American Government, a Refresher Course
The right-wing propaganda machine weaves a misleading story about the Constitution and the foundations and practices of American governance.
It is up to all of us to stay grounded in reality - the nuanced and not so comfortable reality of the American Experiment. A reality that contains the contradictions and possibilities. On this weekend of Independence Day, and in the wake of the disgraceful capitulation of Congress and the Courts to an out-of-control Executive, it is instructive to revisit the essentials.
Harvard University has provided an online course on American Government, led by Dr. Thomas Patterson and organized around 24 short and well-produced video lectures. While the primary course is offered through their EdX portal, these lectures and course notes are also generously available on Dr. Patterson’s teaching website.
This American Government series from Harvard begins with a recap of our founding history and enduring Political Culture (25 minutes)
Other lectures are organized around 4 main themes (link here for individual videos):
CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS: Political Culture, Limited Government, Representative Government, Federalism, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights
MASS POLITICS: Public Opinion, Political Parties, Campaigns & Elections, Political Movements, Interest Groups, News Media
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: Congress and Constituency, Congress and Party, Presidents & Domestic Policy, Presidents & Foreign Policy, Federal Bureaucracy, Supreme Court & Judiciary
PUBLIC POLICY: Social Policy, Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Welfare & Income Policy, Regulatory Policy, Foreign Policy, Course Review Session
Dr. Patterson is the Bradlee Professor of Government & the Press within the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He is the author of an introductory American government text We the People as well as other books: the Vanishing Voter; Informing the News: The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism; How America Lost Its Mind: The Assault on Reason That's Crippling Our Democracy, and Is the Republican Party Destroying Itself?
Photo of the Capitol Dome and Senate Wing (East) Pediment, from the Architect of the Capitol (public domain, www.aoc.gov)
This informational article with links was prepared by the Food and Farm Caucus as a service to Kansas voters.
No association with Dr. Patterson or Harvard University is implied.