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Unit of study_

USSC3601: Public Opinion and Voting in the U.S.

2025 unit information

This unit explores political beliefs and behaviour in the United States. Using survey studies, we explore what Americans know and believe about politics, how their attitudes are formed, and how and why they vote. We look at voting patterns in recent elections and examine how these have been affected by attitudes towards race and party identification.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

DVC (Research)

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit United States Studies Centre
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
12 credit points at 2000 level in American Studies or 12 credit points at 2000 level in Politics
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. recognise and understand major theories of American political behaviour
  • LO2. apply theoretical understandings of American political behavior to contemporary developments in American politics
  • LO3. read and interpret public opinion data
  • LO4. research a topic of your choice independently
  • LO5. communicate the findings of your independent research in oral and written form

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.