Module 5

Module 5

 

Please continue to track the issues from our previous weeks – forestry management and the supreme court vacancy. You can make extra credit posts in your blog if you have ongoing comments on those issues beyond what is asked for in the assignments.

 

1) The first Presidential debate is coming up this week. Please watch the debate(in real time or a recorded version). Take notes while you watch, and write a brief assessment of the debate to share with a specific demographic: people of your own age group.If you were to share your thoughts about the debate with other people of your own age group, what would you say? Post your assessment to your blog. Bonus points for actually sending a link to your blog post to at least 5 people of your own age group (copy me on the emails so I know to give you the bonus points).

 

2) In your reading this week, we turn to the wisdom of some of the USA’s Founding Fathers as reflected in the classic text on American democracy, The Federalist Papers.  This document is a collection of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison to encourage ratification of the Constitution. In it, the authors describe how the Constitution was constructed to address specific challenges that had either been observed or predicted; because of this, it provides an effective way to understand the intentions of the Founders when we have questions about interpreting the Constitution even today. A free online copy of The Federalist Papers is available here:

 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1404/1404-h/1404-h.htm

 

Please read essays 9 and 10, which deal with the topic of factions. Respond to the essays in a blog post which contains the following elements:

 

What are “factions”? What dangerous role can a faction play within a democracy? What mechanisms are built into the Constitution to mitigate these potentially dangerous impacts? Some say the topic of factions is relevant to the way our current presidential candidates are campaigning… are they right? Does one candidate or the other represent a faction or do they merely represent an evolving electorate? Is there a difference? Share your own assessment of this, and also find at least one current events article on this topic to reference in your blog post.

Module 4

 Week 4

 

What a tragic moment for the nation. The death of any Supreme Court Justice is a cause for national mourning, and especially so with one so widely beloved as RBG. 

 

And… the events of the moment once again dictate the sequence of our subject matter. Talk about politics! This week’s assignment is brief but your work-product in response should still be thorough:

 

A friend says to you, “You’re a political science major… explain to me why filling RBG’s seat on the Supreme Court has become such a controversial subject.” 

 

Prepare for your friend a thorough answer that correctly reflects what the normalprocess for filling a seat is, whythis is a controversial time to fill a seat, and the historyexplaining how the controversy over such timing has evolved. Since the controversy has evolved via discussion and debate, a good answer must include 5-6 direct quotes from Republicans commentingon the issue, and 5-6 direct quotes from Democrats commentingon the controversy as it has evolved. “As it has evolved” means your quotes must be from comments made prior to the death of RBG. 

 

Finally, your discussion should include the reasons why Republicansmight be especially eager to fill this seat now, the reasons why Democratsmight be especially ticked off if the seat is filled now, and your own assessment of the situation. What do you think should be done. How would you advise a Republican? How would you advise a Democrat? If you would advise a Republican and a Democrat differently, explain why.

 

You can write your answer in a blog post; or you can record it, post the recording online and post the link to the recording to your blog. Either way, your blog post should simply be titled “Module 4.”

Module 3

Week 3

 

Happy Week 3 you all. I hope you’ve been finding ways to get clean air. 

 

Some of you are a bit behind already and I don’t want to get off to a bad start. Please let me know what I can do to help get you / keep you on track.

 

Last week, we explored some of the weaknesses to which democracy is vulnerable, looking both at the eminently wise words of some of the founding philosophers of Western civilization, and at the more recent critique presented in the comedy, Idiocracy. Like many things that seem obvious on first glance, however, there is nuance in these critiques. For example…

 

Who are the idiots? And really, looking around us today… who are the idiots?

 

We see examples all around us this campaign season of two opposing sides calling each other idiots. They may not use that exact term – but often they do. Let’s just dive right in and look at something that’s currently very challenging to write about given the historic fires we’re dealing with at the moment: forestry management. 

 

Who are the “idiots” in the forestry management debate? And how are our presidential candidates responding to this debate as a campaign issue? 

 

Your challenge for this week will be to analyze current problems, events and ideas relating to forestry management. Try to answer the questions above without demonizing one side or the other, regardless of your personal point of view… because on some level, one could argue that the real idiots are the ones who demonize each other so vociferously that the problem remains unsolved. 

