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HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND ALLIED HUMAN SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM AND TEACHING
Reflective Activist Scholar Practitioners
Analyzing and Teaching the 2008 Elections
C&T 284J, ELED 284J, SED 284J
Course Hrs:
Room:
Professor:
Office Hrs:
Office:
Email:
Wednesday, 6:30-8:20 pm
Hagedorn 040
Andrea Libresco
Tuesday, 10:00 -11:00 am, 6:30 -7:30 pm
Thursday, 10:00 -11:00 am, and by appointment
Hagedorn 218 463-6543
catasl@hofstra.edu
Fax: 463-6196
Bulletin: This course examines issues associated with selecting a president in 2008, as well as how to
teach about those issues at both the elementary and secondary levels. Participants will investigate and
assess the content and pedagogy of the nominating process; the candidates’ stands on the issues of our time;
the roles that media, money, parties, debates, advertisements, and the Internet play; the influence of race,
class and gender on both voters and candidates; and the domestic and foreign policy challenges that the
new president and Congress will face. Attention will be given to the ways in which citizens participate in
the political process and to their quest for the kinds of reliable knowledge that are necessary to make
informed judgments.
Course Goals and Objectives:
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
“We don’t need more voters. We need more informed voters.”
-- Dan Rather
In the 1956 presidential election, Adlai Stevenson, former Governor of Illinois was running
against President Dwight Eisenhower, who had defeated him soundly in 1952. At one gathering
during the ’56 campaign, a woman rushed up to Stevenson and said: “Governor, This time you
will surely get the vote of thinking Americans.” Stevenson responded: “That’s not good enough,
Madam, I’ll need a majority to win!”
“Elections are supposed to be the feast of democracy, but too often, they turn out to be its junk
food.”
A recent New Yorker cartoon showing a couple watching TV has a caption in which the wife
says: “There are so many negative campaigns on television, it is hard to decide who to vote
against.” It is not surprising that Curtis Gans, chairman of the Committee for the Study of the
American Electorate, who has been analyzing campaigns for decades, offers a political version of
R.D. Laing’s famous dictum that “Insanity is a sane response to an insane world,” when he
concludes: “Blame not the voter for refusing to participate in elections that are usually
meaningless.”
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This course should help us answer the questions raised by the quotes above:
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Was Stevenson correct in his judgment; is it the case that most Americans are not
“thinking citizens?”
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Are elections so problematic that those who don’t vote are making thoughtful
decisions?
And the course should also help us answer most essential question in the course:
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How can we provide opportunities for students to become informed, active citizens,
who make decisions based upon reliable data, in an election year and beyond?
Of course, there are many other questions we and our students can research and discuss:
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How can we find accurate information about the candidates?
Is the media coverage more about substance or horse race?
Are some media outlets more accurate than others? How can you tell?
Who votes and who doesn’t, and what are the implications?
Does everyone’s vote count equally?
What affects people’s political views?
What role does money play in elections and governing?
Is there a gender/age/race/region (etc.) gap in voting patterns?
What issues are/should be most important in 2008? (Are we more secure than we
were four years ago? Are we better off economically than we were four years ago?)
How similar/different are the parties’ platforms?
Should we watch political ads?
What role do/should third parties play?
How important are the non-presidential races?
How do we get candidates to follow through on their campaign promises?
How accurate are political movies?
We will address these questions through readings, discussions (in class and on Blackboard),
writing, analysis of lessons on the election, examination of a variety of election coverage, and
attendance at special Educate ’08 events at Hofstra. And what a great year to be in education and
to be in education at Hofstra, with all of the Educate ’08 events from which to choose!
Our classes are organized as participatory workshops, thus attendance and participation will be
factors in your final grade. After all, democracy is not just the study of content; it is also, as
Dewey noted, a process of living and being related to one another. If we are going to teach
students how to become active and thoughtful participants in a democratic society, we are going
to have to become active and thoughtful participants ourselves.
