Fall 2012
The early phase of our project on voter ID legislation consisted in researching voting access issues broadly, discussing provocative editorials such as W.E.B. Du Bois's "Why I Won't Vote" and the Yale Professor David W. Blight's "Voter Suppression, Then and Now," and keeping abreast of election news. In particular, we paid attention to the political practice of debating.
Presidential Debate (October 3, 2012)
Debate transcript
The Teagle students were asked to watch the debate with these questions in mind:
The Teagle students were asked to watch the debate with these questions in mind:
- To what extent did Obama play to the Democrats’ ideologically liberal base or to liberal positions on issues?
- And the same for Romney: To what extent did Romney play to the Republicans’ conservative base or to conservative positions on issues?
- By contrast, were there any attempts to appear more “moderate” in order to appeal to undecided or persuadable voters in key states who are likely to be less strongly and emotionally ideological?
Professor Robert Y. Shapiro's Visit (October 4, 2012)
Following a night of an intense and informative debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, the group was visited by Professor Robert Y. Shapiro. Professor Shapiro’s two hour presentation on the debate and issues concerning the 2012 election included a number of thought-provoking points: the ideological trends of the democratic and republican parties, each party’s stance on issues such as gun control, the effects of war on election trends, and most notably the complex idea of political polarization. Professor Shapiro introduced this idea in an accessible way. Using the parties’ well known ideologies, he depicted both sides of the spectrum well. Accompanied by graphs that provided visual representation of the statistics, Professor Shapiro’s lecture was an unforgettable learning experience and a taste of a college classroom. --Oscar
Visit Professor Shapiro's faculty profile
Read Professor Shapiro's chapter, "The Democratic Paradox," in The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media (2011)
Visit Professor Shapiro's faculty profile
Read Professor Shapiro's chapter, "The Democratic Paradox," in The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media (2011)
Spring 2013
Debating
Students learned about debate resolutions and what constitutes evidence in a debate. They also drew inspiration from the film The Great Debaters.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
You may find Evy's reflection on the VRA here.
Students learned about debate resolutions and what constitutes evidence in a debate. They also drew inspiration from the film The Great Debaters.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
You may find Evy's reflection on the VRA here.