American Public Opinion & Pressure Groups

Catalog description

This class will examine the origins of public opinion research, as well as the impact it has on news coverage, political campaigns, public discourse, elected officials, and in many cases, public policy outcomes. You will learn how to read, analyze, and critically-evaluate public opinion research; you will learn about “leading” and “trailing” research indicators; and you will understand why “character” attributes often matter more than “performance” attributes and issue positions. You will see how political campaigns, lobbyists, public relations professionals and others leverage public opinion to impact perceptions, as well as political, policy and business outcomes. Because this course is being taught in the nation’s capital, where politics and policy converge, we will be able to hear from political professionals from both political parties, congressional staffers, journalists, and others who will share their insights about how they apply public opinion research to conduct campaigns, shape policy, report the news, or address business challenges.