Very few people haven't heard of Star Wars, the legendary saga of stories, TV shows, and movies that has captivated audiences the world over. However, what many people don't understand is that Star Wars has much to teach us about our own world. This course seeks to examine the politics of the Star Wars universe in two parts. First, we will cover the fall of the Republic: what issues led to the Clone Wars? Why was the government structure of the Republic so flawed? What role did corruption play? What events in history can we make comparisons to? The second part of the course will cover the governance of the Empire: how did the Empire use fear to maintain order? What forms of repression did the Empire use? Who benefited from the Empire, and why did it ultimately fail? The course will be primarily discussion based, so be prepared to offer your own opinions!