Washington Center

Fall Semester 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court: Conflict, Change and the Court

Credits: 
4
Instructor: 
Jessica Gresko
Term or Semester: 
Fall Quarter 2023
Fall Semester 2023
Day and Time: 
Wednesdays, 8:00am - 11:00am
Quarter Dates: 
September 19 - November 28, 2023
Semester Dates: 
August 23 - November 28, 2023
Campus: 
UCDC
Category: 
Core Seminar
Description: 

Immigration. LGBT rights. Healthcare. Abortion. The death penalty. Cell phone privacy. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided cases on all of these topics in recent years, and its decisions ultimately touch the lives of all Americans. In this class we will study the Supreme Court's place in the U.S. legal system. Topics we will cover include: how a case gets to the court, the justices, the role of lawyers before the court, the purpose of oral argument, the court building and its symbolism, and media coverage of the court.

In addition, students will listen to the arguments in current Supreme Court cases and spend class time discussing them. In papers, students will be asked to rigorously explain why the justices likely took those cases and how they will come out based on what they hear at oral argument. This class is geared not only toward anyone who is interested in the law or government service but also toward anyone interested in working on or being informed about the biggest issues of the day.

About the Professor: For the last decade Professor Jessica Gresko has been a reporter for The Associated Press, first in Miami and now in Washington. As a legal reporter, she covers court cases at all levels, both local and federal. She has been at the Supreme Court for many recent high-profile decisions including cases on gay marriage, healthcare and the death penalty. Professor Gresko earned her B.A. from Columbia University in New York and a M.S.L. (Master’s in the Study of Law) from Georgetown University Law School. She grew up in Southern California and took her first journalism class at UCLA.

 

Requirement for ALL semester students:

The first four weeks of this semester (August 23 to September 13) will be spent in a special topics module taught by Professor Marc Sandalow on Wednesdays from 6:30-9:30p.m. This module will account for 15% of the core seminar final course grade. Please contact Professor Sandalow (marc.sandalow@ucdc.edu) with questions.

Your selected seminar will begin the week of September 18 and your seminar instructor will officially be your instructor of record for the term, responsible for computing and submitting final course grades at the end of the term.

**NO additional registration required.

 

Course ID: 
UCDC191I01F23

Power and Purpose: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy

Credits: 
4
Instructor: 
Christopher Preble
Term or Semester: 
Fall Quarter 2023
Fall Semester 2023
Day and Time: 
Tuesdays, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Quarter Dates: 
September 19 - November 28, 2023
Semester Dates: 
August 23 - November 28, 2023
Campus: 
UCDC
Category: 
Core Seminar
Description: 

This course explores the ideas and assumptions that guide U.S. foreign policy. We will consider how U.S. leaders choose to engage with the rest of the world -- and consider how they might in the future -- by focusing on a number of recurring themes including: relations with China and Russia; nuclear proliferation; democracy promotion; terrorism and counterterrorism; resource competition; the importance of culture and national identity; transnational threats such as infectious disease and climate change; the problems of weak and failing states; and the economics of national security.

About the Professor: Professor Christopher Preble currently serves as Senior Fellow and Director of the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center. He was previously co-director of the New American Engagement Initiative at the Atlantic Council, and Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. Professor Preble has written four books (on U.S. foreign policy/grand strategy) and edited three others (on Iraq, counterterrorism, and threat perception). He's also written a number of shorter papers and book chapters (on, for example, the Middle East, nuclear weapons, the defense budget, intelligence assessment, fixing failed states, and U.S.-Japan relations). Professor Preble has also taught at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota; and at Temple University, where he earned his PhD in History. He earned his BA (also in History) at George Washington University, and served for four years in the U.S. Navy, including a little more than three years on the USS TICONDEROGA (CG 47).

 

Requirement for ALL semester students:

The first four weeks of this semester (August 23 to September 13) will be spent in a special topics module taught by Professor Marc Sandalow on Wednesdays from 6:30-9:30p.m. This module will account for 15% of the core seminar final course grade. Please contact Professor Sandalow (marc.sandalow@ucdc.edu) with questions.

Your selected seminar will begin the week of September 18 and your seminar instructor will officially be your instructor of record for the term, responsible for computing and submitting final course grades at the end of the term.

**NO additional registration required.

Course ID: 
UCDC191E01F23

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