686 J	AP AMERICAN GOVERNMENT/ AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT
Length/Credit	1 year - 1.0 credit
Prerequisite	U.S. History or AP U.S. History
Other Info	Students will take the AP exam in the spring.
Location	Bellevue, Newport, Sammamish
The AP American Government course gives students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the U.S.  This course includes both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific examples.  Students will examine the constitutional basis of government, political beliefs and behaviors, political parties, interest groups, mass media, institutions of government, public policy, and civil rights and liberties. The AP course in Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to the fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in six countries; China, Great Britain, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia form the core of this course.  The inclusion of Iran adds a political system from a very important region of the world.  With an emphasis on conceptual and thematic analysis, students will examine these countries focusing on globalization, democratization, political change, public policy, and citizen-state relations.