This course offers a survey of the U.S. political system at the national level, and explores the social, political, and economic forces that have and continued to shape the development of the US national government, including: the historical background; political theories; the evolution of legislative, executive and judicial branches; the formation and role of political parties; the role of interest groups, and the media; and longstanding public policy debates. In addition to offering insights into the formation, function, structure, and relationships among and between the branches, levels, and actors, the course seeks to explore critical questions of political participation. In so doing, the course will engage students in an examination of role and mechanisms for individual participation, as well as the ways in which institutions, parties, groups, the media, and deep-rooted inequalities have and continue to shape such participation.