Gerrymandering as Art: A New Method for Teaching Redistricting

Abstract

Gerrymandering is a controversial practice in American politics, and one that has generated a significant amount of legal, academic, and political interest. While gerrymandering is an important and timely topic, this issue receives relatively little attention in most introductory courses in American government. This omission is compounded by the complexity of the subject. Students often struggle to grasp the intricacies of the redistricting process and fail to understand how this process could affect the overarching political landscape. This paper will address these shortcomings by outlining a new method for teaching students about redistricting. Inspired by the broader literatures on active and project-based learning—as well as an episode of The Daily Show—this paper proposes hosting a gerrymandering art exhibit to better educate and engage students. The results suggest that this project can have educational benefits. Students displayed a deep level of conceptual understanding. Additionally, survey data suggests that this experience can increase students’ self-assessed learning outcomes and overall interest in the class.

Keywords:

• Active learning
• project-based learning
• gerrymandering

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Follett Bookstores for their generous donation of gift cards, which were used for student prizes.

Notes

1 At the time this research was conducted, the institution did not have a formal IRB process. All research conducted for this project adhered to ethical standards and norms for conducting work with human subjects.

2 The students mainly relied on information from the Census (http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/uswall/cd114/CD114_WallMap_large.gif) and GovTrack (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/map) for this portion of the project.

3 Students selected districts from eleven different states, the most popular of which were Michigan, North Carolina, and Maryland.

4 Many student groups utilized our classroom projector to outline and trace the visual image of their district.

5 Approximately 77% of the points allocated through the rubrics emphasized content knowledge, with the remaining points dedicated to other various project requirements. The average student score on the final project was 70.4 points out of a possible 75 points (93.8%) with a standard deviation of 6.6 points.

6 At the end of the class, all students signed waivers to allow their posters to be displayed in future outside events.

7 In 2018, Michigan voters effectively ended partisan gerrymandering by amending the state constitution to create an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The Citizens Commission will be used for the first time to create the district lines for the 2022 election.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brooke Thomas Allen

Brooke Thomas Allen is a Professor of Political Science at Macomb Community College. Her research and teaching interests include American political institutions, gender politics, and political science pedagogy.