Too Soon? Confronting Potentially Polarizing Political Topics in the Classroom

• In Event: Political Diversity in the Classroom

Abstract

This paper sets out to explore how college courses have chosen to include or not include topical political conversations often considered controversial or highly polarized in recent years. This research will be based on an analytical analysis of a sample of college syllabi as well as selected qualitative interviews with college faculty. In the wake of an ongoing anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) movement, institutions of higher education have already been cutting programs and expressly changing language in the face of certain backlash. As this example demonstrates, institutions face pressure to some extent to appear politically neutral or even apolitical (even when these efforts do not have the intended outcome). This paper examines how political science courses discuss hot-button topics like election integrity, misinformation, and abortion, among other issue areas. Specifically, it considers the range of approaches taken, and how we might meet or do not meet ideal standards for political science education due to various internal and external factors.

Author

• Darlene Nichole Moorman, Kent State University