PS 240

Voting and Elections is a course offered Fall 2008. The course covers the major theories of voting behavior as well as voter turnout, the level of voter knowledge, election forecasting, and the role of debates, parties, issues, money, and negative ads.

The course is taught by Andy Civettini.

Lecture Topics

Elections in Theory and Practice in the United States

Social Structural Theories of Voting

Rational Choice Theories of Voting

Proximity and Directional Theories of Voting

Economic Voting

Psychological Models of Voting Behavior

Discussion Topics

Voter Turnout

Political Debates

Political Parties

Voter Knowledge

Issues and Agenda Setting

Forecasting Elections

Campaign Finance

Election Day and Night

Negative Campaigning

Criticism

PS 240's use of the wikifire for the creation of a study guide has been highly controversial. Some claim it goes against the intended purpose of the site, others that it is a creative way to organize class discussion. The verdict is still unknown, but here's what you can do to avoid creating further controversy: check out wikipedia's guide for formatting, especially the use of headers and bulleted lists.