HENB0115GU English - Elective 4, topic 4: After the Election: American Politics in 2017

Volume 2016/2017
Education

Engelsk

Content

After the Election: American Politics in 2017 will focus on American politics in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Taking its point of departure in the continuities and changes wrought by the collision of Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, it will also give an in-depth survey to the workings of the American political system and how the system interacts with wider American culture outside of the Washington D.C. Beltway. The course takes the post 9/11 era as its background, and will thus use a mix of political theory, contemporary history and topical articles from newspaper and media articles from the New York Times, Foreign Policy, New Republic, Wall Street Journal, Economist, Financial Times, Washington Post, New Standard, American Conservative, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, and other respected sources. These articles will be supplemented by materials assembled by think tanks and polling institutions, including Brooking, Heritage, Pew, and the like.

By the end of the course you will have a good overview of the political system and electoral dynamics in 2017 and the issues which preoccupy the nation. You should be able to use the theoretical and practical knowledge you have acquired to understand the American political system, and how it differs from the Danish, to identify the issues facing the new administration and the nation, reflect on why these issues have the salience they do, and to be able to consider how the state of the nation’s politics is likely to develop over the near future. This course is especially aimed at student who may wish to write BA projects on topics within Contemporary American Politics and Society, and acts as a first port of call for students considering graduate work within the field of American history, politics, and society. There are no entry requirements, though I do expect for students to have followed MEW I and II, that you read the materials set for each week, that you participate in classes, and that you agree to give individual and group presentations during the semester.

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 42
  • Preparation
  • 162,75
  • Total
  • 204,75
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Other
Criteria for exam assesment