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 20, 2025- we just talked about the syllabus, the course requirements, and current events.
August 22, 2025. We covered introductory material from the Week 1 lectures listed above. We had a great class discussion about democracy, gerrymandering, and John Bolton's problems.
August 25, 2025. We covered the first three models whereby public opinion can affect public policy: the Rational Activist Model, the Political Parties Model, and the Interest Groups Model. We had great class discussion and comments on this subject.
August 27, 2025. We covered the Delegate Model and the Sharing Model. We also talked about 3 of Hanna Pitkin's Types of Representation- Formalistic, Descriptive, and Symbolic.
August 29, 2025. We covered the last two Pitkin types of representation, Virtual, and Acting For. Acting For is the only one really consistent with our five models of how Opinion is translated into Policy. We then started to talk about polling, discussing the four historic problems with polls.
September 3, 2025. We had a great discussion on current events, and how foreign events such as the Ukraine war may be so complex that the role of public opinion is limited. We then covered the important topics of the advantages and disadvantages of two types of surveys- in-person and telephone surveys. We also talked about how they have historically been conducted, and had some valuable student questions.
September 5, 2025. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of mail surveys. We also talked about sample error, and what causes how much of it you have. Student feedback on how to maximize the declining response rate in polls was very helpful.
September 8, 2025. We talked about sampling within the household, the demographic groups that are historically under sampled, how to weight the sample, the accuracy of polls, and wording problems with polls. I complimented the text chapter on polling, and referred to a figure on page 48, and two question wording variations on pages 39 and 40.
September 10, 2025. We talked about Domestic Economic issues, an important topic. We noted that the economy and health care are top priorities of average Americas. Economics has affected the outcomes of many presidential elections, and national public policies have been enacted to support health care. People desire to spend more government money on education, as well as health care, and many other programs. See the chart in the textbook. We also talked about national programs enacted to support education at all levels. An excellent class discussion occurred over the value of education, and how it can be improved to help students get good jobs.
September 12, 2025. We talked about high priority programs in Mississippi public opinion, and how public policies and governors' actions have implemented them. We had a great class discussion of Mississippi's current problems, and how to deal with them, and we compared the state to living in other states.
September 15, 2025. We talked about controversial inflamatory rhetoric in campaigns, such as some statements made in the 2024 presidential campaign in Mississippi. We then talked about polling on health care matters and on Social Security.
September 17, 2025. We talked about important topics today, three major topics about crime: how violent crime rate results in public reaction against crime, the death penalty debate, and gun control. Check the class notes. We had great class discussion on these issues.
September 19, 2025. We talked about seven ideologically diverse anti-crime programs that a majority of Americans support. We also discussed public attitudes and current policies regarding marijuana and medical marijuana.
September 22, 2025. We talked about public opinion regarding school prayer issues, LGBTQ issues, and abortion.
September 24, 2025. We talked about public opinion and racial differences on issues of race relations, integration, and affirmative action.
September 26, 2025. We covered foreign and defense policy.
September 29, 2025. Review for in-class midterm exam this Wednesday.
October 1, 2025. In-class Midterm Exam.
October 3, 2025. I just gave back the graded tests, and we talked about current events. Your midterm grade is in Banner.
October 6, 2025. TBA.