For those who miss any of the in-class lecture experience:
Remember, all of the class lectures from which the essay exams are drawn from are on my website on the world wide web at: http://sds17.pspa.msstate.edu/classes/opinion/opinion.html
The written transcripts of those lectures are the following links on that webpage:
August 16, 2023. We talked about the syllabus, so just review it. The syllabus does have instructions on how to write the book report. I indicated that the two essay exams are drawn from the class lecture notes that are posted on this website (links to notes are above). We also talked about current events, such as Trump, Biden, and polarization. Friday we start on important class notes.
August 18, 2023. We talked about introductory material that won't be on the exam. We talked about why public opinion is important, whether it can be a threat to democracy, how to define it, and what the 4 characteristics of it are. We talked about some current events. Monday begins very important class material.
August 21, 2023. We covered an important topic today, the 5 models whereby public opinion can affect public policy. They are: the Rational Voter model; the Political Parties model; the Interest Groups Model; the Delegate Model; and the Sharing Model.
August 23, 2023. We covered another important topic, the first 3 of the 5 Forms of Representation. They are: Formalistic, Descriptive Representation, and Symbolic Representation. We had interesting and vigorous class discussion of the Republican presidential candidates, and reminded everyone of the debate on Fox tonight. We talked about the woman and African American and other candidates. One of them, Ramaswamy, backed raising the voting age to 25, unless one is in the military, a first responder, or has passed the Citizenship Test (a way of unifying our nation). That got some class debate. Under symbolism, we had great debate over standing in honor of the American flag, and talked about what caused Mississippi to get a new flag.
August 25, 2023. We talked about the last 2 Forms of Representation. They are Virtual Representation and Representation as Acting For the Represented. Under Acting For, there are two types of it- delegates and trustees. We also reviewed the first three Forms of Representation, and talked about the GOP presidential debate.
August 28, 2023. We covered the start of the notes under Weeks 2-3, which are the 4 problems with polls, and sampling error. We will cover a very important topic on Wednesday.
August 30, 2023. We talked about the pros (advantages) and cons (disadvantages) of in-person, telephone, and mail surveys. Especially important are the pros of telephone surveys, and the cons of in-person and mail surveys. These are imporant topics that will constitute one question on the midterm exam.
September 1, 2023. We talked about Sampling Techniques, Demographic Groups Undersampled, and Weighting from the notes. I talked about some good points made in Chapter 2 of the book. We then checked out some results from the Mississippi Poll website, whose link is in your notes. We talked about current Mississippi politics.
September 6, 2023. We talked about the important topic of Week 4, Domestic Economic Issues. Specifically, all of the double spaced material in the on-line notes. The first three paragraphs, on domestic economic issues, the economy, and health care. Skip the next single spaced paragraph. Then study the next three double spaced paragraphs on: government spends more preferences, and Education discussion; Mississippi spending preferences, includes streets and highways; Mississippi programs.
September 8, 2023. We had a good class discussion of how to try to solve some domestic economic issues, such as health care, education, and the environment. If you missed class, just think about the problems in these areas, and how you would propose solving them.
September 11, 2023. We talked briefly about welfare, minimum wage, and term limits. We talked at length about major non-economic issues, such as the 9-11 terrorist attack, the long Iraq war that produced a Democratic congress in 2006, the Coronavirus crisis, and the cynicism towards politics prevalent today and in 2016.
September 13, 2023. We talked about the first three paragraphs in the on-line notes for week 5, which were about the rate of violent crime and its effects, the two ways of wording the death penalty issue, and 5 gun control measures supported by most Americans. Good class discussion on all subjects.
September 15, 2023. We talked about the ideologically diverse anti-crime programs that majorities of Americans support. I added one item not in my notes, and that is majority support for more mental health programs. We also talked about LGBTQ rights and abortion, which are also in my notes, and which the textbook does a good job of discussing. I added an item not in my notes, which suggests that most Americans supported the Roe v. Wade decision that was overturned by the Supreme Court. In a May 2023 Gallup poll, 69% of Americans said that abortion should be generally legal in the first three months of pregnancy; only 37% supported it in the next three months, and only 22% in the last three months.
September 18, 2023. We talked about racial issues, drawn from the notes and the textbook. We talked about the increased white support for the general concept of integration, but why whites have not become more supportive of federal governmental actions to enforce school integration. We also talked about how Americans have become more cynical about the general state of race relations in America (including attitudes toward police), especially how the two races view this subject differently. We then talked about affirmative action, and how most whites favor benign programs of outreach and support, but oppose rigid quotes. Good class discussion and examples given by students.
September 20, 2023. We noted that a copy of the midterm exam is posted on my website. We talked about the racial profiling questions included in the Mississippi Poll, about removing Confederate monuments, and about immigration. The public's opinions are quite interesting and complicated on such questions.
September 22, 2023. We talked about foreign policy and war, and public opinion on them.
September 25, 2023. We reviewed for the in-class test on Wednesday.
September 27, 2023. The in-class midterm exam was today.
