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.