L&S Curricular Connections

During the fall 2020 semester we will have the quadrennial opportunity to study American politics during a presidential campaign. Combining real-time analysis of the election, an in-depth study of the relevant historical and sociological trends that are shaping this moment, and a lively roster of guest speakers from across the Berkeley campus and community, this class will provide students with a comprehensive and interdisciplinary introduction to American politics in a time of unprecedented crisis and possibility. Designed with a dual purpose of providing a history of the present moment while serving as an active laboratory for generating new knowledge about how students engage with US electoral politics, this class is both highly innovative and urgently needed.

By design, this class will discuss the day to day flow of the 2020 campaign, taking on everything from polling data and social media coverage to the presidential debates and the final vote tallies. While the presidential election will hold center stage, we will also focus on local and California politics with its many races and ballot measures. Lectures will range across historical, political, economic, media, technological and cultural questions and disciplines.

This class will be part of the Semester-in-the-Cloud initiative, and will be online and synchronous (both lecture and discussions).