GOVT 83.32 Evaluating American Democracy

A representative democracy is one in which citizens elect others (i.e., government officials) to represent their ideas and concerns in the formation of public policy. This class investigates whether democracy is working in contemporary America. We focus on several broad areas of “performance” and will evaluate: (1) the process by which people form their views about candidates and issues; (2) how people engage with the political world and transmit their views to elected representatives; (3) the extent to which the mass media provide information that citizens need to fulfil their duties in a representative government; and (4) whether the public gets what it wants, in the form of specific public policies.

Instructor

Jerit

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:SOC; WCult:W

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