Spring Semester 2022
A Theater of Politics & The Politics of Theater
For more than a decade, this course has canvassed the Washington DC theater scene and discovered a wealth of offerings, many of them—not surprisingly—political in focus. Which prompts the question: What should the role of an arts community be in an essentially political town? To provide escape? Emotional engagement? A dissident voice? What might the impact (or challenge) of presenting politically-relevant work be in DC? What's the definition and the history of "political theater" and what distinguishes it from other entertainments (if anything)? We'll figure that out. What stories are being told now that reflect how we view the past, understand the present, and envision the future? We’ll have a chance to think about the role of theater as it holds up a mirror to our society, as our focus moves from examinations inward and inter-personal, toward portraits which are more broadly regional and international in scope.
Black Lives Matter: Race, Policy, & Democratic Governance
This course will examine race and ethnic politics through the lens of social movements, public policy, and democratic governance. The #BlackLivesMatter Movement was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer and engages us to utilize a human rights lens to combat racial injustice, inequality, racism, and white supremacy. We will use a human rights and democratic governance approach often used in a U.S. foreign policy context to reconceptualize our understanding of the lived experiences and quest for freedom, justice, and equality on part of African Americans, Latinx, Asian Americans, Native Americans and other groups. Given the racial and ethnic demographic shifts over the past two decades, particular attention will focus on race, representation, and racism from President Obama to President Trump with a central focus on the 2020 elections, voting rights, and the Biden Harris Administration. We will analyze democratic governance under the Trump administration, the ways in which President Trump has invoked identity politics and white nationalism in governance, and how this political context informs our understanding of representation in the Biden Administration Finally, you will learn the tactics of effective social movements/activism, civic engagement, data analysis, policy influence. There will be an applied component of this course and guest speakers will bring to life the theories and literature we read and review in class. Additionally, due to the global pandemic, this course will be taught on zoom with asynchronous learning methods for the benefit of class attentiveness and engagement; further details to be given in class. Students will leave this class smarter on the topics addressed and also equipped with the tools for effective grassroots organizing, persuasive public speaking skills, and strategic policy influence.
NOTE: This class will be taught remotely via Zoom.
About the Instructor: Dr. Menna Demessie is currently Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the global Task Force for Meaningful Change (TFMC) for Universal Music Group. During the last decade, Dr. Demessie worked on Capitol Hill for Congresswoman Barbara Lee, as the Senior Vice President of Policy Analysis and Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) and as an adjunct professor at the University of California Washington Center. At CBCF, she led the foundation’s research and policy initiatives affecting African Americans and the global black community in education, criminal justice, economic opportunity, and voting rights among many others. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Dr. Demessie established the National Racial Equity Initiative for Social Justice at the CBCF in an effort to raise awareness and inform public policy on criminal justice reform and social justice issues writ large. She has spearheaded several partnerships with the White House, Congress, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and other nonprofit stakeholders to advance strategic efforts to influence and inform public policy. Prior to joining the CBCF, Dr. Demessie was one of five scholars in the United States to receive the prestigious American Political Science Congressional Fellowship. For the fellowship, she joined Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s team to work on federal unemployment legislation, antipoverty initiatives, and foreign affairs in the 112th Congress. In August 2018, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, appointed her as Secretary of the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund Advisory Council. As of August 2019, she has worked with her colleagues in raising $ 6.1 million dollars for socioeconomic development in Ethiopia. She was elected twice to serve on the Alumni Board for the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and is a proud Ohio native. She currently serves on the American Political Science Association Council and on Board of Trustees for her alma mater at Western Reserve Academy. She is a college basketball player and enjoys playing basketball and performing spoken word.
Washington Media: Fake News, Social Media, and the Reshaping of American Politics
About the Instructor: Professor Marc Sandalow is an Associate Director of the University of California Washington Program (UCDC). He is the author of three books, including “Madam Speaker,” a biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He has been a journalist for 30 years, including 21 years at the San Francisco Chronicle and more than a decade as the paper’s Washington Bureau Chief. He is a former columnist and contributing editor for the California Journal, and is a currently a political analyst for Hearst Argyle television stations and KCBS radio in San Francisco. Professor Sandalow has been the UCDC program since 2008.
The U.S. Supreme Court: Conflict, Change and the Court
About the Instructor: 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.
A Biden-Harris Presidency: Understanding Executive Power in Historical and Contemporary Context
About the Instructor: I am a Ph.D. of American government and politics with specializations in the American presidency, public policy, and polarization. My research focuses on presidential governance via executive orders and how political factors influence the ability of presidents to issue their most significant orders. I have taught UCDC’s presidency seminar since Fall 2017. While earning my degree at the University of Maryland, I taught classes about public policy and Congress to students who had internships related to those fields in a format similar to the UCDC program. Outside of the classroom, I work at Community Change & Community Change Action, non-profit organizations focused on building a movement led by everyday people to create change in their communities and across the country. As the Electoral Data Manager, I work with many different teams and partner organizations to identify target audiences and track the work we are doing in communities affected by injustice.
The Politics and Process of the U.S. Judiciary
About the Instructor: Professor Jennifer Diascro is Associate Director at the University of California Washington Program (UCDC) and a political scientist. She earned her BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego (1990) and her PhD in political science from the Ohio State University (1995). She was on the faculty at the University of Kentucky (1995-2002) and American University (2002-2010). In 2000-01, she was a Supreme Court Fellow at the US Sentencing Commission in Washington, DC. Before coming to UCDC, Professor Diascro was a senior director at the American Political Science Association (2011-2015). She's authored or coauthored peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and books, on topics related to American judicial politics, and was CO-PI on an NSF award for a workshop on success and failure in the academy.
Research in World Politics in Interesting Times
About the Instructor: Professor Michael Danielson has taught at UCDC since 2014. He is also a Research Fellow at the American University Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and has taught courses in Latin American politics at various universities in Washington, DC. His book Emigrants Get Political: Mexican Migrants Engage Their Home Towns (Oxford 2018) examines the ways in which Mexican migrants engage with and shape the politics of their home towns. He has also studied the politics of indigenous rights movements in Latin America and am co-editor of Latin America’s Multicultural Movements and the Struggle Between Communitarianism, Autonomy, and Human Rights (Oxford 2013). My current research includes projects on the climate–migration nexus, migration and refugee studies, violent democracies in Mexico and Central America, and migrant mayors. When not teaching, I work as an expert consultant on social science research methodology, migration and displacement, and Latin American politics and society. Additionally, I regularly serve as an expert witness on country conditions in Mexico and Honduras in US immigration courts. I am a political scientist by training (PhD 2013, American University) with training in comparative and international politics and hold an MA in International Policy Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) and Spanish and Philosophy degrees from Santa Clara University.
Reducing Poverty and Inequity: Lessons from International Development
General Research: Developing Critical Writing and Thinking Skills Through Independent Research
About the Instructor: Professor Jennifer Diascro is an Associate Director of the University of California Washington Program (UCDC) and a political scientist. She earned her BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego (1990) and her PhD in political science from the Ohio State University (1995). She was on the faculty at the University of Kentucky (1995-2002) and American University (2002-2010). In 2000-01, she was a Supreme Court Fellow at the US Sentencing Commission in Washington, DC. Before coming to UCDC, Professor Diascro was a senior director at the American Political Science Association (2011-2015). She's authored or coauthored peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and books, on topics related to American judicial politics, and was CO-PI on an NSF award for a workshop on success and failure in the academy.