Final Exam Review Blog (Due before midnight on 3/18 - the night before the exam)

Ahhh... the last blog of the semester. This is simply an opportunity for you to ask and answer each other's questions and discuss anything that you think will be helpful in preparation for the final. I would suggest looking at your class notes, handouts from class, and your reading assignments along with your review sheet. This is primarily an open forum for you so check back often during the week and comment/question/ponder/review as much as you would like. Think of it as an online study group. You can get credit up until midnight, the night before the exam.

One request: please take just a couple of minutes to complete your course evaluation if you have not done so already. I would really appreciate it. Just follow this link to go to Campus Connect.


Good luck with all of your studying!

Also you can find a digital version of the prezis here and final review sheet here: http://americanpoliticalculture.wordpress.com/course-documents/

For Class on 3/14 (Due 3/13 by 8pm): Looking Forward

We have addressed American political culture from many perspectives this quarter. We have discussed the evolution of American political culture and several of the important elements that continue to shape it including, immigration, race, ethnicity, religion, education, elections and representation, etc. Although we often find it challenging to view things outside of the modern day perspective, much has changed over time. Consider the following:

2 months ago: you started this class
4 months ago: 2018 midterms elect the most diverse Congress ever
1.5 years ago: #MeToo movement begins
2 years ago: Trump signs first of three immigration and refugee bills aimed to curb immigration and refugees from several majority-Muslim nations (all have been stalled in court)
2 year, 4 months ago: Trump elected president
3 year ago: marked increase in hate crimes in U.S., largely targeting immigrants, Muslims, Jews, and LGBTQ community
5 years ago: Unemployment 6.3% overall, 12.1% for African Americans, 9.1% for Hispanics, 4.8% for Asian Americans, DOW 16,700 (Today: Unemployment 3.6%, 6.1% for African Americans, 4.3% for Hispanics, 3% for Asian Americans, DOW at 25,333)
6 years ago: Black Lives Matter movement begins
7 years ago: Protestants no longer make up majority of American population
11 years ago: the first nonwhite president was elected
12 years ago: Unemployment 4.5%, DOW at 14,000
13 years ago: very few of us had ever heard of Barack Obama
14 years ago: The supreme court ruled that colleges still had legitimate reasons to use race and ethnicity as factors in college admissions
18 years ago: 9/11
28 years ago: the Rodney King Case and racially charged rioting
41 years ago: Regents of University of CA vs. Bakke
46 years ago: Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion nationwide
51 years ago: modern civil rights movement ends (according to most historians), Martin Luther King killed, major riots, peak of troops in Vietnam
52 years ago: third year in a row of major racially charged riots throughout American cities
54 years ago: Voting Rights Act of 1965, new immigration laws dramatically increase immigration (especially from Asia and Latin America), Black Power movement, Malcolm X killed
55 years ago: Civil Rights Act of 1964
56 years ago: March on Washington, Birmingham protests
64 years ago: Montgomery Bus Boycott
65 years ago: Brown vs. Board of Education
74 years ago: end of WWII
75 years ago: Interment of 110,000 Japanese Americans
99 years ago: Women gain the right to vote
112 years ago: peak of Immigration in early 20th century
123 years ago: Plessy vs. Ferguson - separate but equal is constitutional
125 years ago: widespread lynching and intimidation
137 years ago: Chinese Exclusion Act
142 years ago: end of reconstruction, early Jim Crow Era (which lasts nearly 100 years)
149 years ago: 15th amendment - black men given right to vote
151 years ago: 14th amendment
154 years ago: 13th amendment - end of slavery
154 years ago: end of Civil War, Start of reconstruction, black codes
158 years ago: start of Civil War
210 years ago: end of slave trade
232 years ago: Constitution written including 3/5 compromise and slavery
243 years ago: Declaration of Independence
399 years ago: First Pilgrims arrived searching for freedom to practice their religion
400 years ago: first slaves from Africa brought to colonies
412 years ago: first British Colony established
several thousand years earlier: Native Americans living here.

The point: much has changed, and often in a short period of time. Looking forward what do you predict will be the state of American political culture 2, 5, 10, or even 20 years from now? What can and should be done politically to help? 

