B+ in Humanities II or Humanities II in Action, AP Language and Composition or Junior English.
Note: This course meets the American Studies recommendation.
AP Government and Politics is a yearlong course that braids together the course content, concepts, and skills practiced in both the AP's U.S. Government and Politics course and the Comparative Government and Politics course. Participation in both the U.S. and Comparative AP Exams in May is required. Students will analyze the political systems of the United States and six other countries: Britain, China, Russia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Iran. The course will familiarize students with the theoretical frameworks of political science and civics education, including topics such as liberty and order, distribution and balance of power, roles and responsibilities of citizens and authority, and social and political change.
Students will learn:
- The structures of political systems and institutions
- The difference between democratic and authoritarian practices
- The unique political challenges of developing countries
- The governments and political identities of seven case-study countries
- Electoral systems and political participation
- Ways citizens interact with government and its branches
- Concept understanding and application
- Argument
- Quantitative (Data) Analysis
- Comparative Analysis
- Shared Inquiry and Structured Discussions and Debates
- Individual and Group Presentations
- Simulations and Roleplaying
- Text Analysis (Foundational Documents, U.S. Supreme Court Cases)
- Reflections and Self-assessments
Students are required to take both the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam and the AP Comparative Government and Politics exam in May.