Washington Center

Spring Semester 2025

Washington Media: Fake News, Social Media, and the Reshaping of American Politics

Term or Semester: 
Winter Quarter 2025
Spring Semester 2025
Day and Time: 
Wednesdays, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Quarter Dates: 
January 8 - March 12, 2025
Semester Dates: 
January 8 - April 16, 2025
Campus: 
UCDC
Description: 
"Do Twitter or Facebook threaten democracy? What is the difference between “fake news” and journalism? Should the media report what people want to know or ought to know? Does objectivity exist? 
 
This seminar examines the extraordinary changes to political communication and journalism over the past half century and the consequences for American democracy. Biden’s presidency and the aftermath of Trump’s are a great backdrop to assess the news media’s mission, goals, and biases. We will look at the media’s incentives to fuel controversy, politicians’ efforts to manipulate – or lie to -- the media, and how the digital revolution has fundamentally restructured – for better and worse -- the future of political communication. Classes will combine lecture, discussion, and exercises with an emphasis on current developments. Readings include scholarly articles, a book of your choice, and a steady diet of news and journal pieces to keep up with political developments. 
 
Students will complete a major research project on a newsworthy topic which will be written in journalistic form in addition to shorter writing and speaking assignments. All assignments are aimed at sharpening research and writing skills, with a focus on identifying target audiences and communicating with clarity. Assignments may be adjusted to meet individual campus requirements. "
 

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.
 

Requirement for ALL semester students: 

 
The four weeks from March 24 to April 18 will be spent in a special topics module taught by Dr. Jimmy Ellis (or designated instructor) on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30p.m. This module will account for 15% of the seminar final course grade.
 
Your selected seminar will begin the week of January 6 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: 
UCDC191F01W25

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

Term or Semester: 
Winter Quarter 2025
Spring Semester 2025
Day and Time: 
Wednesdays, 8:00am - 11:00am
Quarter Dates: 
January 8 - March 12, 2025
Semester Dates: 
January 8 - April 16, 2025
Campus: 
UCDC
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 Instructor:

Hi, I’m Jessica Gresko and for almost 20 years I have worked as a reporter, editor and manager for The Associated Press, first in Miami and now in Washington. I was a legal reporter for more than a decade and covered the
Supreme Court for six years. My time covering the court was a time of great change and consequence and I look forward to talking about that with you. I earned my B.A. in history and political science from Columbia University in New York and a M.S.L. (Master’s in the Study of Law) from Georgetown University Law School. I grew up in Southern California and took my first journalism class at UCLA. I have taught at UCDC since 2014.

Requirement for ALL semester students:

The four weeks from March 24 to April 18 will be spent in a special topics module taught by Dr. Jimmy Ellis (or designated instructor) on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30p.m. This module will account for 15% of the seminar final course grade.

Your selected seminar will begin the week of January 6 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: 
UCDC191I01W25

Polarizer-in-Chief: Presidential Leadership in the 21st Century

Term or Semester: 
Winter Quarter 2025
Spring Semester 2025
Day and Time: 
Tuesdays, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Quarter Dates: 
January 7 - March 11, 2025
Semester Dates: 
January 7 - April 15, 2025
Campus: 
UCDC
Description: 

Many Americans can name several presidents and even have opinions on “good” versus “bad” presidents. But what do presidents actually do, what resources and limitations do they have in their ability to act, and how do we measure their performance and our expectations for their leadership? With a divided Congress and record polarization, what can we expect during the next year and a half of a Biden/Harris administration? This course will put the modern presidency in historical and theoretical context, drawing on a variety of readings and approaches to determine which framework best explains presidential (in)action. At its core, this class is about the question of executive power in democratic government and how we understand what we see happening just down the street from the UC Washington Center. In addition to studying and reflecting on the theme of presidential power, we will also consider the limits to this power and how presidents achieve their goals. Ultimately, we aim to understand the work of the presidency and some of the different perspectives by which we might analyze or assess presidents and their administrations. 

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.

Requirement for ALL semester students:

The four weeks from March 24 to April 18 will be spent in a special topics module taught by Dr. Jimmy Ellis (or designated instructor) on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30p.m. This module will account for 15% of the seminar final course grade.

Your selected seminar will begin the week of January 6 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: 
UCDC191C01W25

Race and Politics

Term or Semester: 
Spring Semester 2025
Day and Time: 
Tuesdays, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Semester Dates: 
January 7 - April 15, 2025
Campus: 
UCDC
Description: 
The study of both race and politics are fraught with preconceived notions, assumptions, and
anecdotal evidence supporting one’s own views. In this course we will learn how race is
studied by scholars, organizers, and activists who not only submit their preconceived notions
to the test of scientific scrutiny, but who also engage issues of race, power, domination, and
society as a matter of grave importance. The purpose of this course is to understand race and
it’s study from a social scientific perspective, and to understand the ways that identity politics
are integral to our interpretation and understanding of the American political sphere broadly.
 
About the Instructor:
Marcus Board Jr. I am currently a tenured Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University. I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2017 in Political Science.  At its center, my academic research is about the same things as my life's work - liberation. 
Course ID: 
UCDCSEM01W25

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