Analysis of the 2000 election and elections past will be a central feature of the course. Taken together, these themes will allow us to consider a broader set of concerns about the linkage between American citizens and the democratic process. In addition, you will become critical consumers and competent users of opinion data through the analysis of surveys and by learning about the polling process. I strongly encourage you to follow current events and to read the newspaper several times per week. I will be relying on current political issues and events for illustration, and I welcome your examples and observations in this regard.
Class meets three times per week, often in a lecture format.
Where noted in the syllabus, class will be conducted in a discussion-based format. There will also be meetings in the data lab for some hands-on experience analyzing public opinion data. No previous experience with data analysis is necessary. Herbert Asher, Polling and the Public 2. John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, Congress as Public Enemy 5.