Political Science
Although essential to our infrastructure, bridges are also symbols and inspiration for writers, artists and engineers. Neo-classic D.C. and modern sensibilities vie for funds, to maintain and change the face and functionality of D.C.
During the presidential election years, students have the opportunity to observe democracy in action — primary votes and caucuses, local speeches and televised debates, spin and social media. Press coverage of candidates through editorial boards, reporters, photographers and commentators serves the public's right to know in order to make their own decisions.
In 2016, a significant Supreme Court case, executive action and congressional consideration of an omnibus bill all focus on aspects of juvenile justice. Explore the history of punishment, advances in rehabilitation and changes in confinement of youth.
President Lincoln is assassinated and a nation mourns just as its jubilation had begun. The end of the Civil War is not the end of political, economic and social battles. Reconstruction continues the debates over relationships between federal and state authority, master and slave, industrial and agrarian societies.
Citizens participate in the political process as they take polls, run for office and vote. Activities and lessons look at the candidates and policies, influence of campaigns, and the role of media (campaign ads, editorials cartoons, reporting). Through debate, research, mock elections and inaugural coverage, students engage in the responsibilities of citizenship.
Students study slavery in the United States through the prism of the Civil War, historic documents and legal acts: From D.C. slave auctions to the D.C. Emancipation Act of 1862, from the battles of Harpers Ferry and bloody Antietam to the Emancipation Proclamation, from selective manumission to the Fourteenth Amendment. Activities and articles focus on April 1862 to January 1, 1863.
