Junior Workshop 2:
The Politics of American Elections
Christopher Achen
Why did Donald Trump win the 2016 election? Questions of that kind arise after every election. But the most powerful forces at work in elections are routinely overlooked in the media, so that political scientists think about elections quite differently from most citizens. This research seminar will help students learn how voters think and will begin to give them the skills to do election research themselves. Both current and important historical elections will be discussed, as will the role of important economic, social, religious, ethnic, and racial groups in American elections.