On August 22, 2024, over 1,100 students filed into Langford Auditorium for the first day of this year’s edition of PSCI 1150: U.S. Elections. The atmosphere was electric, buzzing with anticipation, and there was not an open seat in sight. On the stage sat four distinguished professors illuminated by the spotlight. As the lights dimmed and the murmurs of conversation faded, John Geer stood behind the podium and welcomed the class.
After some opening remarks, Geer turned over the podium to Jon Meacham. Amid light-hearted jokes about his daughter, a student in the Elections course, and playful jabs at Geer about his age, Meacham shared his personal story before emphasizing the importance of human history in general. Meacham grew up in a small town in Chattanooga, TN, where he was surrounded by small town politicians and physical remnants from the Civil War. For this reason, Meacham understood from a young age that politics is a human enterprise and history is tactile.
Meacham set a bipartisan tone for the course, stating that he is not a Democrat nor a Republican, and yet, throughout his lifetime, he has voted for candidates from both major parties. Professor Geer reiterated this point later, claiming “I myself am a raging moderate. My commitment is to evidence, not ideology.” The point of this course is not to try to convince students to vote for one candidate or another. It is to equip students with evidence and information from multiple viewpoints, empowering them to develop well-informed opinions and build stronger arguments for their beliefs.
As Meacham made his final remarks, Professor Nicole Hemmer stepped up to the podium and introduced herself as an expert on Republicanism and the conservative movement. Hemmer focused on the importance of studying both the winners and the losers in politics, because even those who lose elections can advance their political vision and shape history in monumental ways. Take the 1964 election, for example. Although Lyndon B. Johnson secured over 60% of the popular vote and won the presidency in a landslide victory, Barry Goldwater continued to promote conservative ideas and lay the groundwork for Ronald Reagan’s victory 16 years later. As Hemmer put it, “It took 16 years to count the votes,” but Goldwater did “win.”
Following Hemmer, Professor Josh Clinton took the floor. Clinton works with NBC News to analyze election data and predict who is going to win on election night. While you might have seen Meacham, Hemmer, and Geer on TV before, Clinton works behind the scenes. “If you ever see me on TV, that’s a bad sign!” he jokes. Clinton is a man of science, evidence, and facts, so he presented the class with five facts that we know to be true: 1) political power at the national level is allocated by very narrow margins (which is why, as Hemmer points out, the 1964 election is so historic); 2) political divisions are larger than ever right now (We can all feel it!); 3) who participates in the political process matters (So vote!); 4) the rules of the game matter by shaping the incentives of politicians, and, to wrap it up, 5) You need to think critically about all of the “facts” and claims being thrown at you. This last fact really encapsulates the purpose of this course.
Geer took us home by introducing a surprise guest speaker to kick off the year. Austin Brown is a double ‘Dore (Vandy ‘15 and Vandy Law ‘19) and an alum of the 2012 Elections class. This year, Brown is serving as the Chief Legal Counsel for the DNC in Chicago, and he was kind enough to Zoom into the class to share some insights from his experience on the last day of the convention. Everything said in Langford is off the record, so I cannot reveal too much about our conversation, but I can assure you that Brown set the bar high for our guest speakers to come!
The overarching theme of the first class was the importance of context and evidence when understanding elections and the state of America today, as well as the personal history of each of our professors that brought them to stand in front of 1,100 students in Langford Auditorium. To our four professors: you are a force to be reckoned with. And to everyone who is reading: never forget that to build a better future, you must first understand the lessons of the past.
As a bonus – everyone got a class-themed T-shirt so we can put off doing laundry for one more day!
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