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An Academic Course Examining the Issues & Themes Shaping the 2012 Campaign

A Partnership of TWC, C-SPAN, George Mason University & Purdue University Fall 2011 & 2012

Course Description

This course will give students the opportunity to study the 2012 presidential campaign as it takes shape around them. Students will examine the issues influencing the American political landscape, and how both social and traditional media determines the winners and losers. With an incumbent president seeking re-election, it is a special opportunity to study in-depth how the President's public policy agenda is affecting the presidential race. Students will examine topics such as:

• Polling
• Campaign advertising
• Targeted messaging
• Focus group strategies
• Debates

Class Format

One hour of each class will be devoted to interviews and discussion with special guests, which will be recorded and televised through one or more of C-SPAN's channels or other outlets. The class will also reconstruct the historical development of the current political scene, affording students a better understanding of how candidates interact with voters and how they develop the political messaging behind every speech, slogan and phrase on the campaign trail.

HOST/PROFESSOR BIO

Steven L. Scully is the School of Communication and Office of the Provost’s Faculty in Residence in Washington, D.C. and is the Amos B. Hostetter, Jr. Chair in the School of Communications at the University of Denver.

SCHEDULE AND BIOS

Money and Politics, April 16

FEC Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly Discusses the Role of Money in Political Races

Presidential Debates, April 9

Commission on Presidential Debates Exec. Dir. Janet Brown Discusses Presidential Debates

Presidential Election Polling, April 2

Gallup Polls Editor in Chief Frank Newport Discusses Presidential Election Polling

Douglas Wilder on Changing Presidential Advisors, March 26

Douglas Wilder, Former Governor of Virginia Discusses Changing Presidential Advisors

Presidential Campaign Ads, March 19

Darrell West, VP and Director of Governance Studies at Brookings Discusses Political Advertising

The 2012 Political Landscape, March 12

Craig Crawford, Former Orlando Sentinel Washington Bureau Chief Discusses the 2012 Political Landscape

Dan Balz and Michael Steele on the Ohio Primary, March 5

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Washington Post Political Correspondent Dan Balz on 2012 Ohio Primary

Social & New Media in Presidential Campaigns, Feb. 27

Lee Rainie, Pew Internet & American Life Project Director on Social & New Media in Presidential Campaigns

Candidacy of Hubert H. Humphrey, Feb. 20

Filmmaker Mick Caouette on His Film "Hubert H Humphrey: The Art of the Possible"

Richard Nixon's 1968 Campaign, Feb. 13

Pat Buchanan on Richard Nixon's 1968 Campaign

Lessons from the Tea Party Movement, Feb. 6

Theda Skocpol, Harvard Professor and Peter Maer, CBS News White House Correspondent

Women in Modern American Politics, Nov. 28

Tiffany Dufu, President of the White House Project

Polls and Focus Groups, Nov. 21

Peter Hart, President of Hart Research Associates

The Role of the News Media in Presidential Elections, Nov. 14

Stephen Farnsworth, Communication Professor at GMU

Six Men Who Failed in Their Presidential Campaigns, Nov. 7

Richard Norton Smith, Presidential Historian

Parties, Politics and Public Policy in America, Oct. 24

Mark Hetherington, Professor of Political Science – Vanderbilt University

Money & Politics: Nixon, Oct. 17

Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director, Center for Responsive Politics

Road to the White House 2008: Obama vs. McCain – Lessons from the McCain Campaign,

Oct. 3

Charlie Black, Republican Party Strategist

Presidential Primaries: Lessons from the Past & What to Expect in 2012, Sept. 26

Mark Halperin, Co-Author, Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime & Senior Political Analyst, MSNBC & Time Magazine

Bipartisanship in Congress, Sept. 19

Former Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Trent Lott (R-MS)

Road to the White House 1976: Carter vs. Ford – How Jimmy Carter Won, Sept. 14

Gerald Rafshoon, Media Strategist, ’76 Carter for President & Fmr. White House Communications Director

Go to our C-SPAN page