Bianca V. Vicuña, Ph.D.

In many ways, American politics is a competition between groups—between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, People of Color (PoC) and Whites, native-born and foreign-born, and the religious and the secular, just to name a few. But why do we choose to belong to some political groups rather than others? And why do we dislike some political groups so much, and others not at all? Finally, why are some group conflicts in American politics short-lived, while others are so enduring? These are some of the core questions addressed by this course. To that end, we will examine the psychological sources of group conflict and cooperation in U.S. politics. Students will learn how political groups are co-determined by individual choices as well as institutional practices.