Even in our remote corner of the world, the political system of the United States commands a great deal of attention - especially in election years. There is a long history of describing each (US) election campaign as "the most important" of our generation, but if nothing else the latest campaign seems deeply consequential. As we move beyond the 2020 presidential election and into the 2022 midterms, the United States and its people grapple with major economic and social challenges: inflation, national debt, protests, civil/political division, the events of January 6, and over one million dead in the midst of a global pandemic. This course is designed to help us better understand the domestic processes that govern the US political system; in turn, we will be well positioned to explain these current – and future - challenges, along with (the viability of) potential solutions.

Students enrolled in this course will benefit from developing a more accurate foundation for comparison with other countries (e.g. comparative politics & policy), a deeper understanding of various external influences on governance (e.g. media, communications, and political behaviour), and a stronger grasp of US motivations abroad (e.g. international relations), to name a few examples. The paper is also clearly relevant to a more general audience, by providing greater understanding of the world’s major cultural, economic, and political force.

This course is taught via two one-hour lectures per week, and a one-hour weekly tutorial. Each lecture will be recorded via Panopto, and will take a ‘mini lecture’ format that will complement the weekly online lessons on Moodle. Zoom tutorial sessions will be offered for NET students, as well as for TGA students looking for an alternative to physical tutorials. These tutorials will be broadcast via Zoom from the allocated TGA tutorial room and time – starting in Week 1, providing a blended online and face-to-face learning environment.