This course surveys American political and governmental institutions, analyzing how the rules and structure of decision-making processes shape politics and impact policy. Topics include election procedures, apportionment, and the analysis of power and influence. Students will learn about recent developments (such as the adoption of ranked-choice voting, changes to presidential primaries, and redistricting for political advantage) as well as historical events (such as the first veto). Real data will be used when available.
Even though there are no explicit mathematical prerequisites, students should be comfortable with logical and mathematical reasoning. The mathematical content will be self contained; in the course, we will build the necessary mathematics for all the models.
- Opettaja
Katri Sieberg