Official description: This course offers students a fundamental overview of American politics by analyzing the origin, development, structure, and operation of all levels of the American political system. This course also examines how politics are practiced in the United States in order to analyze the uniqueness of the American political system.
Dr. Dominguez' 120 courses end with a legislative simulation in which students adopt the positions of interest groups and members of Congress, debating an issue of current interest.
Official description: This course focuses on the American presidency as an institution. The class examines the origins of the president’s domestic and international powers, how those powers have grown and changed over time, and how they are both enhanced and limited by other actors in the political system.
Students in Dr. Dominguez' class will write two papers that require original research into contemporary presidents. One focuses on presidential leadership, the other on presidential power.
Official description: This course examines the origin, nature, structure, and operation of American political parties, interest groups, and social movements, and their roles in the political process.
Students in Dr. Dominguez' class will complete a participant observation paper after attending the meeting of a political party or interest group.
Official description: This course analyzes how rules and laws affect the roles that parties, candidates, voters, and other political actors play in elections. It also investigates the behavior of political actors during elections by examining campaign strategy, staffing, polling, advertising, turnout, and symbolic communication. Its main emphasis is on American federal elections, but also considers elections in a comparative context and sub-national elections in the United States.
Students in Dr. Dominguez' class will prepare a campaign strategy for a particular candidate/party in a current battleground state election in the United States, and compete against another student who prepares a campaign strategy for the same election but representing the opposite party. The class will vote on the best presentation and the winner will receive extra credit points.
Official description: This course focuses on the war powers that the Constitution grants to the Congress and the president. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which that balance has evolved over time from the founding to the present day.
Students in Dr. Dominguez' class will write an original research paper.