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The presidential election of 2008 is giving Miami University students a rare opportunity to learn about politics, voter registration, fundraising and other hot topics in ways that go beyond the lecture hall.
"The Internet and the Election: An Interdisciplinary Exploration" is a new class that centers on the unprecedented role of the Internet during this election and combines political science, psychology, neuroscience and linguistics. At the end of the course, the class will write papers for the peer-reviewed International Journal of Internet Science.
"We're looking at issues that received relatively little attention in previous years, such as the role of metaphor, cognitive framing and even the amygdala brain structure in presidential politics," said psychology professor Christopher Wolfe, who teaches the course.
The class studies "in real time" as the election unfolds, researching the youth vote, YouTube, social networking sites, small donation fundraising, "dirty tricks" and data analysis.
For interdisciplinary studies senior Amy Peterson, YouTube has been one of the most entertaining resources. "Anyone who has access to the Internet and knows the basics of it can write, upload images and videos, and do an array of other things," Peterson said. "The dynamics of media are shifting, allowing for anyone to influence the election."
Students also will talk with political experts including David Greene, National Public Radio White House correspondent and political reporter; Nick Gillespie, editor of the libertarian Reason.com and Reason.tv; Burt Kaufman, dean emeritus of Interdisciplinary Studies; Christopher Berg, Miami graduate and former staffer on the Hillary Clinton campaign; and Ryan Donmoyer, Miami graduate and Washington D.C.-based reporter for Bloomberg.
"I don't see the influence of the Internet as good or bad, I see it as an evolution in the way we transmit information," Peterson said. "Whomever becomes the next President MUST understand the power of the Internet, and use it in a way that benefits our nation."
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