POLA 210 American Government (3)
Staff. An introductory survey of government at the national level with emphasis on constitutional principles and significant contemporary trends and problems.

POLA 315 Elections in America (3)
Staff. The focus is on candidates, political parties, the press, consultants, and public opinion in elections and political campaigns. Covers presidential and congressional elections. Each semester, special attention is paid to a topic such as the economy, fundraising, activists, or campaign technique.

POLA 316 Political Parties (3)
Staff. A study of theories of political parties in the United States and other democracies. The stress is on the electoral and governmental role of party organizations.

POLA 320 Congress (3)
Mr. Langston. A study of the United States Congress with emphasis on its development, its internal structure, the relationship of the elected representatives to their constituents, and the legislative process itself.

POLA 322 The American Presidency (3)
Mr. Langston. A study of the office of the President of the United States that includes both historical review and analysis of the presidential role in our national government. A main focus of the course is on the relative importance of particular presidents and their leadership capacities and the limitations on the office itself.

POLA 324 Public Policy (3)
Staff. This course will examine the size and function of the U.S. federal government, the processes by which policy is formulated, budgeted, and evaluated, and the effects of policy on citizen welfare.

POLA 327 Courts and Politics (3)
Ms. Maveety. Analysis of the political factors that influence courts, their staffing, their decisions, and their policymaking role. The interaction between legal policies and structures and political institutions and their development will be addressed.

POLA 412 Louisiana Politics (3)
Staff. A review of why Louisiana politics is renowned in the West, featuring right- and left-wing populism, the highest quality campaign techniques, diversion of campaign funds, rewards for supporters, and reciprocity between judges and lawyers. Investigation of the background to Louisiana politics focuses on the absence of a dominant political or cultural group, a culture of sociability, a plethora of bases of political support, and a history of racial, regional, and religious cleavage.

POLA 418 American Political Culture (4)
Staff. An examination of the American ways of practicing politics and thinking about governance. We will compare culture two centuries ago with the present, American with non-American political culture, political culture with market culture, and the dominant cultures with subcultures. Students will conduct research on aspects of New Orleans political culture.

POLA 422 The Military in American Politics (3)
Mr. Langston. This course examines the United States armed forces as political actors and objects of policymaking. Special attention will be paid to changes in the military's influence and interests over time, and to the post-Cold War debate over the relevance of military power to the pursuit of national interests.

POLA 423 Environmental Politics and Policy (3)
Staff. An overview of the issues, institutions, processes, and actors that determine political responses to environmental problems in the United States. The course includes discussions of current controversies in environmental politics.

POLA 425 Power and Poverty in America (3)
Staff. This course will investigate the extent of income inequality and of poverty in contemporary America and the impact of government upon them. Empirically, it will examine the programs of the American welfare state and assess their successes and failure. Normatively, it will discuss how one establishes minimum standards for distributional justice and inquire into the obligations we have towardour fellow citizens.

POLA 426 Race, Sex, and Power (3)
Ms. Maveety. This course examines the role of race and sex based classification in the law of equal protection and focuses on the political actions and events that lead to legal remedies for discrimination.

POLA 427 Constitutional Law (3)
Ms. Maveety. A study of the general powers and limits of the branches of the national government and the relationship among the levels of government, as this has affected civil rights and individual liberties under the Constitution.

POLA 480 Science, Technology, and Public Policy (3)
Mr. Langston. Interdisciplinary examination of the role of science and technology in modern society. Inquiry into the possibilities and methods of public review of governmental policies having significant technological implications. Introduction to the concepts and techniques of technology assessment.

POLA 618 Public Opinion and Voting Behavior (4)
Staff. An analysis of opinion formation in political situations and a survey of voting behavior in the United States.

POLA 620 Interpretations of American Politics (3)
Mr. Langston. This class examines alternative accounts of American politics, using research to explore competing views, different methodologies, and varying emphases. Each participant will be responsible for conducting a serious piece of research on his or her own.

POLA 629 Judicial Process (3)
Ms. Maveety. This course examines the relationship between the Supreme Court, the federal and state courts, and the Congress and President. It surveys various methods of analyzing the impact and implications of judicial decisions and evaluates various theories of the consequences of judicial policymaking.