POL 371 - Identity Politics

The course explores the importance of identity politics in understanding American politics. The course utilizes an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates theoretical frameworks and empirical analysis to understand identity, mainly focusing on racial and ethnic identities. The course will proceed in three sections. First, we will discuss identity politics in theoretical ways. This includes different processes of identity politics, such as socialization, stereotyping, and discrimination. Second, we will explore how identity processes matter in various areas of American politics, including intergroup conflict and cooperation, public opinion, and public behavior. Third, we will specifically focus on Asian Americans, nationalism, and anti-immigrant sentiment associated with identity politics. A primary goal of this course is to provide students a foundation in understanding identity politics, guide them through critical thinking of identity politics in the U.S. context, and provide them with tools to generate research papers.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Not offered: 2024-25
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.