This course provides an advanced overview of American politics and government. We will cover a wide range of substantive topics, including the constitutional foundations of modern American politics, the major American governing institutions (the presidency, the Congress, the courts, and the bureaucracy), the policy making process, political campaigns and elections, elite behavior, the behavior of ordinary citizens, foreign policy, and the mass media environment. We will also analyze the politics of a variety of contemporary social and political issues such as economic inequality, racism, polarization, immigration, and the rise of populism. We will examine each of these issues beginning with a historical perspective, and tracing their development through to the modern political environment. Each topic will be examined through the lens of competing theoretical perspectives.