{"id":1609,"date":"2023-03-23T18:34:45","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/poir\/?page_id=1609"},"modified":"2026-08-27T10:45:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:45:42","slug":"american-politics-concentration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/poir\/american-politics-concentration\/","title":{"rendered":"American Politics Concentration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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The POIR Program features a distinguished faculty in the field of American politics, whose work covers a broad range of topics in the study of political behavior, political institutions, and other topics. Faculty research specialties include congressional and legislative politics; electoral behavior; judicial politics; political communication; political institutions; political psychology; public law and courts; public opinion; race, ethnicity and politics; rationality and politics; and voting behavior.
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\nThe graduate course work in American politics includes two core courses (POIR 620 and POIR 621) that provide an overview of the field and its theoretical and empirical debates, as well as electives on such topics as attitudes and behavior; courts and judicial politics; legislative and executive politics; public law; race and ethnicity in U.S. politics; voting behavior; and other topics.
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\nThe American politics faculty have published in the top peer-reviewed journals in the discipline, such as the\u00a0American Political Science Review,<\/i>\u00a0the\u00a0American Journal of Political Science,\u00a0<\/i>the\u00a0Journal of Politics,\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Perspectives on Politics.\u00a0<\/i>The American politics faculty have also published in the most prestigious academic presses, including Cambridge University Press, Duke University Press, Georgetown University Press, Harvard University Press, New York University Press, Oxford University Press, the University of Chicago Press, Stanford University Press, and Yale University Press. In recognition of their contributions to the field, they have won numerous prizes from the American Political Science Association, including the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book in political science; the Pritchett Award for best book in public law; the Swanson Prize for contributions in the field of political communication; the Race and Ethnicity\u2019s Section\u2019s award for best first book; the best book on race, representation, and politics; and the Goodnow Award for lifetime achievement.
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\nThe intellectual hallmark of faculty in the American field is investigating political phenomena at the intersection of political institutions and ordinary people. Neither strictly behavioral nor institutionalist, the faculty address research questions that cross the traditional subfields of American politics and political science. While diverse in substance and approach, the research is informed and enriched by broad concerns within democratic theory. In terms of methodology, no single approach predominates and scholars in the American field use experimental methods, in-depth field interviews, observational data, qualitative methods, quantitative methods, and survey research methods. Given the nature of their work and their substantive interests, the faculty seek creative and intellectually diverse students. The faculty help students develop analytic tools needed to produce rigorous scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Core Faculty\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Jeb Barnes
\nEstefania Castaneda Perez
\nDennis Chong
\nChristian Grose
\nJoanna Huey
\nJeff Jenkins
\nJane Junn
\nKwuyon Lee (Field Director)<\/strong>
\nMorris Levy
\nChristian Phillips<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n \n