Teaching and Professional Practice

M05 - Roundtable: Teaching Elections

Date: May 30 | Time: 01:30pm to 03:00pm | Location: Classroom - CL 435 room ID 15762

Chair/Président/Présidente : Jared Wesley (University of Alberta)

Teaching Elections in Canada:

Anna Esselment (University of Waterloo)
Thierry Giasson (Université Laval)
Tamara Small (University of Guelph)
David Stewart (University of Calgary)

Abstract: Few events ignite political science students’ interest the way that elections do. Campaigns stimulate important debates around partisanship, ideology, public policy, election administration, democratic norms, political culture, and many other topics. In this target rich environment, teaching about elections in election years can be both daunting and rewarding. How do you best align teaching about elections with your own research program? How do you structure your course to take advantage of an election that takes place mid-term, or one that’s held outside of the normal Fall/Winter semesters? Are there ways to incorporate experiential or community-service learning opportunities into election year courses? What possibilities exist to teach common courses across institutions, offering students at various universities the chance to share geographic perspectives on the campaign? This roundtable features political scientists who have taken innovative pedagogical approaches to teaching provincial and federal elections.