One request: Please take just a couple of minutes to complete your course evaluation if you have not already done so. I would really appreciate it. Just follow this link to go to campus connect.

For Class on 3/7 (due 3/6 by 8pm): Religion in America (and especially at DePaul)

This week we explore the role of religion in America and there are many directions we can go. However, it seems only fair that as students at the largest Catholic University in America we spend our blog discussion on the role of religion on campus. We have already discussed the role of various socializing factors in our political values and ideology. Outside of our parents it is hard to argue that anything has much more of an impact on our political outlook that our education and our religion (including those of us who are nonreligious). And for much of us those two elements have been linked through parochial schooling at various levels. Obviously we all have various religious affiliations and range in our religious observance from extremely observant to completely nonreligious.

I would like you to address the role the religion plays in your views about society, and by extension about political issues. Have these beliefs been affected by your schooling, whether parochial or public? Please share any thoughts about the nature of religion and politics at DePaul. We are clearly a Catholic institution that leans fairly heavily toward more liberal social politics (generally speaking). What have you discovered about the religious life on campus that is is either surprising or particularly notable in terms of our school culture or politics? This should be a general discussion and you can feel free to expand or elaborate on any aspect of the prompts above or any comments of your classmates.

For Class on 2/28 (Due 2/27 by 8pm): Socializing Class

There are many aspects to our identities, individually, as communities, and as a nation. Some are much more visible than others. We have discussed race and ethnicity which has been used to identify, separate and discriminate in various ways through American history. Often people are identified in ways other than how they would identify themselves and other times people from marginalized communities have attempted to “pass” as those in a favored group. Among many aspects of our identities, class is central, but is less obvious to many. However our class inequalities as a society are just as stark. First remind yourself what income levels fall under the institutionally constructed definition of “poverty” here. Next explore some statistics from the U.S. Census breaking down the numbers and percentages of those in poverty by age, race, and Hispanic origin here: Table 3. Poverty Status of People, by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin. Pay careful attention to the percentage of those under 18 are growing up in poverty and how those numbers vary by race.

There are shocking correlations between race, ethnicity, and class, however, extreme poverty along with those living above the poverty line but still struggling mightily to provide for their families affects people living all around the country, regardless of race, national origin, or ethnicity. And it impacts our politics, policies, and political views in many ways. Some have read Hillbilly Elegy for other classes which talk about this phenomenon at length.

I am interested to hear your thoughts about class inequality, and whether or not the government should play a different, greater, or smaller role in trying to alleviate it. But more important, I am wondering how you have been socialized to think about class:

• Is it something that has been made visible to you through social groups, your communities, schools, organizations, friends, family, representations on media? 
• Have you been socialized to understand the full range of class in America? Or has class remained a largely invisible issue for you. 
• How should we think about it in terms of American identity and our relationship with our local, state, or national government?

For Class on 2/21 (Due 2/20 by 8pm): Check your privilege

Over the past week we have been reading and discussing several ideas connected to privilege. Most notably we read Peggy McIntosh's "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," which described white privilege and gave a number of examples that we discussed in class last week. The concept of privilege clearly can be applied to many areas beyond race, including gender, geography, and class. Recently the topic of privilege has made the news based, in part, on the increasingly common use of the phrase: "Check your privilege." The use of this phrase and various reactions to it have spun into many different dialogues weaving their way through the blogosphere, social media, and cable television (including this recent argument rejecting the concept by Ben Shapiro). 

For this week's blog I would like you to focus on the debate emanating from Princeton University a couple of years ago centered on this phrase. First read the post that started much of the recent uproar written by a Princeton freshman here. Next read the public response to the first argument written by another Princeton student and printed in TIME Magazine here (you may also want to check out the I Too Am Princeton Tumblr here).

Much of the debate centers on whether there is, in fact, privilege and whether this supports or disproves meritocracy.  I would like to hear your thoughts now after reading these arguments. 

• Does meritocracy exist in America? 
• Is it affected by race or class or any other factors? 
• What do you think about the use of the phrase "check your privilege," and other attempts by some to make privilege more visible?

