Public Opinion and Political Behavior

This course will examine how public opinion shapes political behavior in the U.S. First, we will focus on how ¿public opinion¿ is defined and understood in the U.S., examine how public opinion data is collected, and explore the uses and misuses of public opinion by the media. Building on these areas of inquiry, we will review several areas of political behavior, such as voting, the impact of campaigning and elections, the role of political parties, and the goals and activities of social movements and interest groups.