Course Description
A survey on voting and elections drawing on social science and historical perspectives. It is part of a certificate program on Applied History designed to introduce students to the topic of voting and elections how they have been shaped by recurring historical circumstances over the course of American history.
Athena Title
Voting and Elections in Time
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in POLS 4520, POLS 6520, POLS 4520H
Prerequisite
POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will understand voting behavior and election outcomes over time.
- Students will have an understanding of the evidentiary standards required to evaluate the predictions made by the major theoretical approaches for understanding voting behavior and election outcomes over time.
- Students will be able to test a hypothesis in a research project that is supported by evidence and show that alternative hypotheses are not correct
- Students will be able to critically evaluate the evidence others have offered to explain voting behavior and election outcomes over time.
- Students will be able to interpret, evaluate, and critique arguments presented in scholarly articles and books.
- Students will be able to think critically about arguments and evidence that is presented in both written and graphical form.
- Students will be able to explain concepts and data related to voting and elections to the instructor and class members when called upon to do so.
- Students will be able to conduct original research on elections and communicate their findings to the instructor and class members.
- Students will be able to offer oral and written critiques of scholarly research on historical analyses of elections.
- Students will be able to offer a critical assessment of a scholarly article or book at the end of the class that illustrates the knowledge they have gained during the semester.
Topical Outline
- Electoral Outcome Fundamentals
- Theories of Voting Behavior
- Partisanship and Partisan Change
- The Economy
- Issue Cleavages
- Electoral Agendas
- Incumbency and Candidate Images
- Wars
- Campaigns
- The Media
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