For Class on 2/14 (Due 2/13 by 8PM): Growing American Diversity

What happens in the past shapes, in part, our perspectives and choices in the present. Over the course of the past two centuries the United states has become the most diverse nation on earth and Chicago, one of its most diverse (and segregated) cities (see the diversity index video and map data). These trends are continuing as immigration and demographic data show that the white population in America is not growing at near the rate of other racial groups. After looking at the data from our readings over the past two weeks, what do you think this growing diversity (and segregation) means for the U.S.? What does it mean for particular areas like Chicago? How do we, as a nation, think about and treat different types of diversity differently? What are the strengths and/or weaknesses and what does it mean in terms of American political identity?

Please try to create as much of an online dialogue as possible by commenting on classmates ideas and/or replying to them. Thanks.

For Class on 2/7 (Due 2/6 at 8pm): Media Matters

Due to our missed class last week due to some historic cold we are extending our discussion of media through this week. As a result, I'd love to build on your discussion of last weeks blog here. You described the issues that you think are most important last week and how well (or poorly) they are being covered. Now I would like to hear about how media affects your views and American culture broadly, and our political culture in particular. This is particularly useful on one of the biggest media weeks on the calendar. We have the most watched television event each year (the Super Bowl) and the most watched political event, the Super Bowl of Politics, the State of the Union on Tuesday night (I know you are excited). So thinking broadly about media, and its effect on our individual, collective, or national views...

1. What sources of media (movies, news, TV, music, friends on social media, other...) are most influential in your views about politics and policies? What are most influential nationally?
2. How would you compare the impact of media on the American public in comparison to other forces we have discussed like education, our families, religion, government, etc.?
3. What could be done to help American media be more helpful to political culture in the U.S?

For Class on 1/31 (Due 1/30 at 8pm): The Media and Important Political Issues

The President and Congress have many issues that they are dealing with (like trying to re-open the federal government!!) along with the never-ending look toward the next elections. Local and State officials have their hands full with countless issues as well.  The media also has their own agenda regarding what to cover and what not to cover. I am interested to find out what you think is important to address and, by extension, how you think the media is doing in terms of their coverage of these issues.

Start by taking a survey similar to those conducted by polling companies and news organizations regarding what issues are most important to you. you can find the survey here.

Next take a look at how your responses and the responses of your classmates compare to national polls here (If you'd like, you you can test your knowledge of recent news based on news quizzes from The New York Times.

Now peruse some of the leading local and national news agencies to browse what they are or are not covering. 
Local: The Chicago Tribune, ABC Chicago, WGN, NBC Chicago 

National: The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBCNews, ABCNews, CBS News, Politico

Finally please post a comment describing your reactions and reactions to your classmates comments. You can use any or all of the following prompts as a starting point if you wish.

1. How does the American media shape the political culture of American citizens today?
2. Are the issues that seem to be the most important to you (or to the rest of America) being covered by the media?
3. What conclusions can we draw from the way that the issues that dominate the polls and media coverage are similar or different?

For Class on 1/24 (Due 1.23 by 8pm): Educating America

Outside of our families there is arguably no greater source of our political socialization than schools. And the reality of schools in America is mixed. Many have focused on the falling ranking of American K-12 education with respect to the rest of the world. We will discuss some of this in class. For now, however, I would like you to focus on higher education. There is no doubt that we have a huge number of high paying jobs in America that do not have enough sufficiently trained applicants to fill available jobs. You should explore recent debates about controversies on college campuses including whether they are too politically correct or not and how views about the benefits of going to college have changed a lot and some reasons why. You can start the discussion by answering any of the prompts below:

• What are the most important challenges pertaining to higher education in America today?
• How do you think the experience of higher education affects our perceptions of politics or political culture?
• How has being in college affected your view of American society or American politics?
• Do you think colleges are too politically correct?

Be sure to comment on your classmates posts and start an online discussion, instead of simply answering the question prompts.

