Reading Quizzes
In terms of pages, the reading load in this course is low. This is because the readings are relatively sophisticated and occasionally dense. Unlike many courses, in this course it is imperative that students come to each class meeting having carefully read all the assigned text. To incentivize students to do so, a short closed-book reading quiz will be administered at the beginning of each class. The quizzes are designed to be very easy for those who have done the reading but difficult for those who have not.
Research Paper
By the end of the semester, students will produce a research paper (15–20 pages) that analyzes a specific 2012 election in light of what they will have learned in the course. The paper will be constructed in stages, due on the following dates:
- Session 3: Choose either a congressional (U.S. House or Senate) race or the presidential race in a specific state on which to focus your research. For your own sake, you should choose a race that is "interesting" in some way, either because it is expected to be close or because it has some other unusual attribute (e.g., an independent candidate is running or a relative of yours is involved).
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Session 7: Submit a 5-page draft summarizing the demographic and political background of your chosen state / district and describing the candidates and the "state of the race" as election day approaches. This summary will eventually comprise part of your final research paper. Several kinds of information would be valuable, including:
- Demographics: the social and economic characteristics of the population of the state/district, with a particular emphasis on politically relevant groups and cleavages.
- Economics: the current economic conditions in the state / district.
- Political History: previous election results, partisan balance, identity of the incumbent, and other information on political background of the state.
- Candidates: Who are the 2+ major candidates? What was their road to the nomination like? What are their personal characteristics and political experience? How have they performed on the campaign trail?
- Expectations: Is this (or should it be) a safe Republican / Democratic seat? Has the campaign played out according to expectations? Who do educated observers expect to win on Election Day? What is your prediction?
- Sessions 9–11: Over these three class sessions, students will present to the class a brief overview of their race. Each student will have three minutes to present the essential information about their race. Students must use their own judgment to decide on the most relevant information about the race and its outcome. One guideline could be to spend the first minute describing the demographic and political background of the state / district, the second minutes describing the campaign and the expect result, and the third minute on the outcome of the race and how best to explain it.
- Session 13: Final version of the research paper is due. In addition to describing the state / district and the electoral results, the paper should analyze how the race contributes to, challenges, and / or illustrates one of the weekly themes of the course.