Campaigns and Elections

Catalog description

Elections decide who governs in the United States, but how do political elites and voters make decisions in these elections? And what are the implications of these decisions for our democracy? To answer these questions, students in this course will engage with political science research on campaigns and elections. Main topics include voter behavior, candidate decision-making, political parties and campaigns, and electoral institutions. Students will develop skills to critically analyze scholarly works through class discussions and writing assignments. Students will be expected to have previous experience with social science research designs, including hypothesis testing using statistics (e.g., regression analysis), such as those acquired in a social science research methods course.