The Politics of Youth

Catalog description

This seminar examines contemporary youth political participation in the United States. We will consider the historical, social, and economic forces that influence the politics of young people and how these forces compare with the formative experiences of earlier political generations. We will also explore the public policies, the political attitudes, and the ideological worldviews that shape youth political behavior today and study the role of institutions and organizations (e.g. political parties, social movements, organized religion, schools) in helping to form political identity and mobilize political action. Finally, this class looks at how contributions of youth politics - the embrace of novel forms of political expression, the employment of new venues for politics, and the centering of previously marginalized voices – are impacting the present and future of American politics.