ST: Campaigns & Elections

Catalog description

Special Topic: Campaign and Elections. Offered in the context of the 2026 Midterms, this course will investigate campaigns and elections in the US. It poses fundamental questions about the role of elections in a democracy and the ways in which campaigns matter. Or don't. It explores the institutional and legal framework for elections, with special attention to biases that might limit the voice of marginalized and underrepresented groups. It examines the vote at the individual level and election outcomes in the aggregate. Considering academic scholarship, a variety of data, as well the voices of practitioners, the course seeks to understand patterns associated campaigns and elections over time and to come to terms with the politics of 2026. Special attention will be devoted to voter suppression, campaign finance, and presidential nomination politics, topics manifesting themselves immediately in fall 2026 or looming in the not-so-distant future. Prerequisite: POL-101.