Back
| Semester | spring semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Clint Claessen (clint.claessen@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | What will be the outcome of the 2024 Republican primaries and why? American primaries and elections always receive much international attention and speculation. In this seminar we delve deeper into the nuts and bolts of the upcoming primaries. How does the primary process work and how did it evolve over time? What campaign strategies do campaign teams use? How trustworthy are political polls? How relevant are the political debates? The seminar is structured according to the different players and aspects in the election cycle: the Republican and Democratic party, the primaries, the party members, the candidates, the campaigns, the media, the polls, the voters, and ultimately, the nominees for president. The goal is that you can try to make your own election prediction on the basis of your newfound knowledge about the different factors that play a role in presidential primaries. |
| Learning objectives | At the end of the seminar: - The students can put forward predictions and explanations of primary outcomes on the basis of newfound knowledge of the primary process and political campaigning. - They can analyse political campaigns on the basis of campaign strategies and interpret the predictive power of political polls. - They understand the competencies of the U.S. president in comparison to at least two political leaders from European democracies. - They can perform basic statistical operations (OLS/Logit) with polling data in R. |
| Bibliography | Bernstein, J., & Dominguez, C. B. (Eds.). (2023). The Making of the Presidential Candidates 2024. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Busch, A. E. (Ed.). (2023). The rules and politics of American primaries: A state-by-state guide to republican and democratic primaries and caucuses. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Kamarck, E. C. (2023). Primary politics: Everything you need to know about how America nominates its presidential candidates. Brookings Institution Press. Newman, L., & Skocpol, T. (2023). Rust Belt Union Blues: Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party. Columbia University Press. Boatright, R. G. (Ed.). (2018). Routledge handbook of primary elections. Routledge. Conley, B. M. (2019). The Rise of the Republican Right: From Goldwater to Reagan. United States: Taylor & Francis. Skocpol, T., & Tervo, C. (Eds.). (2019). Upending American politics: Polarizing parties, ideological elites, and citizen activists from the tea party to the anti-Trump resistance. Oxford University Press. Bitecofer, R. (2018). The Unprecedented 2016 Presidential Election. Springer International Publishing. Asher, Herb (2017) Polling and the Public: What Every Citizen Should Know. CQ Press. Stromer-Galley, Jennifer (2014) Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age. Oxford University Press. Taylor, S. L., M.S. Shugart, A. Lijphart, & B. Grofman (2014) A Different Democracy: A Systematic Comparison of the American System with Thirty Other Democracies. New Haven: Yale University Press. Polsby, N. W., Wildavsky, A. B., & Hopkins, D. A. (2008). Presidential elections: Strategies and structures of American politics. Rowman & Littlefield. Maisel, S. L. (2007) American Political Parties and Elections. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. Bartels, Larry M. (1988) Presidential primaries and the dynamics of public choice. Princeton University Press. |
| Comments | Attention: All Seminars will be graded in the Department of Political Science. Grading scale 6.0 to 1.0, whereupon 4.0 is a pass. The number of participants is limited. The places are assigned according to date of enrollment and subject of study. Priority will be given to students of Political Science. |
| Admission requirements | Attention: All Seminars will be graded in the Department of Political Science. Grading scale 6.0 to 1.0, whereupon 4.0 is a pass. The number of participants is limited. The places are assigned according to date of enrollment and subject of study. Priority will be given to students of Political Science. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 29.02.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 07.03.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 14.03.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 21.03.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 28.03.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Ostern |
| Thursday 04.04.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 11.04.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 18.04.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 25.04.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 02.05.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 09.05.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Auffahrt |
| Thursday 16.05.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 23.05.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Thursday 30.05.2024 | 16.15-17.45 | Bernoullistrasse 14/16, Seminarraum 02.004 |
| Modules |
Modul: Erweiterung Gesellschaftswissenschaften B.A. (Bachelor's degree subject: Political Science) Modul: Regionaler Fokus B.A. (Bachelor's degree subject: Political Science) Modul: Vertiefung Politikwissenschaft B.A. (Bachelor's degree subject: Political Science) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Active participation and bi-weekly response papers (900-1100 words each) |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,5 |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Politikwissenschaft |