PSI 1115 - Promises to Keep: Intro to Minority Politics

Credits: 4.00
This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of how minority groups operate within the political system of the United States. The substantive focus of the course will be on the major theories that attempt to explain the roles of minorities in U.S. politics and the ways in which individuals use race as resources for political organization. We will examine the phenomenon of race in the political development of the United States and how minorities have been represented on policy issues that are of particular importance to them. Specifically, we will focus on the three largest minority groups in the country- Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans. Some of the detailed topics we will cover include, but are not limited to: basic theories and concepts applied to the study of minority politics, levels of political incorporation among minority groups, obstacles to equal representation, the relationship between the political majority and minority groups, the economic and political resources of minorities, immigration and population trends, and the recent developments that are changing the landscape of identity politics. Finally, we will look at the political attitudes and behaviors of minority populations in order to measure their contemporary political influence.