PSCI 20716 - Civic Engagement & Political Particion

Course Credit: 1
Examines what it means to be a citizen and the ways that individuals can be political engaged in the United States. The last line of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address states “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Individuals are fundamentally entwined with the U.S. political system. This class examines what it means to be a citizen of the United States and the ways that individuals can be political engaged. We will start by questioning what we expect of citizens in the United States and the implications of these expectations for our government. We then will examine the levels of participation before focusing on factors that influence levels of political participation, from one’s socio-economic status to the homes where we grew up. We will also examine how levels of political participation are unequally distributed across the population in the United States. We extend our discussion of the foundations of political participation by studying two key components of civic society: trust and tolerance. Finally, we will examine how policies and what government does shape our engagement in politics. [HSS]