POS-1020 State and Local Government

Credits 3
This is a survey course in state and local government and one of the courses meeting the General Education requirements at Prince George’s Community College. The course focuses on the relationship between the national, state, and local levels of government; the three branches within each level of government; political parties and elections; interest groups; and selected policy issues facing state and local governments, including economic development, education, crime and corrections, health and social welfare, and the environment.
Course Outcomes

Define the essential concepts in the discipline of political science necessary for understanding how state and local government and politics are conducted.
Describe the basic features of federalism in the U.S. constitution as they apply to state and local government.
Delineate the major powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government at the state and local levels, including Maryland.
Analyze how state and local government agencies implement public policy such as education, health and welfare, and criminal justice.