Assignment 3 government

Written Assignment #3: Political Polarization in America

We are the United States, but as citizens, we are becoming more and more divided, on issues, on parties, and on policies.  In this paper, please do the following:

Research political polarization, its causes and consequences, in the following five (5) articles:

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/12/7-things-to-know-about-polarization-in-america/

https://www.brookings.edu/research/thinking-about-political-polarization/

https://www.the-american-interest.com/2018/05/16/the-top-14-causes-of-political-polarization/

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/whats-the-answer-to-political-polarization/470163/

https://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2017/6/27/15880328/how-to-reduce-partisan-polarization

• Define political polarization and discuss WHY it is of concern to American democracy.


• From the readings, please discuss the main causes of polarization.  Was the US always polarized or is this a relatively new concept?  What causes are consistent across all the articles?


• What are the consequences of growing political polarization? 


• How can we lessen this growing political divide?  Discuss the solutions provided by the authors of the given articles.  Which do you find most compelling? Which seem the most likely to be implemented?

Please remember to abide by the General Requirements for Written Assignments:

• All papers must be typewritten, with reasonable font sizes and margins (12pt maximum; 1-inch margins). Unless otherwise stated, papers should be at least 3-5 pages in length, double-spaced, and submitted via eCampus.


• Papers are required to include introductions and conclusions.  Assume when writing that the reader has no prior information on your topic -- then you will explain and fulfill each prompt completely.  Please see the grading rubric to ensure that you cover all the specifics.


• Assignments are due as listed in the course schedule, by 11:59pm.  Late papers will be accepted for half-credit. 


• I highly recommend that you write your papers on a separate word processing program, and then upload to eCampus, rather than composing directly on eCampus.  Technology has a way of causing problems when you least need them!  Additionally, if eCampus is down when a paper is due, all you need to do is email the document to me ([email protected]).  


• Papers cannot be in Apple Pages format.  Please convert to pdf.  Papers must be uploaded as a file, not a link (this is for institutional assessment reasons).


• Where necessary, others’ work must be appropriately cited.  Plagiarism is unacceptable, and will result in a zero.