Tuesday, September 2, 2008
New classes designed to examine issues related to the 2008 election season are popping up in a variety of departments all over campus this fall.
Many of the courses will only be offered this semester.
David Perlmutter, professor at the School of Journalism, teaches the “New Media and Political Communication” for graduate students, which is offered this semester only. The course focuses on the way new media and communications have been used within Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaigns.
“I wanted to see how political campaigns in general and the race for presidency specifically were changing with all these new innovative technologies,” Perlmutter said. “There are all of these new ways of reaching out to potential voters, including text messaging, blogging and Facebook.”
J840 Seminar: New Media and Political Communication Instructor: David Perlmutter, professor of journalism Course Description: The course surveys the interplay of new media technologies in the elections of 2008. It focuses on how innovations such as Weblogs, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, text messaging and others are being used in campaigns and the media. Among the topics will be the changes in: voter-outreach, campaign communications, campaign organization, message development, advertising and fundraising.
COMS 553: Communications in Political Campaigns Instructor: Mary Banwart, associate professor of communication studies Course Description: The course examines political communications as it evolves throughout a political campaign and includes such topics as theories and strategies, stages in political campaigns, influence of the mass media, television advertising, candidate debates and the use of new technologies in delivering campaign communications. Selected examples from recent campaigns illustrate the strategies and effects of political communication as students examine how politicians persuade us to vote for them.
POLS 615: Campaigns and Elections Instructor: Mark Joslyn, associate professor of political science Course Description: The course examines the behavior of voters, candidates and campaigns in the electoral process. Topics will include the role of media, the impact of money, the operations of political campaigns and the effect of campaign laws.
Sources: University course catalog
Perlmutter said the main focus of his class of seven graduate students is to look at how traditional political campaigns are changing.
Other classes that are geared toward political campaigns are also offered through the communication studies and political science departments.
Mary Banwart, associate professor in communication studies, teaches “Communications in Political Campaigns.” Students taking the course examine political communication as it evolves through a political campaign, which includes the influence of mass media and the use of technology to communicate the messages of a campaign.
Banwart said a candidate must be careful with how the message is used and how it will affect the audience when using new technology for political communication.
Several new forms of technology have been used in campaigns this election year, such as the Obama campaign’s use of text messaging.
“2004 and 2006 were the years where a lot of the innovations were tried and experimented with,” Perlmutter said. “So far, within 2008, rather than just one or two people using these, we’ve seen tactics used by campaigns regularly and almost on a massive scale.”
Although politicians have been using new technology in recent years, Banwart said they couldn’t forget the importance of traditional communication.
“Advertising drove the media dialogue for campaigns and are part of what still currently drive them,” Banwart said. “There’s always a message component and it’s placed on interaction and engagement with the audience. Candidates want to know, ‘How do we get you to vote? How do we get your friends to vote?’ And I think that’s what’s interesting about what new technology brings to us.”
In addition to Perlmutter’s and Banwart’s courses, several courses are also offered through the political science department, including the course “Campaigns and Elections,” offered by Mark Joslyn, associate professor of political science.
Brandon Schwager, Lawrence sophomore and political science and economics major, said new technology was a double-edged sword.
“It makes it easier for information to be spread around whether it’s true or not,” Schwager said. “You can just go to Web sites and look it up versus listening to every single debate.”
Banwart is excited to see how her classes will unfold while closely watching the elections this year.
“I’ve been talking to students about what has sparked their interests in politics and I am seeing it more and more,” Banwart said. “Students are realizing that this is a conversation they want and need to be a part of and understand what’s taking place at this level of communication. I think that’s very important. I want students to be active and not passive about these issues.”
— — Edited by Andy Greenhaw
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