UCDC Courses
A list of courses can be accessed using the drop-down menu below. Select Fall Quarter & Semester 2023.
For *preliminary* information about each course, click on the course title.
Please note: In the event of low enrollment, a class may be cancelled. Students will be informed as soon as possible and enrolled in a different class.
Core Seminar
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A Biden-Harris Presidency: Understanding Executive Power in Historical and Contemporary Context
Most of us have been inundated with elections and politics for the past year. Many Americans can name several presidents and even have opinions on “good” versus “bad” presidents. But what do they actually do and how do we measure and evaluate their...
- Congress in History and in Transition
Congress and other branches of the U.S. government were designed nearly two and a half centuries ago under circumstances and reflecting values and philosophies that bear little relationship to contemporary America. All of these institutions have...- General Research: Developing Critical Writing and Thinking Skills Through Independent Research
Stephen Colbert coined the term “truthiness” to describe the tendency of people to “go with their gut” rather than facts and evidence in evaluating the world around them. We are all affected by biases that obstruct critical thinking. Challenging...- Reducing Poverty and Inequity: Lessons from International Development
This course introduces students to the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as agents of advocacy and socio-political, economic and cultural change. The emphasis is on a) examining ways in which the NGO sector operates at the local, national...- Research in World Politics in Interesting Times
This seminar is designed to help you to engage critically and think systematically about crucial questions that are global in scope and to guide you through the process of developing a significant research paper. This is not a field seminar in...- The Politics and Process of the U.S. Judiciary
The theme of this course is that the judiciary is a political institution in the American scheme of government. This topic couldn’t be more relevant than it is now in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election as we witness courts across the...- The U.S. Supreme Court: Conflict, Change and the Court
Immigration. LGBT rights. Healthcare. Abortion. The death penalty. Cell phone privacy. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided cases on all of these topics in recent years, and its decisions ultimately touch the lives of all Americans. In this class we...- Washington Media: Fake News, Social Media, and the Reshaping of American Politics
Do Twitter or Facebook threaten democracy? What is the difference between “fake news” and journalism? Should the media report what people want to know or ought to know? Does objectivity exist?This seminar examines the...Winter Quarter 2022Quarter Elective
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Activism, Protest, and Social Movements: Taking on the Power Structure in Washington, DC
How does social and political change happen in Washington? What strategies and techniques do underdogs use to take on entrenched and established powers in the nation’s capital? Making real change is difficult. Yet, there are several examples of...
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Federal Social Programs in the United States
This course provides an introduction to key federal social programs—in the areas of health care, education, housing, labor markets, racial equity and income support—in the United States. The course begins by discussing the goals of social programs,...
- Congress in History and in Transition