UW-Parkside News: UW-Parkside faculty delivers Election Experience

UW-Parkside faculty delivers Election Experience

Get the Election Experience at UW-Parkside!

Faculty from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Political Science, History, and Geography departments are pooling their collective knowledge to deliver a series of lectures and discussions during the 2012 campaign. Political Science's Peggy James, Jonathan Olsen, Ross Astoria, Christopher Hudspeth, and Jenny Keefe; History's Sandy Moats and Beth Brownson, and John Ward from Geography examine aspects of the Election Experience you won't see on "Meet the Press" or "The O'Reilly Factor."

History's Sandy Moats examines the most divisive election in U.S. history today, Wednesday, Sept. 19, during "Sectionalism and Secession in Lincoln's Presidential Election of 1860." Abraham Lincoln's election was neither a foregone conclusion nor a triumph of national unity. Republicans nominated Lincoln, not for his popularity but because he possessed the widest political appeal in the North. His election led directly to secession by the southern states over slavery, laying the groundwork for the Civil War. That's today at noon in the Oak Room of the Student Center.

Peggy James looks at the candidates and foreign policy and asks: Are presidents as influential as we think? during the Sept. 24 program "U.S. Foreign Policy: Would Romney be different than Obama?" This program is at noon in the Student Center Oak Room.

Ross Astoria's Oct. 1 program "Has Democracy Got a Chance? The Supreme Court's Influence on Campaign Finance" probes the High Court's decisions on campaign funding including the controversial Citizens United ruling. That's at noon in the Oak Room of the Student Center.

Beth Brownson of the History Department questions to what extent Obama and Romney actually disagree on Middle East policy during the Oct. 15 program "U.S. Foreign Policy: The Middle East."That's atnoon in the Student Center Oak Room.

Christopher Hudspeth of Political Science asks if there are any moral obligations unique to politics during "The Good Campaign: Is there an Ethics of Campaign Finance?" Join us for answers Oct. 17 at noon in the Student Center Oak Room.

Jonathan Olsen's Oct. 24 program "Democracy without Democrats: Weimar Germany and Brecht's 'Three Penny Opera,'" ties in withParkside Theatre'sproduction of the musical. Olsen examines the political, economic, and cultural setting of the play and Brecht's critique of capitalism. The program begins at noon in the Oak Room of the Student Center and the first 20 people get free tickets to the Oct. 25 performance!

Political Science's Jenny Keefe following up the election with the Nov. 14 program "Truth in Politics."She looks at how truth, perception, and reality factor into political discourse and judgment. That's in the Hickory Room of the Student Center starting at noon.

Geography's John Ward and his GIS students offer a completely different view--a spatial view of voting outcomes across the country--at the Nov. 28 program "Mapping the Election in Space and Time." Students make their poster presentations in the Student Center.
Admission to these and all other Election Experience events is free and all programs are open to the public.

ABOUT THIS STORY:

Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 9/18/2012