POLS3030 - The American Presidency

The American Presidency is one of the most visible, important, and powerful institutions in the world. This class will focus on the presidency as an institution within the American political system, but will also contextualize the office by paying attention to the officeholders. The presidency consists of two main subjects, the man who holds the office and the office itself. A classic normative question often posed when discussing the presidency is, does the presidency make the man, or does the man make the office? Furthermore, some scholars suggest that the Office is Noble, not the Man. This course will explore the many different functions of the president, both as head of State and head of Government; presidential power, its ebb and flow; the president?s interaction with other political institutions, i.e. the Congress and the Supreme Court; how presidents are elected; the presidency and public opinion; several theories related to the presidency, and finally both the presidency as a political institution within a political system and the actors who serve as presidency. One of our main focuses of the class will be presidential rhetoric.
Prerequisite: HIST1100, HIST1200 or POLS1020
3 Credits