“Uncommon Courses” is an irregular series from The Conversation US that presents unconventional teaching approaches.
Course title:
Campaigns and elections in theory and practice
How did the concept for the course come about?
I noticed that a lot of my students, including those fascinated with political science, had never become involved politically, even beyond voting. I've also noticed that most of the clubs and activities that helped me make friends as a university student appear to have atrophied throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted students to have a likelihood to get to know one another, see how politics works in practice, and get something useful for his or her resume.
What does the course examine?
Every student participates in an election not directly. They might help register people to vote, volunteer for a campaign, non-partisan election staff or function Election observers. You can volunteer for any style of campaign, from presidential to local elections, where students may come into direct contact with the candidates. We will spend the vast majority of class time processing what happens within the campaign: the nice, the bad, the ugly, and the absurd.
Why is that this course relevant now?
Today's students face serious headwinds. They inherit historical political and social divisions which are exacerbated once they are told to not trust anyone. They are also strikingly lonely. I imagine the one way out of cynicism and distrust is to become involved, participate and understand how the system works and the way it doesn't.
What is a crucial lesson from the course?
I need students to learn that they don’t must be what gamers call NPCs – Non-player characters – in politics. They are only as able to participating in democracy and leading their communities because the people who find themselves already in charge.
What materials does the course contain?
The only book for the course is “Campaigns and elections” from Political scientist John Sides of Vanderbilt University and three of his colleagues. This great text is each practical and rooted in political science research on elections. As a gaggle, we also select podcasts to hearken to, news articles to read, and videos to look at.
Since we’re in Texas, students can stay awake up to now with what is going on here by The Texas Tribune and hearken to the Take Texasa political podcast from the Houston Chronicle. You may even get insider knowledge about national politics through media similar to The hill, Politico And Axios.
I also make sure that they learn about AllSides.coma web site that shows how different media outlets cover the identical issue. I've found that AllSides is precisely what distrustful students have been on the lookout for. During an election cycle, it helps them see what narratives campaigns are constructing from the news of the day.
What does the course prepare students for?
I hope that students take away from this course two essential lessons that could appear contradictory. First, it is simple to become involved in and volunteer for election campaigns. Second, it’s difficult to run a campaign or manage an election well.
If you don't understand how things work, every part can seem like a conspiracy. I hope that students will gain confidence within the US electoral system by seeing how the system works. It's not perfect. But there are numerous individuals who mostly mean well and are attempting to make things somewhat more perfect. And students have the chance and the power to do the identical.
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