Subfield: American Politics

CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 5202, New York, NY 10016, Phone: (212)817-8670, Fax (212) 817-1532, email: politicalscience@gc.cuny.edu

American Politics Comparative Politics International Relations Political Theory Public Policy

Ph.D. in Political Science M.A. in Political Science M.A. in Public Policy

Writing Politics

AMERICAN POLITICS
Revised: January 30, 2007

American politics focuses on five subfields: national institutions, processes and behavior, political thought, federalism and intergovernmental relations, and constitutional law and judicial politics. Students begin their study by taking a wide ranging core course, American Politics, that surveys these subfields, covering classic works and new cutting edge material and highlighting controversies in the literature. At the same time, students can choose such from foundation courses as the Presidency or Congress, and later move on to research seminars on topics including Social Movements, the American Welfare State, or American Political Development, in which they undertake projects that may serve as the basis for a doctoral dissertation, conference paper, or published scholarly article.

The American politics faculty, intellectually and methodologically diverse, understands that students are also intellectually and methodologically diverse. Since one approach will not fit all, students are encouraged to explore the field to discover the theoretical and substantive problems they find most intriguing. Specific interests of the faculty include the nation's response to poverty, American political development, the political psychology of presidential leadership, disability policy in the workplace, and judicial reasoning.

Faculty teaching courses in American politics include Frances Fox Piven (a prize winning author on social movements and poverty), Marilyn Gittell (a leading authority on community control and intergovernmental relations), Ruth O'Brien and Andrew Polsky (major writers on American political development), Stanley Renshon (a prize winning analyst of the political psychology of presidential leadership), David Jones and Charles Tien (specialists on Congress and quantitative research methods),Corey Robin (a prominent political theorist currently engaged in research on American political thought) Kenneth Sherrill (an authority on public opinion and gay & lesbian politics) and Thomas Halper (a constitutional law specialist). On one matter this varied collection is united: all recognize that research informs and elevates teaching and that teaching stimulates and deepens research.

This subfield features studies in these areas:

American political thought
National institutions
Constitutional law and judicial behavior
Political processes (voting, parties, and public opinion)
Intergovernmental relations

Faculty include:

Marilyn Gittell, state, local and urban politics, education policy
Thomas Halper, American politics, constitutional law
David Jones , American government, Congress
Ruth O'Brien, national political institutions, social movements, American political development
Frances Fox Piven, political movements, urban politics, the welfare state
Andrew Polsky, American government, American political development, the American presidency, political parties
Stanley Renshon, political psychology, American politics, political behavior
Corey Robin , American political thought
Kenneth Sherrill, American politics, public opinion, gay & lesbian politics
Charles Tien, American politics, Congress, quantitative research methods