POLITICAL PARTIES & ELECTIONS, FALL 2010
Your questions for Fiorina, Culture War? chapters 3-4
Wednesday, December 1
Chapter 3-focused
questions
3.1 Examine tables 3.2 and 3.7. What is surprising to
you? Do some people feel more comfortable calling themselves a Democrat
rather than a liberal? Likewise, do people
enjoy being Conservative rather than a Republican?
3.2 How do the results of the Pew Survey (Table 3.2) differ
from those of the National Election Study (Table 3.7), dealing with Political
inclinations? What do you think are
the reasons for the variations among the two sets of results?
3.3 How does Table 3.8 solidify the argument of the chapter
that Red states and Blue
states are not that different?
3.4 What can we learn from the marginal difference between red and blue states? Does the statistical difference support or redute the intent of the chapter?
Chapter 4-focused
questions
4.1 What pattern has occurred among social attitudes of Americans in the last twenty years? (this also fits with some chapter 3 evidence)
4.2 In what ways do Americans seem more tolerant than they were 15-20 years ago, and why do you think this is the case? The last two main sections of chapter 4 (on individuals and additional perspectives, pp. 70-76) would help in addressing this question.
Friday’s question
writers (send to cgilbert@gustavus.edu by 9 am Friday):