GVPT459I

Prerequisite: GVPT200 or GVPT280. Restriction: Must be in Government & Politics program or Government & Politics: International Relations program. This course is an introduction to the emerging field of civic studies. It takes as a starting point the idea of citizens as co-creators of their many worlds, their various communities, their countries, and of course the literal world. We will look into what knowledge and what ways of thinking are most helpful to such co-creators. Topics will include: civic work in the small (human interaction, politics, power resources), finding and building shared ground, impediments to civic action (problem of collective action, limited human brain, the power of the status quo), and venues of civic action (including communities, social movements, countries, and the world).