 

Write an analysis that seeks to understand and describe current problems, events and ideas relating to forestry management. The first part of your analysis should be objective: simply identifying the factual range of the problem and the factual range of proposed solutions, while remaining neutral about whether the people who believe in these solutions are saviors or idiots. The second part of your analysis should propose a solution that you feel would actually help the situation. Post your analysis as your Module 3 blog entry.

 

Keep in mind: we have two very different points of view to analyze: One claims that the cause of our increasing fires is our lack of action on climate change mitigation initiatives. The other claims that the cause of our increasing fires is misguided environmental policy that prioritizes trees over people and hampers our ability to mitigate fire risk. Be sure to look at both sides of the argument and present both sides of the argument based on actual, documented sources. Include a bibliography at the end of your analysis.

 

Let me know if this description is not sufficiently clear and you need help moving forward with this week’s assignment.

 

Patti Andrews

Module 2

Dear Students,

 

Thanks for your blog links. You’ll find a list of student blogs on the class website which, as a reminder, is located at:

 

https://ndnuppc.blogspot.com

 

Look toward the right side of the page for the list, click on a name, and you’ll be taken to that person’s blog. When we do interactive assignments later in the semester, you’ll need to be able to find these.

 

If you haven’t already read the Module 1 passages by Plato and about Aristotle, please read them before doing this week’s readings, as this week will build on last. We looked at Plato’s ideas about political systems, including democracy, which he felt had inherent weaknesses that would lead to tyranny. Plato’s student, Aristotle, expanded on his ideas and some of his critique is summarized in the second short passage. This week, as we continue to ease into the semester, we will have just three short readings and a film. If you have trouble finding the film or financial difficulty renting it, please let me know. Be sure to do the readings before watching the movie!

 

1) First, read this short article by Alexander Atkin. It provides a short and effective introduction to Plato’s ideas about civic leadership duty. 

 

https://medium.com/@alex_65670/platos-warning-if-you-don-t-vote-you-will-be-governed-by-idiots-64891cd59b4

 

2) Then read this also-short article titled “The Bizarre Origins of the Word Idiot.”

 

https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2016/11/07/the-bizarre-origins-of-the-word-idiot/

 

3) Finally, read this 2008 review of Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, a text which is just as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1963. Has anti-intellectualism been on the increase or decline over the past two decades?

 

https://mtprof.msun.edu/Spr2008/weltzrev.html

 

4) Now you are ready to watch Mike Judge’s classic comedy, Idiocracy, which explores these same themes relating to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of democracy. While watching the film, please keep this and last week’s readings in mind. Take notes, and then write a blog post reflecting on the readings and the film. In your observation of our democracy today, is there truth to some of the critiques presented by this week’s materials? What do you think Plato, Aristotle or Hofstadter would say if they were watching Idiocracy  with you, or if they were commenting on the condition of American democracy today?

 

I look forward to reading your thoughts on these materials in your blogs this week. Stay safe from the heat!

 

Patti Andrews

Introduction

Share a little about yourself… your academic interests, personal interests, background, what you’re looking forward to in this class, what you’re not looking forward to about this class… whatever you want to share about yourself. Say something also about your interest in our subject – political parties and how they campaign, politics, the 2020 election… how do you hope the knowledge and skills you gain this semester will help you develop as a political animal and as a member of civil society? What are your hopes for the class in terms of how we will engage with one another given the explosive nature of political commentary and debate? You don’t need to answer all those questions; they are just suggestions to get you started.

What I'm looking forward to in this class? Experiencing the election in a whole new way this year by exploring some of its themes in this class and hearing your thoughts on them. I'm a political scientist, fascinated with human nature, human behavior, political behavior... what drives it and how it in turn drives humanity. I'm a registered No Party Preference voter who has never missed a presidential election, voting for Reagan in my first-ever, way-back-when election, more recently for Obama, whose leadership I miss.  I won't tell you who I voted for the last time. It may be hard to keep that a secret, but I do hope to maintain an inviting atmosphere for students from all perspectives to express their insights, positions and concerns and I feel that requires me to hold back a little from expressing my own opinions.

Outside of class, I am a pilot, a meditator, a mom, a friend, a composter, a person who likes both silence and society. Pandemic has been hard, and the situation at NDNU has been hard - watching our local open spaces and forests burn these past few weeks has been hard... I hope you my students this final year at NDNU know that I really do understand how hard all these things might have been for each of you as well. My hope for this class is that the content engages you and your experience of it is enjoyable.