Analytical Paper Optional: All enrolled students have the option of completing a research paper of at least 20-25 pages, with faculty and peer review of a substantially complete draft. This paper can be used to satisfy the analytical paper requirement for J.D. students. Students who choose to satisfy the analytical paper requirement through this course may not also count the course toward their experiential learning requirement.

Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

This course examines and questions the status of the American democracy in the context of its unique history and contemporary challenges, focusing on its survival in a nation increasingly fractured by division and polarization. In doing so, this course explores provocative themes and questions of citizenship, law, self-governance, accountability, and inclusion in American democracy while grappling with issues of class, race, and gender. It moves beyond limited representations of democratization as the quest for universal suffrage and fair elections to a more fluid, real-time construct of competing interests, negotiated outcomes, stressed and malleable institutions, tumultuous changes, and their legal implications. It further clarifies the democratic process as one subject to ongoing interpretation, challenge, and renewal.

Note: This course is not available for cross-registration.