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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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...
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General Research: Developing Critical Writing and Thinking Skills Through Independent Research
The general research seminar introduces you to some of the main tools of social science research methods. You will learn and apply tools that will help you a) ask and try to answer critical questions about the world around you; b) understand the logic...
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Polarizer-in-Chief: Presidential Leadership in the 21st Century
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 performance and our expectations for their leadership? With a new Congress and...
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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...
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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 will...
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Washington History, Institutions & Rituals: Myth vs. Reality
Much is said about Washington. Much of it is wrong. This course will immerse students in the history, institutions and rituals of nation’s capital. You will learn about Washington’s transformation from a remote federal city to the world’s most powerful...
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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 extraordinary changes to...
Semester Elective
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Activism, Protest, and Social Movements: Taking on the Power Structure in Washington DC
How does political and social protest bring about change? What strategies and techniques do social movements and protests use to take on entrenched and established powers in the nation’s capital? Achieving real change is difficult. Yet, there are...
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Democracy in Peril? The U.S. Government in a Hyper-polarized Era
This course takes a sophisticated look at polarization in American politics. We will critically examine the antidemocratic design of the Constitution, how each of the three branches is a product of and contributor to polarization, and how institutions...