If you have any documented disability-related concerns that may have an impact upon your
performance in this course, please meet with me within the first two weeks of the current semester, so
that we can work out the appropriate accommodations. Accommodations are provided on an
individualized, as-needed basis after the needs, circumstances and documentation have been
evaluated by Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). SSD is located in 212 Memorial Hall and
can be reached at 463-7075 or ssd@hofstra.edu All disability-related information will be kept
confidential.
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Required Texts:
These books will be read by everyone:
Andrew Bacevich The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. Metropolitan
Books, 2008.
Fred Greenstein The Presidential Difference – Leadership Style from FDR to George W. Bush.
Princeton University Press, 2004.
Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of
Disinformation. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007.
Susan Jacoby. The Age of American Unreason. Pantheon, 2008.
George Lakoff. Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, 2006.
National Issues Forum The Energy Problem: Choices for an Uncertain Future, 2006.
For the two books below, select only one to read.
John McCain Faith of my Fathers: A Family Memoir. Harper, 2008.
OR
Barak Obama Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. Three Rivers Press,
2004.
One recommended (not required) book:
Cass Sunstein. Republic.com 2.0. Princeton University Press , 2007.
Assessment of Student Performance: You are expected to attend all classes, complete all
assignments and participate in class activities and discussions. All written material and class
presentations will be evaluated on the degree of reflective and critical comprehension of the ideas
presented in the readings, the class activities, and the field observations. All work should be
your own. Any idea taken from the “web” or from published curriculum guides should be
prominently noted and citations clearly provided.
All students are expected to abide by the University's Policy on Academic Honesty, which can
be found in the Hofstra University Bulletins. Procedures for Handling Violations of
Academic Honesty by students at Hofstra University are detailed in Faculty Policy Series
#l1G.at: http://www.hofstra.edu/Faculty/senate/senate_fps.html
1) Active and Engaged Class Participation (30% of your grade).
As you will, no doubt discover with your own students, showing up on time is a necessary first
step, but it is only that, a first step. You need to have thought and made notes about your reading
prior to coming to class so that you can be an active and thoughtful participant in all class
discussions, including those discussions that take place out of class on Blackboard, and especially
when you are a discussion leader
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Blackboard Discussions:
#1: Ignorance of the public and its implications, based on Jacoby. During the week of 10/1.
#2: The Debates – substance, style, value, importance. During the week of 10/15.
#3: After attending some event, on campus or off, that relates to the content of a current
events election issue, discuss the content raised in the talk and how it affected your thinking,
including what questions it raised for you. AND respond to several classmates’
commentaries as well. EXTRA: Paste in an excerpt of some current events issue you read
about that you really agreed with/disagreed with and comment on it. Sometime before 11/26.
Leading Book Discussions [done with one other person]
There are six opportunities to lead a book discussion. Two of you will be leaders of each one,
highlighting interesting points and posing questions that will engage your classmates.
2) Reflective writing (20% of your grade).
You will complete three writing assignments (2-4 pp double-spaced) to help you reflect on the
information in readings, presentations, and class discussions.
#1: Issues Discussion: Discuss the issues raised by either Body of War OR our speaker and
readings on economic issues and/or the linkage between the two. Due 9/17
#2: Influences on voting behavior: What information is appropriate/most important on
which to base one’s voting decision? What influenced your decision? Due 10/29
#3: The Importance of Gender: Choose one of the books below to read. Discuss and
assess its arguments regarding gender as a factor in politics. Due 12/3
Carolyn Maloney. Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: Why Women's
Lives Aren't Getting Any Easier--And How We Can Make Real Progress For Ourselves
and Our Daughters.
Susan Morrison. 30 Ways of Looking at Hillary.
Dee Dee Myers. Why women should rule the world.
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. The F-Word: Feminism In Jeopardy - Women, Politics and the
Future.