September 29, 2023. I gave the graded tests back to the class. They constitute your midterm grade, which is in Banner. I then talked about the book review, and gave some ideas on Chapters 1, 2, and 4 of the textbook. Guidelines for the review are in the syllabus, as follows: "The suggested page length for the book report is approximately ten double-spaced typed pages. Students should thoroughly read and understand all chapters of the book. You should provide numerous specifics of the important findings from each chapter of the book. You should also indicate the value of each chapter to the reader (or lack of helpfulness to a reader), providing specific examples. Make sure that you refer to some of the tables and figures in each of the chapter, showing what you learned from them and whether they were helpful to you. You should also have an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph of your paper, which deal with the book as a whole, and its theme and value as a whole."
October 2, 2023. We covered belief systems (Ideologues, Group Benefits, Nature of Times, and No Issue Content), what they are, how large they are, and when each has peaked over the years. We also covered issue voting, and how much issue voting there was in the 1950s and 1964-72 era; we talked about the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the last two decades of the last century; also, this century's period of ideological polarization of the parties.
October 4, 2023. We discussed the political knowledge paragraph of my notes, and thoroughly reviewed pages 56-57 of the textbook (especially the items where most Americans were correct). The class did very well on the citizenship test at https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q.pdf. If you were absent, take this citizenship test yourself and see how you fare (cover up the answers).
October 6, 2023. We talked about group differences in attitudes on policy issues, especially socioeconomic status and racial differences. We referred to the tables and figures in the textbook, repeatedly. Check out the class notes.
October 9, 2023. We talked about group differences in attitudes on policy issues for age and gender groups. We also talked about religious group differences.
October 11, 2023. We had a very informative talk by Mr. Shane Hough, the Diplomat in Residence for the Central South U.S. region of the U.S. Department of State. He talked about his experiences working for the State Department, and internship and job opportunities for college students. Several students asked him insightful questions. You can learn about these opportunities by typing the following into Google: State Department internship/fellowship/summer enrichment/language
October 16, 2023. We talked about Socialization today, its definition, childhood socialization, and the agents of socialization (up to college).
October 18, 2023. We finished Socialization, and covered Functionalism and Belief-Based Attitude theories.
October 20, 2023. We finished attitude theories, specifically cognitive consistency and balance theory. We also talked about democratic values support.
October 23, 2023. We covered political trust. Then turned to presidential approval topic, and explained how unemployment and coalition of political minorities hurt presidential approval.
October 25, 2023. We covered the next three sources of presidential approval or disapproval levels- a prolonged war, a major scandal, both of which hurt a President, and the rally around the President during an international crisis, which temporarily helps him.
October 27, 2023. We covered the 3 most popular Presidents, and the 3 most unpopular Presidents, important topics. See the notes.
October 30, 2023. We covered the public approval ratings and causes for two of the most recent Presidents- Obama and Trump.
November 1, 2023. We talked about Biden's job approval rating being generally between Obama's average rating and Trump's below average rating. We then talked about the upcoming Mississippi state elections for governor and attorney general. We applied our presidential election vote model (party identification, issues, and candidate traits affect voting) to the governor's race. See the latest Mason-Dixon poll on RealClearPolitics.com. On Friday and especially next week, we will apply this model to explaining the outcomes of post-World War 2 presidential general elections.
November 3, 2023. We talked about the gubernatorial debate and the strong points that the two major party candidates made. We also briefly talked about the attorney generals race. We then provided the party identification, issues, and candidates model of what affects the presidential vote and outcome. We applied that model to the 1952, 1956, and 1960 American presidential elections, and showed how public opinion affected those elections and how candidates can maneuver to appeal to the public.
November 6, 2023. We talked about the 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976 presidential elections. We also talked about the book review (see the syllabus).
November 8, 2023. We talked about the Republican wins in Mississippi elections last night, but Democratic wins in Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and a pro-choice win in Ohio. We had an excellent class discussion about how to make voting easier in Mississippi, while retaining a high quality electorate. We then talked at length about the 1980 presidential election, and how Reagan successfully rebutted Carter's claim that he was too conservative, and how public dissatisfaction caused Carter's defeat.
November 10, 2023. We covered the 1984, 1988, and 1992 presidential elections, and ended with the GOP gaining control of both Congressional chambers in 1994.
November 13, 2023. We covered the 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential elections. Remember that the written book reports are due next Monday! (If you are not in class, submit them as an e-mail Word attachment, but you must receive a response from me indicating that I was able to print them out.) Also, if you have already submitted the book report to me, please resubmit it, since I have lost it.
November 15, 2023. We covered the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections. That finishes the class material that you need to know for the final exam. Friday, Monday, and the two classes after Thanksgiving will finish up the course material. Remember that your written book reports are due Monday!
November 17, 2023. We talked about the 2020 presidential election, current events and the upcoming 2024 election. We talked about the increased voter interest in the Obama and Trump elections, the high turnout in 2020, and how both Presidents mobilized groups with historically lower turnout, such as African Americans and non-college people. Your written book reports are due Monday.
November 20, 2023. I received the written book reports from all of the students. We talked about current events, and I promised that the take home final exam will be posted on my website.
November 27, 2023. I handed back the graded book reports, and the final exam is now on my website. Wednesday we will have a review of the final exam. We wrapped up the course by talking about the last chapters of the book.
November 29, 2023. We had a review of the final exam. The final exam is posted on my website.