PSCI 491: Multicultural Politics in the US

Many of the most debated political issues during the past decades in the United States have engaged basic issues regarding how the U.S. deals with its diverse population. These issues have often been described as “multicultural” in nature because they involve differences among the many and diverse social groups in the U.S. and the groups’ different values, beliefs, and experiences. Multicultural issues engage a wide range of basic questions about what the U.S. is and what it should be, such as what it means to be American, who should be included in the American “community,” what the relationship between the nation and its citizens should be, and the role of social groups in American political, economic, and social life. Each of these potential conflicts raises key questions about the nature of American society, what direction society should take in the 21st century, and how government policy should be shaped to achieve the ideal society – and most fundamentally, what the ideal society is. In this course we will explore some of the main debates over multicultural politics, the basic ideas and concepts that have been used to try to understand and think about what the U.S. is and what it should be, and the tradeoffs associated with the various policies and points of view.