PS 199A:
New Race Politics? The Politics of Race in the Obama Era 

 Course Description  

 Foreign migration to the United States and the growth in racial and ethnic populations in relation to the size of the white population are dramatically altering the demographic profile of the American electorate. Today more than 1 in 5 adults was born in another country, and nearly a third of all Americans are of non-white and non-European descent. Immigration has altered the racial and ethnic composition of every state in the nation, and the enormous influx of new Americans has been disproportionately large in states with correspondingly large national electoral significance. These changes have the potential to significantly reconfigure American democracy and American politics in ways that were barely imaginable just 15-20 years ago. The political landscape of the US is now populated with 3 racial and ethnic Groups who have the potential, either individually, or as part of a coalition, to significantly alter politics as we currently know it. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the US is one example of the potentially transformative power of these changes. 

This course addresses the potential and substantive electoral, political, and social consequences of these changing racial demographics. Among the topics that the course will examine are:  the behavior of minorities and immigrants as voters and political participants; the strategies used by political parties and other organizations to mobilize new citizens and racial minorities to participate in politics; the political psychology of group membership among members of racial and ethnic minority groups, and the implications of this group consciousness for political mobilization; and the consequences of this new racial and ethnic diversity for race relations and public policy.