Development | Princeton University Press (2012) | Justin Crowe | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Fear itself : the New Deal and the origins of our time | WW Norton (2013) | Ira Katznelson | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The people's lobby : organizational innovation and the rise of interest group politics in the United States, 1890-1925 | University of Chicago Press (1997) | Elisabeth Clemens | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit | Princeton University Press (2014) | Thomas Sugrue | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| From the outside in : World War II and the American state | Princeton University Press (1996) | Bartholomew H. Sparrow | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Dynamics of the party system : alignment and realignment of political parties in the United States | Brookings Institution Press (1983) | James Sundquist | Amherst Books | TBD |
These books are available locally at Amherst Books.