Teaching
Teaching
LaFleur has taught and is prepared to teach courses in: Research Design, Race and Ethnic Politics, Public Opinion and American Politics.
Dr. LaFleur Stephens-Dougan (co-taught with Chris Achen/Tali Mendelberg)
This seminar is part of the core curriculum in American politics and provides an introduction to American political behavior. We cover a sample of major theories and methods in the study of citizens’ views and actions regarding politics.
The main motivation for the course is to understand the American democratic system as an example of an established democracy. A democracy rests on the consent of the governed, that is, on public opinion. We investigate the contents of that opinion, the psychological sources of that opinion in social identities, partisan affiliation, concrete interests, values, issues, and ideology, and the external forces shaping opinion, including political campaigns, mass media, and political elites. We also ask who acts on their opinions and why some do so more than others, and what campaigns or the media do to spark or depress political action. Finally, we consider what the collective voice of the people communicates to decision-makers, and whether some citizens have
more say than others. More generally, we ask whether the American public is capable of governing, what conditions enhance the public’s capacity to govern, what opinions it wishes to assert, and what generates those opinions.
Along the way we consider such questions as: is the public rational? What sort of rationality is that? Is public opinion informed and reasoned enough, and is the public sensible enough, and if so, enough for what? Do Americans choose their leaders and policies based on social identities, interests, values, issues, or ideology, and how can we tell these apart from each other? Do political elites and the mass media manipulate or unduly influence the public, or do they instead inform, enlighten, empower, and prompt ordinary people to become politically engaged? Is the public sufficiently independent of elites to hold them accountable? Does the public make the right choices for its needs and values? Are all voices equal, or are some “more equal” than others, as George Orwell might say?
Taught by: Dr. LaFleur Stephens-Dougan
In this course, students will engage with these broad questions of democratic health in the United States, a topic that has inspired much public debate as well as an extensive scholarly bibliography in the last decade. Simultaneously, students will gain direct training in how to collect original data with opportunities to visit with policy experts involved the collection and preservation of racial equity data. The data elements of the course focus on factors that can serve as objective indicators of access to the rights and privileges of democratic citizenship in the United States, across time and geographic space, specifically with a focus on racial climate. In short, students will develop their research skills while helping to build a public good—the first democracy index of the United States that accounts for subnational differences in the quality of democracy due to racial climate and institutional context.
Taught by: Dr. LaFleur Stephens-Dougan
African Americans in the United States have encountered myriad barriers to in their quest for inclusion. Drawing on a mix of history and social science, we will come to understand why certain segments of America oppose the full inclusion of African Americans. We will also discuss the political strategies undertaken by the Black community to combat social, political, and economic injustices. The first half of the course will focus on historical antecedents such as the civil rights movement and the Black Power movement. The second half of the course will focus on the nature of contemporary racial attitudes in the 21st century, with an emphasis on presidential elections 2008-present.
Taught by: Dr. LaFleur Stephens-Dougan
Broadly speaking, we will address how to refine research questions, develop testable hypotheses, and analyze data, related to the study of identity politics and democracy. Research Prospectuses written in this practicum will leverage existing datasets to assess how different institutional arrangements across time and space influence the functioning of democracy for various marginalized groups. Students in this practicum will utilize various existing datasets, including, but not limited to:
Correlates of State Policy
American Local Government Elections Dataset
U.S. Census Data
Alternatively, if students do not want to rely on one of the aforementioned datasets, they can propose the use of another existing dataset, or conceptualize the creation of their own dataset and data collection plan. Research Prospectuses written in this practicum might address questions such as: How does the local context influence intergroup relations? Does ranked-choice voting reduce racial polarization? Under what conditions are marginalized groups most likely to be represented descriptively?
Taught by: Dr. LaFleur Stephens-Dougan
African Americans in the United States have encountered myriad barriers to in their quest for inclusion. Drawing on a mix of history and social science, we will come to understand why certain segments of America oppose the full inclusion of African Americans. We will also discuss the political strategies undertaken by the black community to combat social, political, and economic injustices. The first half of the course will focus on historical antecedents such as the civil rights movement and the Black Power movement. The second half of the course will focus on the nature of contemporary racial attitudes in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections.
Taught by: Dr. LaFleur Stephens-Dougan
One week after the 2016 presidential election, political theorist, Mark Lilla wrote an essay that was a direct rebuke of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. According to Lilla, “Clinton was at her best when she spoke about American interests in world affairs and how they relate to our understanding of democracy.” Lilla went to say, “Clinton would too often, slip into the rhetoric
of diversity, calling out explicitly to African American, Latino, L.G.B.T. and women voters.” Critics responded to Lilla’s essay by arguing that “people have identities and are
mobilized by those identities.” According to Lilla’s critics, even white Americans, who are traditionally thought of as “not having an identity” can be mobilized on the basis of their
identity.
The aforementioned debate begs the question, “what is identity?” How are identities made? How do different identities relate to one another? This workshop investigates these questions through a discussion of ethnicity, class, race, gender, sexuality, and religion. Most of the readings will focus on identity in the context of the United States. However, students with interests in identity politics outside the United States are welcome to join the workshop. Broadly speaking, we will address how to refine research questions, develop testable hypotheses, and analyze data, related to the study of identity politics. Research Prospectuses written in this workshop might address questions such as: Are candidates more likely to use negative advertisements when their opponent is of a different race or ethnicity? Do racial attitudes influence preferences on policies unrelated to race? Did racial attitudes influence support for President Trump? Does the relevance of an identity change across other categories of difference? Are group-based political movements always subject to marginalization (e.g., can we have a feminist movement that includes the needs and issues of women of color and/or low-income women? Can we have an LGBTQ movement that addresses the concerns of trans individuals?)