National Political Reporting

Course Details

Politics is the peaceful struggle for resources. The purpose of this class is to teach students how to investigate that struggle with an eye to explaining why some people win and others lose. The question we will return to again and again is: How do politicians make decisions? By the end of the semester, a student should be able to take a given act—say, a member of Congress’ vote on the health care reform bill—and offer a well-reported, sophisticated, elegant account of why and how it occurred.