Alex Norris

At the University of Texas at Austin, all students in the College of Liberal Arts are required to take GOV 310 and GOV 312, or some equivalent. GOV 310 is on the U.S. and Texas governments, while GOV 312 is “Issues and Politics in American Government.” GOV 312 can take on many subject areas, depending on instructor interest, so long as the subject is “substantively and historically important, and illustrative of US politics.” I taught a version of GOV 312 in Fall of 2022 titled “How Markets took over the World.” The course uses the transition to and from the neoliberal era to get students thinking about how politics changes over time, the ways that ideology and interests interact to create political opinions, and the ways that politicians, academics, pundits, and voters all make and rely on moral and factual claims. The syllabus is below. I’m also happy to provide materials (slides, activities, assignments, etc.) from the class upon request.