What do a clam bake in Crisfield, Maryland, a Fourth of July parade in Windsor Heights, Iowa, and a minor league baseball game in Jacksonville, Florida have in common? They all represent public social events in specific geographic locations. Candidates running for state or local office often travel extensively, attending an array of events to…
High turnout matters. It is one of the three key indicators of good democratic performance of a country as famously identified by Powell,[1] and its absence is often seen as an indicator of generalized political malaise and entrenched cynicism.[2] If the decision to mobilize is, ultimately, an individual one, few would argue that the nature…
Voting can be a complicated process, especially during an unprecedented global pandemic, which has already disrupted, and will continue to disrupt, our electoral processes. This guide to the Indiana primary elections will answer questions ranging from election rules, candidates to consider, changes in the voting process due to COVID-19, and ways to maintain student engagement in…
Connecticut’s 2020 primary election is a great example of electoral politics to include in a variety of classroom lessons. For public policy courses, it showcases how focusing events, defined as “an event that is sudden; relatively uncommon; can be reasonably defined as harmful or…potentially harmful…and that is known to policy makers and the public simultaneously,” influence policy. The primary is set for August. Connecticut could cancel…
Over the past 20 years, I’ve taught thousands of students a particular narrative about how the US government formed—American colonists established mechanisms in the Constitution to help them solve significant collective action problems. It’s worth remembering that American government under the Constitution represents the founders’ second attempt at forming a union. The first attempt—the Articles of Confederation–failed because its institutions did not sufficiently…
Charmaine N. Willis and Reyhan Topal offer graduate teaching assistants strategies to manage their dual role as educator and student.
The surprising outcome of the 2016 presidential election led many people to question the credibility of public opinion polling. That’s a fair question, considering so many polls suggested Hillary Clinton would win the election. Twelve of the thirteen final national polls predicted a Clinton victory. Indeed, some forecasters pegged her chances of winning at ninety percent, or even ninety-nine percent. So what went wrong with those…
As students and faculty have moved to virtual classes, questions arise as to how to continue to encourage student civic education and engagement when students are unable to participate in person either on campus or in their broader communities. To address these challenges, APSA’s RAISE the Vote campaign has compiled a list of resources and recommendations from…
Senator Bernie Sanders withdrew his candidacy for the Democratic Presidential nomination this week, making former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive party nominee to face President Trump this fall. Are the primaries over, then? Not even close. Here in Kansas, things are just starting to heat up. First, what could have been: Kansas Democrats are…
PhD Candidate Rachel Torres explains how to turn your course into a podcast. More here.