You will write three to four short papers on four political institutions (example refugees in usa). The papers should be limited to four pages. with at less 3 references.
There are four types of assignments. With respect to American political institutions, students must:
1. Identify authoritative academic, governmental, advocacy group, and media resources;
2. Evaluate the quality of resources
Researching American Political Institutions
We will examine the structure of institutions and how their structure affects their function. We will also explore how institutions interrelate and how their interactions determine the character of governance.
Among the questions we can explore are:
Do institutions promote civic engagement?
How do our institutions affect economic activity?
How do our institutions shape our communities?
How do federal institutions affect institutions in the states?
What are the differences and similarities among the political institutions of states?
How might we reform our institutions to improve their function?
What is the range of views of institutions?
How are views of institutions shaped by political ideology?
The specific content we cover will be determined by your interests. What do you want to know? What information is available for you to understand the institutions of governance? What information is needed?
I recommend considering the impact of US political institutions on democracy. According to Dahl (1998), there are five criteria for democracy:
1. Effective participation
2. Equality in voting
3. Gaining enlightened understanding
4. Exercising final control of the agenda
5. Inclusion of adults
You can develop research questions based on each of these criteria. For example,
Does our electoral system produce equality in voting?
Does our education system produce enlightened understanding?
Does our legislative system produce effective participation for all adults?
Do all adults have equal control over legislative agendas?
I want the course to help you develop political skills. Those skills include finding information, assessing the quality of information, developing a sound empirical basis for your views, expressing your views effectively, and understanding alternative points of view on the institutions that shape our lives. To find good information, you can consider the following questions:
What advocacy groups study the different institutions?
Who are academic researchers who study the different institutions?
What research do the institutions conduct?
As an example, you can find resources related to elections by searching the web for "elections advocacy groups" or "voting rights."