POLI 348 - Seminar in Democracy and Power in America

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

An examination of tensions and adjustments between democratic ideals and the structures and practices of political and economic power in the United States.

Topic for 2023/24a: Democracy and Power: The Fascist Strain in American Politics. The seminar considers fascist and authoritarian tendencies in American politics. Topics range across multiple sources of disturbance, dislocation and violence in American politics and society: economic crisis, status anxiety, racism and gender resentment, partisan polarization, institutional paralysis, media and the politics of disinformation. We also examine various authoritarian models: 20th century fascism, “friendly fascism,” “the state of exception,” “inverted totalitarianism,” and consider fictional accounts such as Lewis’ “It Can Happen Here” and/or Roth’s “The Plot Against America.” Sidney Plotkin.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor, normally an intermediate-level course in American Politics.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS