CC 360 - Social Media and Politics

Credits: 4 credits

Offers an in-depth look at the role of social media in different aspects of the political process from a permanent campaigning perspective, including in the context of electoral contests, legislative and governing patterns, and party politics. On one hand, it explores how formal political players-candidates for elected office, elected officials, political parties, and governmental agencies-are adapting some of their information dispersion, mobilization, and organizing strategies to the distinct structural and functional properties of social media. On the other hand, it examines the evolution of the way in which and to what extent many players on the edges of the formal political arena are active politically as social media are becoming an increasingly central component of their political engagement toolkit. In sum, this course provides students with a broader understanding of how these two dynamics are fueling the rise of a political engagement disconnect between political elites and the population at large, especially members of the millennial generation, internationally. Prerequisite: junior standing. (Semester varies)