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Note: Depending on the instructor, this course will adopt a different focus. When Prof. Crabtree offers the course, the focus will be on racial and gender discrimination. Prof. Costa will focus on voters' evaluations of politicians. Prof. Nyhan will focus his seminar on misinformation.
By design or by default, many universities offer limited exposure to conservative ideas. These ideas are often overshadowed by the progressive perspectives that dominate the academic mainstream. This course aims to guide students through a critical exploration of conservative thought—its philosophical core, real-world policy implications, and cultural reverberations. By examining why these viewpoints exist, how they gather public support, and what criticisms they encounter, students will walk away equipped to engage the full breadth of ideological arguments on a broad set of divides. We will examine both liberal and conservative viewpoints with a critical eye. The goal is not to attack or persuade but to reveal the ideological disagreements and positions that often go unchallenged on campus. Each weekly unit is intentionally provocative, aimed at pushing the boundaries of your critical thinking. While not all the works we read are considered academically rigorous (or even high quality), they offer valuable insights into arguments that shape public consciousness and the American political system.
Nelson A. Rockefeller '30 was elected as a Republican to be governor of New York four times before ultimately serving as Vice President in the Ford Administration during the mid-1970s. As the grandson of one of the most successful industrialists in the world, John D. Rockefeller, the family was well-known to many Americans, and Nelson's public career was often featured in major newspapers and magazines. Yet, Nelson Rockefeller never attained the presidency despite several attempts. Many commentators speculate that this was because Rockefeller was an atypical Republican with moderate-to-liberal views on many policy issues. Indeed, the political fights that Nelson and other "Rockefeller Republicans" encountered during the 1960s and 1970s foreshadowed deep fissures and intra-party battles in subsequent generations. However, the trajectory of Nelson Rockefeller's political career is somewhat surprising because political scholars predict that candidates near the center of the political spectrum should do well electorally given the distribution of voters in America. Therein lies the puzzle: why are political moderates, including Nelson Rockefeller, not more common in American politics? More specifically, why don't centrists win more often and dominate the political scene? To explore these questions, this class considers the evolution of the Republican party through the experience of Nelson Rockefeller and those who followed him in America.