RFLA 100C 03 and 04 - Pluralism and the American Pol (CRNs 10317/10318 )

As American politics has become increasingly polarized, questions about the influence of identity within the electorate have taken center stage. Whether the focus is on white blue-collar voters or undocumented immigrants, women or evangelical Protestants, identity is seen as central to the production of conflicting political ideologies. At the same time, American society and political institutions are valued for being pluralistic and representative of a diverse populace. Pluralism offers both the political promise of resolving difference and the peril of encouraging political divisions. This course asks students to reflect on the relationship of identity to the practice of American politics. Students will survey a range of identity-based and intersectional movements in the American electorate and consider how the principles and practices of pluralism work in contemporary American politics.