Chaos or Comprehension: Teaching American Politics in Turbulent Times

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Recently, Americans have witnessed foundation shifting trends and events, legal and extra-legal, social and political, raising questions about the stability of our liberal democratic system. A range of studies have been written documenting the erosion of our political processes and institutions, referring to the nation as a "democracy in crisis", highlighting trends toward authoritarianism and the threat of political violence. A short list includes, Mounk’s The People vs. Democracy (2018), Levinsky and Ziblatt’s How Democracies Die (2018), Page and Gilens’ Democracy in America? (2018), Hopkin’s Anti-System Politics (2020), Putnam’s The Upswing (2021), Wolf’s The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism (2023), Chenerinsky’s No Democracy Lasts Forever (2024).

This panel entitled “Chaos or Comprehension: Teaching American Politics in Turbulent Times” will consider how, we, as teachers of American Politics, have adapted our pedagogy to help our students make sense of these dramatic changes. Questions such as, how do we teach American politics in these rapidly changing times? How might we teach American Government to our students in a way that is relevant and valuable to our students? How can we maintain the foundation for knowledgeable and civically engaged citizens?

We invite panel participants to discuss the ways in which we choose to teach American Politics today. Are some approaches more effective than others? If the value of an Introduction to American Government/Politics course is indisputable, how can we better emphasize the worth of our endeavor? Inspired by Ada Finifter's “The State of The Discipline”, we invite teachers of American Politics/Government to join us in a robust, casual discussion about the state of Teaching American Politics Today.

Sub Unit

• Teaching, Learning, & the Profession

Chair

• James E. Freeman, NYU

Discussants

• Michael Thompson, William Paterson University

• Hisseine Faradj, CUNY Bronx Community College

• Diana M. Judd, CUNY College of Staten Island

• Peter Kolozi, CUNY Bronx Community College