Process and Progress through the Liberal Arts - Hartwick College

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Commentary The Practice and Product of Politics: Educating an Engaged Citizenry By Laurel Elder, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Political Science and Department Chair “I don’t like politics,” a student said the first day of our American Government class. The statement did not really surprise me. Americans are frustrated with leaders who seemingly cannot solve our nation’s problems. Alienation from our system is particularly acute among young Americans. Yet, at its core, a successful democracy depends on informed citizens who hold our leaders accountable as well as represent our nation as public servants. 14 | The Wick | Summer 2012 As a professor of political science, I strive to make students want to learn about government and politics, not only with the goal of succeeding academically, but so that they can effectively carry out their responsibilities as citizens and keep our democracy strong. One approach I like involves taking advantage of high-profile political events as they unfold. For example, I offered The 2012 Presidential Nomination Process during J Term 2012 so that it coincided with the most competitive phase of the contest. Along with more traditional academic readings and requirements, the Republican presidential nomination contest became our classroom. Students and I gathered for the debates in the evenings, adding our own comments over pizza and wings. We followed the campaigns through a diverse array of news sources and drew on class concepts to critically assess the most recent developments. Students rarely agreed about the effectiveness of tactics employed by the campaigns or the viability of the candidates, but the discussions were always scintillating. I find that students engage more deeply when course material applies to real political events. In fact, our evening debate viewing parties were not only attended by my class, but by about 80 Hartwick students; it is a simple illustration of the willingness of young people to become informed if provided with concrete opportunities. This fall I am teaching Parties and Elections, another special course I offer only once every four years to coincide with U.S. presidential elections. Once again, students will not only read textbooks about elections, but will be required to get involved by volunteering for the campaign or party of their choice. It is one thing to read about the rise of negative campaigning or the complexities of voter registration laws in a textbook; quite another to observe these practices first hand. Students bring their experiences to bear in classroom discussions and draw on them to deepen and refine their understanding of the strengths and limitations of political science theories. It is my hope and intention that this experience sparks a valuable, life-long product—political engagement. Research shows that participation begets participation. If you have walked into a party headquarters and volunteered or walked into the voting booth and voted, it is much more likely that you will do so again.
At home on the steps of City Hall, Dr. Laurel Elder talks with her research assistants Rob Tracey ’14 and Colin Blydenburgh ’14. Internships and other hands-on experiences enable our students to practice politics. This spring semester, Saeed Dukes ’13 and Brandon Batch ’13 interned at the New York State Assembly, spending their days meeting with constituents and interest groups on behalf of their Assembly Members, Barbara Lifton and Michael Miller respectively, while researching and writing papers on the policy proposals currently before the New York State legislature. They know what so many Hartwick students and alumni have learned: an opportunity to engage in the process can be without equal. My good fortune in being the recipient of a 2012-2013 Hartwick College Faculty Research Grant became an opportunity for two of my outstanding students—Rob Tracey ’14 and Colin Blydenburgh ’14. The research, data collection, and data analysis skills they are honing as paid research assistants—an experience much more typical Webextra | Learn about Dr. Elder’s recent book, The Politics of Parenthood: Causes and Consequences of the Politicization and Polarization of the American Family, at www.sunypress.edu/p-5591-the-politics-of-parenthood.aspx Read the work of Corey Meade ’10 and other Mehri Best Thesis award winners at www.hartwick.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/socialsciences/political-science-home/senior-theses with graduate programs—will not only advance their learning now, but will undoubtedly give them a competitive advantage when applying for graduate school or professional positions. I frequently teach our department’s required research methods course and always encourage students to engage in their own research. Research can be intimidating at first, and so I design assignments to help students overcome their fears and become more invested in the learning process. Rather than working with existing data sets in political science, my students select a topic of interest to them and proceed to collect their own data. The wide-ranging results include the senior thesis of Corey Meade ’10, who analyzed the ideological leanings of jokes on The Daily Show, and the advanced work of Faculty Scholar Eleanor Prisco ’13, who investigated the factors correlated with protest and regime change in the Arab Spring. There is no substitute for experience. Students more fully grasp concepts involved in empirical analysis when they have collected, coded, and entered the data themselves. No longer afraid of statistical analysis, many students go on to employ their data analysis skills in their senior theses, conference papers, and post-Hartwick pursuits. Anthony Bonagura ’13, for example, created his own data set on capital punishment laws and murder rates across the 50 states in an effort to assess the effectiveness of the death penalty, and presented his results at the 2012 New York State Political Science Conference. As a Hartwick College professor of political science, I strive to foster the habits of good citizens: to become well informed about the issues facing our nation; to develop the skills required to critically assess and empirically test the claims made by others, as well as engage in original research about political processes and policies; and to get involved in the democratic process. At the end of my courses, I am not sure if everyone “likes politics,” but I am confident in the product—educated and engaged citizens who will matter and will make a difference as our government and society move to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. n Summer 2012 | The Wick | 15
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