Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description
Contemporary British Politics from an Outsider's Perspective
Instructor(s): Robert Turner, Government
What can we learn about Britain鈥檚 politics by living there? Like the protagonist
of Mark Twain鈥檚 19th century novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur鈥檚 Court who
awakens to find himself in medieval England, we find ourselves in a foreign land with
a different political system from our own. However, the current issues are familiar:
popular dissatisfaction with political elites; economic globalization and increasing
economic inequality; immigration and the rise of a multicultural society; balancing
threats from terrorism with civil liberties; and how to enhance local democracy.
In this course, we will study the institutions and activities of the British national
government, focusing on contemporary British politics and policy. Students will study
the Monarchy, Parliament, political parties, the role of the Prime Minister, political
ideology, political institutions, and public policies. The American political system
will be used as a point of reference and contrast in order to understand what is similar
and different about British politics.
Course Offered