Fall 2011 POLI_SCI 101-6 Freshman Seminar- When Does Voting Work?

"When Does Voting Work?" - Freshman Seminar

This course will examine a variety of different voting rules and the impact they have on who wins elections, how candidates appeal to voters, and who shows up at the polls. We will ask which methods work best from the perspectives of candidates and voters. The focus of the class is not on U.S. elections. Instead, we will look at voting rules in a variety of contexts. Our discussion of political elections will focus on countries that hold elections in the fall of 2011 (including Argentina, Egypt (tentative), New Zealand, and Switzerland). Outside of politics, we will focus on elections for the Oscars, Eurovision, Major League Baseball, and Northwestern's student body. The entire class will participate in running an experiment to investigate how voting rules shape political engagement. Because voting involves numbers, many of the readings will involve some math or statistics. This is an excellent course for students who are interested in applying quantitative methods to social science research.

The first paper is a 3 page op-ed arguing for or against an electoral system in a given country (20%). The second assignment is a 5 page paper about the class experiment (25%). The final paper is an 8 page original research proposal (30%). Students will be given a feedback on their writing from the instructor and their fellow classmates. Students may rewrite at least two of these papers.

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Freshmen and Sophomores
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required

Current as of 05/03/13 01:04:17 PM