Considers the following questions in the context of both formal and informal institutions across the social, political and economic worlds: What is an institution? How do institutions arise? How do institutions persist? And how can institutions change? Specific institutions that serve as topics include: Prison gangs, same-sex marriage, capitalism, peace agreements, and many more. Students complete a project in which they study a real-world problem of their choice from an institutional perspective. Projects culminate in a detailed proposal to affect institutional change to solve the problem.
