**This class will be taught on Zoom**
**This is a 4 week course**
Every presidential election is branded “the most important in history.’’ Is 2024 the year when the cliché matches reality? This four-week course will explore the U.S.’s unique and much-maligned process of selecting its president. It will address the role of fake news, the breakdown in dignity, and concerns that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy. Topics will include an evaluation of Electoral College, the news media, polling, vote suppression, television commercials, and the role of money. Each week will also feature a focus on a particular policy issue related to the 2024 campaign, including immigration, the economy, reproductive rights, foreign policy and threats to democracy.
Week by Week Outline
August 20: How Americans Elect Presidents: The first class coincides with the opening of the Democratic Convention in Chicago, providing a backdrop to examine how nominating conventions evolved from high drama, smoke-filled, horse-trading affairs to antiseptic infomercials. We will evaluate the state of the race, the role of money, and how the Electoral College and primary system cheat California. We will also examine the issue of immigration and its role in the election’s outcome.
August 27: Media: Earned, paid, and fake. Class will explore the news media’s coverage of the campaign, its obsession with conflict, and the consequences. We will watch TV commercials dating back to the 1950s to put the role of paid media in perspective, and understand candidates’ obsession with fundraising, as well as the rising and insidious influence of fake news. We will also look at the role the economy is playing in the 2024 campaign.
September 3: How America votes: Why do American’s vote on Tuesdays? We will look at American voting traditions, the myth of voter fraud, how polling works -- and fails -- and why many countries have stronger turnout. We will also look at the role foreign policy is playing in the 2024 campaign.
September 10: The future of democracy? The final class will be held the day of the final presidential debate, providing a good backdrop to explore why – or if – debates matter. We will look at how social issues, such as abortion, will affect the outcome, and conclude by evaluating the prospects for a Trump victory and what it means for the future of democracy.
