This course teaches undergraduates to apply the core theoretical frameworks and empirical methods of academic political science to the analysis of American politics. Topics covered include the formal and informal institutions of American government, including separation of powers, federalism, Congress, the Constitution, the presidency, the courts, the bureaucracy, and the political parties; theories of political behavior, including partisanship, participation, vote choice, and public opinion; and topics in contemporary U.S. politics, including race, identity politics, the carceral state, polarization, and money in politics. Course assignments place a particular emphasis on effective writing and communication in the social sciences.

This course provides an introduction to game theoretic analysis in political science. We study the concepts and models used to analyze political behavior in strategic contexts, including normal and extensive form games, games of incomplete information, repeated games, and bargaining.

This is the first in a two-course graduate sequence on American political institutions, which introduces students to classic theoretical and descriptive works. The readings draw on a variety of theoretical frameworks, especially historical and rational-choice institutionalism, and a mix of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Topics covered include collective action, political parties, electoral institutions and representation, separation of powers and the three branches of American government, the bureaucracy, policymaking, and federalism.