When the Party Comes to Town: Experiential Learning During a Presidential Nominating Convention

ABSTRACT

Winthrop University used its location in the Charlotte metropolitan area to develop a course that combined academic content with an experiential component during the Democratic National Convention. This article provides recommendations for planning logistics developing such a course for faculty who may wish to replicate this effort in future presidential election cycles.

KEYWORDS:

• Civic education
• experiential learning
• political party conventions

Notes

In the political science context, we consider such opportunities to include undergraduate research, internships, service-learning, field experiences, and simulations.

Five Republican presidential candidates made visits to Winthrop University in 2011–2012. They were Michele Bachmann, John Huntsman, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney.

In addition, Winthrop University participated in an informal consortium of Charlotte-region colleges and universities organized by University of North Carolina, Charlotte, all of which planned special events in advance of the convention. For its part, X hosted a forum with several national media personalities immediately before the South Carolina primary in January 2012, a campus address by Cate Edwards, daughter of former Democratic Vice Presidential nominee and U.S. Senator John Edwards in September 2012, and a Constitution Day address by Presidential Scholar Dr. George C. Edwards, III, also in September 2012.

In addition, three X faculty members conducted over 100 media interviews in January 2012 related to the South Carolina presidential primary, and two X faculty members were engaged by local media as commentators during the DNC itself. Finally, Winthrop University’s Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory received a contract from Duke Energy Corporation to study Charlotte residents’ attitudes about the success and impact of the DNC in November 2012.

Also, by virtue of its proximity to a swing state, the Obama campaign organized volunteers as part of its “swing state strategy,” where South Carolina Obama supporters worked on get-out-the-vote efforts in North Carolina. X, being in the Charlotte media market, also saw plenty of presidential campaign ads during the general election campaign.

Of these, we consider the “continuing pass” grade to be optimal, if the institution has such an option. Grades of incomplete may jeopardize students’ eligibility for financial aid or athletics if they are interpreted as interfering with satisfactory progress toward the degree.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Karen M. Kedrowski

Karen M. Kedrowski is Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Professor of Political Science at Winthrop University. She is coauthor of Cancer Activism(University of Illinois Press) and Breastfeeding Rights in the United States(Praeger/Greenwood) and several journal articles and book chapters.

Katarina Duich Moyon

Katarina Duich Moyon is Adjunct Professor of Political Science and directs a general education course, The Human Experience. Together, they codirect the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy at Winthrop University.