Politics Interview Project

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Preparing a survey of 10 questions,then interview anyone you want and transcribe the interview. Then conduct your survey on campus. Then write a reflection paragraph: What did you learn from writing the questions, conducting the interview, the interviewee's answers? Were you surprised by anything?

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For this project you need to conduct an interview on the concept of the “political”. You will be assigned a partner in our class. You need to prepare a survey of 10 questions. The questions should be centered on the concept of politics and citizenship. You MUST have one key term from this unit in each question. For example: What it means to be political? What it means to be a citizen? You can interview anyone you want, a friend, teacher, family member, roommate etc transcribe the interview. You can interview over the phone, Skype, in person. You can even video or audiotape the interview for submission. Make sure to ask your interviewee open ended questions and probe them for personal connections to the material. Then conduct your survey on campus. You’ll need to survey at minimum two additional people. Collect your data. Then write a reflection paragraph: What did you learn from writing the questions, conducting the interview, the interviewee's answers? Were you surprised by anything? To complete the project submit 1)original interview questions, 2)interview data collected for all 4 interviews, and 3)reflection. When you transcribe make sure to explain who is asking the questions and who is answering. Bold the key terms! An Example: This is an example of the video portion of a past submission. Students also submitted the original survey, data collection, and written critical reflection with the video/face-toface interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHB85LMExz4 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.) Unit 1 Lecture Notes Lecture Notes Politics & Political Activism In this lesson we utilize Barbour's definition of politics as power and resource distribution. Politics: who gets what, when and how; a process of determining how power and resources are distributed in a society without recourse to violence. Political activism consists direct action, such as a strike or demonstration in opposition or in support of a cause. Power: The ability to get others to do what you want. Government: a system or organization for exercising authority over a body of people. Authority: the power that people recognize as legitimate Institutions: organizations in which government power is exercised Colleges and Universities as political action sites Many Colleges and Universities are very politically active. Major social movements have often started on college and university campuses, with students just like yourself choosing to become politically active. The top 25 most politically active campuses in the USA are listed HERE (Links to an external site.). Democracy, some definitions ● Democracy: government that vests power in the people; based on popular sovereignty ○ Popular sovereignty: the concept that the citizens are the ultimate source of political power ● Elite democracy: limits the citizens’ role to choosing among competing leaders ● Pluralist democracy: citizen membership in groups is the key to political power ● Participatory democracy: citizens should actively and directly control all aspects of their lives and participate in all aspects of lawmaking ● In authoritarian systems, individuals are subjects of their state government: ○ They are obliged to submit to a government authority against which they have no rights ● In democratic systems, individuals are citizens: ○ They are members of a political community having both rights and responsibilities Origins of Democracy ● Ancient Greece (700-400 BC): Athenian democracy. ○ See History Channel’s video, “The Birth of Democracy (Links to an external site.)” ● Middle Ages (400-1400 AD): politics based largely on the divine right of kings (the principle that earthly rulers receive their authority from God) ● Age of Reason/Enlightenment (1600-1700 AD): divine right discredited, notion that citizenship confers both rights and responsibilities emerged Social Contract Theory ● Social contract theory: society is based on an agreement between government and the governed in which people agree to give up some rights in exchange for the protection of others ● John Locke (1632-1704): legitimate government requires that people consent to it and if government breaks contract, people may form a new one ● Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679): government did not exist due to divine right; instead, people agree to be governed for their own protection Democracy in America ● James Madison feared “pure democracy” because people may create “factions” ○ Factions: groups that might pursue only their self-interest ● Instead, he preferred a republic ○ Republic: a government in which decisions are made through representatives of the people ● Madison did not trust average Americans to act beyond their own interests ○ His view contrasted with the idea of republican virtue: citizens can put interests of community ahead of their own ● American citizenship today illustrates elements of both views Thinking Critically About American Politics 2 views of citizenship 1. Madison's View: ● Human nature is to be self-interested, individual participation in government should be limited, and “too much” democracy is a bad thing ● Republican Virtue: ○ Faith in the citizen’s ability to act virtuously, not just for his or her own good but for the common good as well Is Democracy a Human Right? Please watch the video HERE. (Links to an external site.)。 Who is an American? You are an American citizen if you are: ● Born in the United States, whether or not parents are citizens. Jus soli: “the right of the soil” ● Born to American parents abroad. Jus sanguinis: “the right by blood” ● Immigrants: citizens or subjects of other countries who move to another country to live or work ● Naturalization: the legal process of acquiring citizenship for someone who has not acquired it by birth Melting Pot? Please review The Next America (Links to an external site.) by Pew Research Center. Can you pass the test? Try it HERE (Links to an external site.). Political Culture ● Political culture: the broad patterns of ideas, beliefs, and values about citizens and government held by the citizens of a country ○ Values: central ideas, principles, or standards that most people agree are important ○ We often take our political culture for granted or aren’t aware of it ○ Often, our values are shared and handed down Ideas the unite us ● Most Americans believe we should focus on fair rules and processes rather than guaranteeing results ○ Procedural guarantees: government assurance that the rules will work smoothly and treat everyone fairly, with no promise of particular outcomes ○ Other democracies, such as those in Sweden and Norway, concentrate on substantive guarantees: assuring outcomes are fair ● In the United States, our politics also revolve around the belief that individuals are usually the best judges of what is good for them ○ Individualism: belief that what is good for society is based on what is good for individuals ○ Individuals, not government, are responsible for their own wellbeing ○ Contrasts with a collectivist point of view, which gives government some responsibility for individual welfare Ideas that divide us ● Ideologies: sets of beliefs about politics and society that help people make sense of their world ○ In our political culture, the range of ideological debate is narrow compared to other democracies ○ Additionally, we have fewer political parties than in other postindustrial, democratic nations ● Conservatives: people who generally favor limited government and are cautious about change ● Liberals: people who generally favor government action and view change as progress See NPR’s story, “The Thinking Behind Red and Blue States (Links to an external site.)” How would you describe your political ideology? Take Pew Research’s “Political Typology Quiz (Links to an external site.)” Read the Pew article, "American's Agree Inequality has grown, but don't agree on why" HERE (Links to an external site.).
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Surname 1
Student’s name
Institution
Date
Politics Interview Project
Interview 1: This is an interview that I conducted on my neighbor on his views towards
democracy, human rights, and political culture.
Question: What is democracy?
Answer: Democracy is a system of governance where the majority get to elect their leaders in a
transparent manner ensuring that the wishes of the majority are guaranteed. Through democratic
governance, the majority of the population get to elect a leader of their choice.
Question: Why do you think democracy is important?
Answer: In any given area of governance, be it in school of in a district, democracy is important
as the majority get to choose their leader without being compelled to a specific individual. This
ensures the formation of a government that is supported by the majority.
Question: Reflecting on the impact of democracy, do you thing the form of government has been
effective in advancing human rights?
Answer: There is no specific connection between human rights and democracy. Whether a
government get elected democratically or not, the choice of respecting and advancing human
rights rests on the people in power. While some governments not elected democratically have
helped advance human rights, some democratically elected government have been the biggest
violators of human rights.
Question: Should Americans elect the president directly hence abolishing the Electoral
College?
Answer: The Electoral College remains a huge impediment to America’s de...


Anonymous
Just the thing I needed, saved me a lot of time.

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