COMMS 430D - Tpc: Unspinning Campaign Rhetoric

Minimum Credit(s) Awarded: 3
Maximum Credit(s) Awarded: 3

Characteristic of political campaigns is the “spinning” of factual information. Campaigners employ a variety of techniques including bending “facts,” mischaracterizing the words of others, and ignoring or denying crucial evidence to create support for their value and/or policy positions. Guided by previous communication research, students will identify important assertions of fact in the campaigns of state and local candidates in the 2010 elections and seek to verify such assertions by consulting relevant literature and experts. If the candidates’ assertions are not supported, the candidates themselves will be asked for clarification. The study will be conducted within the context of general campaign communication and will pursue such questions as “What political realities encourage “spin?” “What is the ethical importance of veracity in political speech?” “What is the role of the media in perpetuating “spin” and/or “fact checking” assertions made in political campaigns?”

Prerequisite(s): None.