The American Congress: Design and Practice

This course will focus on three main areas: (1) the intellectual origins of the design of the government based upon a complex system of checks and balances; (2) how has Congress changed over nearly two and a half centuries of its existence and how it is organized and how does it operate contemporarily; (3) what are the structural and underlying features of the American political system that complicate effective governance and what innovations might mitigate these obstructions or inequities; is it possible to do so and maintain the federal system envisioned by the Founders or is a new model of government required in the 21st century? If so, how is that goal to be achieved without fragmenting the country even further?