American Political Development

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course is designed to introduce students of American government and American history to the growing subfield of American Political Development, or APD. American Political Development is the study of the historical roots of American politics. Likewise, APD is concerned with how public policy has been affected by historical and cultural development. How was the growth of the American state over time influenced by the political institutions that already existed? How has the welfare state developed in the United States, and why? Why and how did America’s administrative capacities grow at the turn of the century? Is the development of American political institutions constant or sporadic? Are there patterns or cycles over time in American politics? How democratic is the United States, and what is the persistent attributes of American political culture? This course will explore these questions and provide a rich, textual reading of American politics, using American political history as its empirical data.