American Politics over Space and Time

3 units

How do physical geography, historical legacies, and the local culture that they produce combine to shape American politics? How do the politics of the time and place in which a person live shape their lived experience? In this course, we will seek to understand how these and other factors structure the political lives of Americans in both formal political institutions and their daily lived experiences. The class will explore these questions through the interaction between scholarly readings, in-class lectures and discussions, and popular films that demonstrate and exemplify the centrality of politics in everyday life. The First half of the course is organized around American regions; the second half is organized around different levels of population density. Each class is based on a subject or theme that is particularly relevant to the region or level of population density being considered. Important note: This class will require you to watch a number of films across a variety of genres and time periods. Many of these films contain potentially challenging content, including but not limited to: graphic violence, coarse language, strong sexual content, frightening content, insensitive depictions of disadvantaged groups, and thematically upsetting content. By taking this class, you acknowledge that you are responsible for viewing the assigned films in a collective setting. If you have any concerns, please talk to me in the first week of the semester.