Dec 30, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

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PSC 151 A-Z - Special Topics in American Politics

Semester Hours: 1-4


Periodically
An advanced course in the analysis of major problems in American Politics.

Current Special Topics

PSC 151E: US Immigration Politics and Policy

This four-credit, writing-intensive seminar course seeks to provide a broad and wide-ranging overview of immigration politics and policy in the United States. What groups are important in determining how immigrants are recruited, received, excluded from, and deported from the United States? How do they affect the way we address problems affecting society? Why is it so difficult at this political moment to “reform” the US immigration system, or to even agree on what shape a comprehensive reform might take? How does social science inform the debate about immigration policy in the United States, particularly when public opinion is so sensitive to racial appeals and perceptions of threat?

The course will begin with a history of immigration policy from the earliest days of the Republic to the present day. It will focus on a few watershed policies such as those enacted in 1882, 1924, 1965, 1986, and 1996, finishing with the immigration proposals put forward by the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations. Who are the winners and losers in this policy area? Why is it so difficult for the national government to adopt meaningful reform at the national level? Are state and local governments in a better position to address our economic, social, and humanitarian goals? What do we know about how immigrants integrated into American society socially, economically, and politically?

 


Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) which is affixed to the course number. The course involves substantial reading, discussion and writing. Includes regular seminar sessions and individual conferences with instructor. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule. (Formerly PSC 151: Seminar: American Politics.)





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