GIS is very excited to welcome Dr. Abbylin Sellers, associate professor in Azusa Pacific University’s Department of History and Political Science, as a visiting scholar and instructor in the fall 2023 academic semester. Dr. Sellers received the prestigious Fulbright Award for the 2022-23 academic year and will be teaching 2 courses for GIS.
Both courses are on political science, her area of expertise, and will focus on the American government (200-level) and the American presidency (300-level). These classes will provide GIS students with the opportunity to take courses with a renowned scholar to gain a unique perspective on the US political system in detail.
For more information, please see the course descriptions below. Please be aware that both classes will require the course “Introduction to Political Science” as a prerequisite.

General Topics II: American Government (200-level)
Wednesday 1st Period
Syllabus: https://onl.bz/q1Qc9FH
Students will be introduced to the principles which underpin the American regime as well as the major structural and operating features of the American system of government. The course was designed to help students comprehend the ideas and history that legitimize basic rights and privileges in the US’s representative democracy. The course will begin by examining the principles that are foundational to the American state during its opening decades. This will be followed by a detailed examination of the structure and history of the nation’s uniquely constituted form of government, with particular emphasis on the importance of federalism and the separation of powers. Students will understand how the U.S. Constitution establishes the separation of powers and how these powers are simultaneously cooperative and competitive. Various contemporary events will also be discussed and what they reveal about America’s constitutional character.

Special Topics: American Presidency (300-level)
Wednesday 2nd Period
Syllabus: https://onl.bz/RxdCn2G
The unique character of the Executive office or American presidency provides an opportunity to explore important questions related to how the Constitution can both constrain presidential power and allow the president to rise to his full height of power. This course addresses the place and role of the presidency in the American constitutional order, with specific emphasis on executive energy and rhetoric. The historical evolution of the presidency will be examined beginning with the American founding era and moving towards the current day practice of campaigns and elections. Students will also look at presidential power in the context of how crises affect that power, and to what degree the president is able to test the bounds of the Constitution. This class will also be looking at the use of rhetoric as a device to persuade and how presidents have failed or been successful with their ability to effectively communicate to the American public.