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!