SYNTHESIZE the ARTICLE and CHAPTER 7 in the TEXTBOOK
This module has two very different learning objectives: (1) gaining an understanding of the American electoral process and (2) debating the purpose of voting and elections.
(1) Most of us pay attention to what happens on Election Day. Usually, this means the winner and loser of an election. However, candidates spend years and millions of dollars on election campaigns to influence our behavior as voters on Election Day. To better understand the electoral process, you will be reading in the textbook abouteverything that happens before Election Day: campaigns, nominations, conventions, voter registration, and voting behavior.
(2) In addition, we must also understand the role of voting and elections in our political system. The non-textbook material is a short essay that asks us to think about the why we vote? And what good are elections?
Course Material
:
•
Read Chapter 7 of your textbook.
•
Read an essay by Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels "Democracy for Realists" based on their book of the same name
Tasks to Complete this Week
:
Some Hints About the Reading
While this reading is only 7 pages, it is a dense 7 pages.
Here are a few questions to help you understand the reading and what to look out for. These questions DO NOT replace your roles. You MUST post according to your role still.
1. What are the 3 different models of democracy?
2. What is the traditional or conventional model? Why is it not that realistic according to the authors?
3. What is the model that most political scientists argue for? Why is it not that realistic according to the authors?
4. What do the authors think about the rationality of most voters? Are we mostly well-informed voters or are we too stupid and shortsighted to be "good" at voting? (Take a look at page 272.)
5. What model do the authors argue for? What is their evidence for their model? Is their model better than the other 2?
SYNTHESIZE
the
ARTICLE
and
CHAPTER
7
in the
TEXTBOOK, view textbook online with this link (https://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:SjdU64Og@7/Introduction) read entire
CHAPTER 7 AND READ THE ARTICLE WHICH IS ATTACHED AS A FILE THEN SYNTHESIZE THEM BOTH,
It should be at least 1.5 paragraph (minimum of 7-8 sentences).
PLEASE DO NOT SUMMARIZE, WHAT I WANT IS “SYNTHESIZE”
SYNTHESIZE
The synthesize role asks you to draw links between the textbook chapter and the non-textbook readings, videos, or podcasts.
1) You must give us an explicit and specific link to the textbook and give use page numbers for what you are connecting the non-textbook readings, videos, or podcasts to.
(2) You are providing the group with connections to concepts and examples the textbook so don’t just point to the module topic and be done with it. For example, don’t tell us that the textbook chapter talks about elections and the video also discusses elections.
(3) Look at the chapter summary of the textbook at the start of the chapter and identify what section the non-textbook readings, videos, or podcasts align best with and concentrate on that section.
(4) Do not summarize the non-textbook readings, videos, or podcasts in this role.
(5) Don’t cut and paste quotes from course materials. Paraphrase and interpret the quotes for us.