Campaigns & Democracy

The 2020 Clay County Candidate Forum was held virtually on Zoom

Welcome to Campaigns & Democracy

This seminar on political campaigns and democracy has two segments. The centerpiece of the course is an introduction to the art and craft of political campaigns through interning five hours a week with a political campaign of the student's choice, reading, and attending weekly seminars and culminating in a Candidate Forum that the students arrange. During the second half of the course, attention shifts to in-depth reading and discussion on the meaning of elections in a democracy and contemporary proposals for reform.

Fall 2020 Syllabus

Student Projects

This is a service-learning course. Students spend much of their time working on political campaigns of their choice. In addition, they arrange a Forum for local candidates. Students are in charge of nearly all aspects of arrangements from planning, marketing, invitations, writing questions, hosting, etc. (everything except setting the date and booking the venue). Their final projects are so-called "Campaign Portfolios" asking them to document their experiences, but also present their vision for the campaign if they were (more) in charge, including creating logos, ads, and websites.