3) Evaluating Election Projects (25% of your grade)
If you are currently a classroom teacher, collect all of the assignments you gave in the lead-up to
the election, analyze their effectiveness and discuss what you would change in the future. If you
are not yet a classroom teacher, create several assignments for teaching about the presidential
election. If you are a school administrator, observe and describe several lessons on the election
and assess their effectiveness and/or describe any special programs you organized in your school
and discuss their effectiveness. Due 11/5
4) Media Analysis (15% of your grade) [done with one other person]
Compare coverage of the campaign – headlines, amount of space given, level of factual
information, nature of editorials, sources cited – in the same time frame. For newspapers, TV, or
the internet, you should do a comparison the same day. For magazines, the same week. Be sure
to examine at least 4 sources in the same medium. Present your findings to the class [10 minutes]
(and be sure to reference your reading on the media in your presentation). Due 11/19
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5) Politics goes to the movies (10% of your grade) [done with one other person]
Select a movie below that you haven’t seen before. Present it to the class, giving a very brief
summary, an analysis of the movie’s view of politics and elections (and whether that analysis still
holds up today), and a brief video excerpt (5-7 min) to illustrate your analysis. Due 12/17
A Face in the Crowd
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
All the King’s Men (original version)
Network
American President
Outfoxed
Bob Roberts
Primary Colors
Bulworth
State of the Union (Hepburn/Tracy)
The Candidate
Wag the Dog
The Contender
The War Room
Election
Assignments are due on the dates assigned. The dates were selected to spread out the work and
coordinate with class activities. If you know in advance that you will have a problem completing
an assignment, please discuss it with me in advance. Assignments are listed below:
Course Outline:
9/3
An Introduction to the 2008 Election – Issues and Pedagogy
Due: Find out how you match up with candidates on the issues. Go to:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/default.htm and scroll down until you find
“candidate match game” – Were you right about yourself and the candidates?
9/10
Issues: Economics and Foreign Policy (guest speaker)
Extended class to go see Body of War in Monroe 7:30 – 9:15 pm
(replaces the 10/15 class we miss for the presidential debate at Hofstra)
Due: Economics articles
Blackboard Discussion #3 on a current election you attended and your commentary about
others’ events – due before Thanksgiving.
9/17
Deliberative Democracy – Case Study: Energy Policy
Due: National Issues Forum
Reflective Writing #1
9/24
Educate ’08 - Day of Dialogue – How Debates Shape Electoral Politics
Diane Carlin of Debatewatch
10/1
NO CLASS – Rosh Hashanah
READ, READ, READ
Due: Jacoby
Blackboard Discussion #1 on ignorance of the public and its implications, based on
Jacoby
(replaces the 10/26 class on Thanksgiving eve)
10/8
NO CLASS – Yom Kippur
READ, READ, READ
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10/15 NO CLASS – 3rd Presidential Debate
READ, READ, READ
Due: Blackboard discussion #2 about the Debates – substance, style, value, importance
(replaces the 10/26 class on Thanksgiving eve)
10/22 Analyzing the Media (guest speaker)
Due: Jackson & Jamieson (discussion leaders)
View ads online (or on the news) so that we can discuss and analyze in class.
10/29 Choosing a Candidate – your decision-making process and the country’s
Due: McCain OR Obama autobiography (discussion leaders)
Reflective Writing #2
11/5
The Day After – What will/should happen with foreign policy?
Due: Bacevich (discussion leaders) [scheduled to speak at Hofstra before the election]
Evaluating Election Projects
11/12 Post-election analysis – What the data tells us about the voters and about how well
the candidates framed the issues (guest speaker)
Due: Lakoff (discussion leaders)
Bring in whatever data you used or plan to use with your students
11/19 The Media and the 2008 Election (guest speaker)
Due: Monitoring the media
11/26 NO CLASS – Thanksgiving
12/3
Gender as a factor in Politics
Due: Reflective Writing #3 (discussion leaders)
12/10 Judging the Presidents
Due: Greenstein (discussion leaders)
12/17 Politics Goes to the Movies
Due: Politics Goes to the movies