voting, race, poverty, housing, and finances.

Last offered: Summer 2017
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI

POLISCI 124A:The American West (AMSTUD 124A, ARTHIST 152, ENGLISH 124, HISTORY 151)

The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.

Focus is on how politicians and government learn what Americans want and how the public's preferences shape government action; how surveys measure beliefs, preferences, and experiences; how poll results are criticized and interpreted; how conflict between polls is viewed by the public;are easily displaced by their larger cousins. On the other side of the park, the Kvichak River is the world's most productive watershed for sockeye salmon, whose offspring account for 33% of the species' catch in the United States and 16% of world production. Salmon are so plentiful that a wolf pack at Lake Clark has been documented as the only salmon-dependent pack in the world.

Major birds of prey as well as terrestrial mammals in the park include bald eagle, golden eagle, Dall's sheep, moose, caribou, peregrine falcon, and wolf packs. Smaller mammals include coyotes, marten, red fox, wolverine, river otter, beaver and lynx. Marine mammals include sea lion, beluga whale, harbor seal, and porpoise. Both black and brown bear species are present in the park. Black bears