For Class on 1/17 (Due 1/16 at 8pm): Internalizing social and historical constuctions

This week in class we will finish our discussion of what it means to be American and start to explore how identities have been socially constructed. There is a very human and very social process that is involved in the creation of categories of difference and the values that we place on those categories. We are all influenced by our surroundings and are socialized in many different ways. This week we are going to examine the effect of social construction through a unique lens: The Implicit Association Test (IAT). I would like you to take at least one IAT which will serve as a tool as to how we have or have not internalized socially constructed values about race, ethnicity, religion, etc. Ultimately we will connect this to our ongoing discussion of the American identity and what it might mean in an increasingly diverse nation.

The IAT tests have been designed by Project Implicit which, according to the project website, "represents a collaborative research effort between researchers at Harvard University, the University of Virginia, and University of Washington. While the particular purposes of each study vary considerably, most studies available at Project Implicit examine thoughts and feelings that exist either outside of conscious awareness or outside of conscious control. The primary goals of Project Implicit are to provide a safe, secure, and well-designed virtual environment to investigate psychological issues and, at the same time, provide visitors and participants with an experience that is both educational and engaging."

You can find the tests by clicking on "I Wish to Proceed" at the bottom of this screen after reading the disclaimer. On the next screen I would like you to select the Skin Tone IAT which should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Afterward, if you would like, feel free to take other IAT tests including a Race (Black-white) IAT, Native (Native-White American) IAT, Asian (Asian-European American IAT), and Arab-Muslim (Arab Muslim - Other) IAT.

I would like you to comment on your experience taking the test and your results. I want to be clear: this is NOT a test suggesting that you are or are not racist. It is designed to indicate internalized preferences regarding issues that are both sensitive and influenced greatly by social, cultural, historical, and institutional influences. Please attempt to draw conclusions about the construction of an "American Identity" from your experience taking these tests. Also please work to build a conversation with your classmates online about your experiences, commenting on and replying to their posts as much as possible. I look forward to a thoughtful discussion about your experiences on Thursday.

For Class on 1/10 (Due 1/9 by 8pm): My Political Culture Story

Over the first two weeks of the course we will start to look at how political culture is socially and historically constructed. In order to gain the most value from this course we also must examine ourselves in terms of how we conceptualize major cultural concepts and how these ideas and values have been constructed in each of our individual lives. That is your challenging task this first week. Please think critically about your personal ideas regarding big questions like what it means to be "American" and what an American political identity might be (or think generally about your political views and priorities). Most important, reflect on why you have these beliefs. Those ideas have been constructed throughout your life. Think critically about how you have personally constructed your political culture lens by answering some or all of the following questions:

1. How do you identify yourself politically (or what group(s) do you personally identify with)?
2. How has this affected your conception of the role of government or your relationship with the government?
3. Who or what has affected your personal views about politics specifically or social or moral issues in general (people, institutions, media, personal experiences, etc...)?
4. Why do you do feel the way you do about various political groups (both similar and different from you)?
5. How does the time and place in which you live impact your political or cultural views?

Gaining a more critical understanding of what you feel and how you have developed these views will help us as we look at the social and historical construction of American political culture in general.

Remember: Your responses should be approximately one long or two short paragraphs and no more (around 150 words). No research is necessary but think carefully about what you want to write and respond to the ideas presented on the blog, not the people. The goal is to use these prompts to start a dialogue that can evolve through the week. This week's blog is more of a self reflection than those coming up. Ideally you should comment on and relate your comments to others in the class as much as possible. You should post your comment(s) by 8pm on Wednesday. Everyone should read the discussion before class on Thursday.

Welcome!

Welcome to your American political culture poliblog experience! Each week you will be required to read the post for that week (which may include a news article, question, comment, multimedia clip, controversial issue, etc.) and respond with your comments. Each of your comments should be no more than 1/2 page (approx. 1 long paragraph or two short paragraphs) and must be posted by 8:00 Wednesday night. You do not need to do any outside research in order to respond, just reflect on the topic of that week, the other comments posted on the blog and make an argument presenting your views. The goal is to create an online dialogue, so try as much as possible to reply to classmates posts or refer to them in order to build a dialogue that we can then bring into class. You must post at least one comment on 8 different weeks (NOTE: you do not need to write a comment every week). But you MUST read the post and all comments either Wednesday night or Thursday before class each week. Enjoy!