150-300 words:READINGS DISCUSSION for Week 1 – 20210626X

Directions: For this Forum, you must post an original statement between 150-300 words before 23:59 Sunday night. You may 1) respond to a prompt made by the professor below, or 2) respond to a post made previously by a classmate, or 3) come up with your own original topic (so long as it deals with one of the readings assigned for this week). Please make clear by title/author/page number, which part of which text you discuss. Responses to these questions don’t have “right” and “wrong,” provided you make a good faith effort to deal with the readings. In fact, each of the prompts I have composed asks in one way or another for you to link some experience from your own life with something from the readings. So, definitely no right and wrong there. If you prefer to start your own thread here are some suggestions. Requirements: 150-300 words | .doc file In the Davison essay “Is There a Culture War?” the author synopsizes the culture war hypothesis in the last full paragraph of p. 13. Were there any episodes, little local disputes, in your local community (or within your family) growing up that you now think may have been part of the larger “realignment” in “American public culture” that he describes? Consider especially public symbols, myths, discourses, and institutional structures. pick a passage from one of the readings you found particularly insightful or helpful and articulate why you found it so. [Be sure to include page numbers with your selections.] pick a passage that confused you or that you believed was unclear (try to explain what you think it was about). [Be sure to include page numbers with your selections.] In Lecture 3, 26′, Professor Master observes that Republicans appealed to potential voters in 1968 and 1972 by linking supposedly lawless behavior (such as the 1968 race riots and the actions of protestors associated with the anti-war movement) to the Democrats. In January 2021, conservative rioters rampaged through the U.S. Capitol. Their behavior had been directly or indirectly encouraged by elected Republican officials. In the aftermath of that event, many Democrats (and media) people characterized this behavior using terms like lawless, criminal, and insurrection. If you were Republican planning a campaign for office in 2022 or 2024, what concerns would this month’s riot at the Capitol potentially pose to your campaign? How might you mitigate those concerns? If you don’t like any of these prompts, feel free to make up your own prompt, then reply to it. The only requirement is that you’re reacting to a reading assigned during Week 1.