From Voting to Protests: Introduction to Political Attitudes, Groups and Behaviors

Why do group identities become salient in politics, and how do they shape political attitudes and behavior? This introductory course focuses on identities like ethnicity, race, gender, and partisanship in democracies across the world. The semester is split into four components: first we conceptualize group identities and political behavior; next, we examine various ways in which identity-related behaviors can be measured; then understand why some group identities become politically salient; and finally, consider the impact of those identities on political behavior, policy preferences, social trust, and discrimination.