Course History

This course aims to familiarize students with the origin and development of the Texas Constitution, the structure and powers of state and local government, federalism and inter-governmental relations, political participation, the election process, public policy, and the political culture of Texas.

This course is an introductory course designed to examine the “political” side of public administration and its role in the policy process.
This course examines the various facets of the bureaucracy and how they provide the bureaucracy with a basis of political powe

This course examines gun control through historical, legal, sociological, and public health lenses.
This course seeks to unearth the policy narratives thatcontribute to the public discourse surrounding gun control.
Upon completion of this course students gain a understanding of how truly multi-faceted and complex the issue is and, thus, why consensus is so difficult to achieve.

This is an introductory survey course in political economy.
This course examines modern theories of political economy and uses them to answer such questions as:
Why do some societies redistribute more than others?
Why is the economic performance of some countries better than others?
How are governments constrained by markets?
How do politicians use the economy to secure their political survival?

This course examines the United States Congress, focusing on the historical development of the House and the Senate, as well as the impact these developments have on public policy and national politics more broadly.
In particular, we examine the constitutional underpinnings and the historical progress that led to the modern Congress, the rules and procedures that influence the legislative process, the interbranch relations between Congress and the executive and judicial branches, and how voters hold Congressional lawmakers electorally accountable.

This course studies diverse groups as political players in society -- their history as outsiders, strategies for gaining political power, the evolution of public policies that affect the lives and opportunities of these groups mainly in the United States.
In this course, students will explore core political constructs such as governance, policymaking, participation, conflict, and attitudes through the lens of gender, race and ethnicity.
The course focuses primarily upon the experiences of several groups: African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Arabs, women, and gays and lesbians.
The goal of this course is to provide students with the necessary theoretical and methodological foundations needed to understand and analyze gender, racial, and ethnic politics in the United States