OPTIONAL THEME:
KNOWLEDGE AND POLITICS
POLITICS DIVIDES
Photo source: I-Hsien Sherwood: The art and science of negative campaign ads. CampaignUS, July 25, 2016.
CLASS ACTIVITY:
TRYING SOME ANALYTICAL SURVEYS
Without any introductory discussion; students should the following analytical surveys from the Pew Research Center:
1. Political Compass Test
2. Political Typology Quiz.
Ask students to give a non-verbal signal as soon as they have finished both surveys. As as they identify themselves assign them them to groups of four. Each group should appoint a facilitator, scribe and spokesperson. Ask them to address the following generative question?
What is going on here?
What seems to be the Pew Research Center methodology?
To what extent are the conclusions legitimate?
After a timed 5 minute group discussion (with a 1 minute warning) ask each spokesperson to report back in turn. Facilitate a brief discussion based on what emerges. Before it fizzles out move on to the next activity.
Gif source: New York Times
Next have students work pairs to complete the Let us predict whether you are a Democrat or a Republican interactive model from the New York Times, August 2019. Allow some extra time to explore the methodology section. Tell students that they should keep the three generative questions from the Pew Research Center surveys in mind as they explore and share their ideas.
Inform them that they will not be reporting back this time; but will bring their thoughts to the conversation coming next.
ANOTHER REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION:
Where do your OWN political ideas come from?
Refer students to the protocol for good conversation encountered in the “Post-truth?” unit. After reminding students of the ground rules for engaging in a productive conversation, assign them to groups of three in optimal seating arrangements to address the following generative questions:
1. Think carefully and broadly… where have your own political ideas come from?
2. List news sources, including podcasts, and any social media newsfeeds that you use. Do not neglect light-hearted, indirect influences like gaming and funny memes.
3. To what extent do friends, family, and outside hobbies or activities like sports and travel, play a bigger part in influencing your political sensibilities and opinions than your formal education?
A SHORT IN CLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Using no more than 700 words,
write an autobiographical piece entitled
“My own political awakenings.”
light Relief: The narcissism of small differences
“ In numerous cases of apparently ethno-nationalist conflict, the deepest hatreds are manifested between people who—to most outward appearances—exhibit very few significant distinctions. It is one of the great contradictions of civilization and one of the great sources of its discontents, and Sigmund Freud even found a term for it: “the narcissism of the small difference.” As he wrote, “It is precisely the minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that form the basis of feelings of hostility between them.””
PARTISANSHIP: LARGE DIFFERENCES
In April 2018 Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to cross into South Korean territory since 1953. South Korean President Moon Jae-in greeted him at the military demarcation line. The two countries have been technically at war for almost 70 years.
Photo source: Korea Summit Press Pool/Getty Images
CLASS ACTIVITY:
POLARIZATION AND MEDIA BIAS
Begin by asking students to compare the 1994 and 2017 graphical representations of “The shift in the American public’s political values” from the Pew Research Center. Allow some time for students to visit and engage with the interactive graphic at the Pew Research site. This will allow them to gain an appreciation of the research methodology and the shape of the political polarization during the intermediate years.
Political Polarization, 1994-2017: Pew Research Center, October 20, 2017
The share of Americans with ideologically consistent values has increased and these political values also have become more strongly associated with partisanship. These shifts are particularly pronounced among politically engaged Americans.
MEDIA BIAS CHART
Next introduce students to the “Media Bias Chart® created and regularly updated by Ad Fontes Media. Ask students arrange themselves comfortably pairs for collaborative engagement with the interactive version of the chart at the Ad Fontes Media site:
Interactive Media Bias Chart from Ad Fontes Media.
”We rate the news for bias and reliability using a rigorous methodology and a politically balanced team of analysts. Ad Fontes is Latin for “to the source.” Usage and licenses.
STUDENT TASKS AND GENERATIVE QUESTIONS
TASK #1: Understand how the Left/Right horizontal axis works with zero at its center. Notice the category breakdown at the very top with “Extreme Left” and “Extreme Right” at the edges, and “Neutral or Balanced Bias” at the center.
TASK #2: Understand how the the vertical axis works with “More Reliability” at the top of the scale.
Why do you think it might be important to distinguish “fact reporting” from “original fact reporting”?
How are reliable news sources able to report fact and opinion whilst maintaining their integrity?
TASK #3: Understand how polarization and reliability work together to generate the criteria for each of the four kinds color-coded rectangles defined in the Type Key located at the upper right of the chart.
TASK #4: Use the +/- buttons to Zoom in and out of the chart. Notice that each branded icon is a live link to the organization’s website. Cursor hover over every last gray dot links to reveal the identity of lesser known sources.
Locate the media sources where you obtain news, referring to “Where have your own political ideas come from? and “My own political awakenings?”
As you visit your own news source sites and other famous ones that intrigue you, discern which are free and which rely on subscriptions or donations? Do you notice any correlation with reliability and left/right polarity?
INTERLUDE: FOURth and FIFTH Estates
In traditional European monarchies the three estates of the realm were the clergy, the nobility, and everyone else. In constitutional democracies powers are separated into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Fourth Estate (or Fourth Power) refers to the press and news media. Though never a formal part of government, a free press is recognized as essential for informed citizenship and advocacy. The Fifth Estate is a whimsical reference to journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, bloggers, and social media newsfeeds. A 2013 movie about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks was called The Fifth Estate.
CLASS ACTIVITY: NEWS PERSONALIZATION
Whether or not the students in your class use it themselves, Facebook is a good entry point for exploring the consequences of personalized news. Facebook feeds an audience of around two billion people every month, with 1.2 billion on a daily basis; far more than any mainstream television, print or online news source.
The News Feed team at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
Photo source: Spencer Lowell for The New York Times
Divide the class into six discussion groups. Provide each group with one of the following numbered questions printed on a card?
Facebook is free. What is its business model?
How does the Facebook newsfeed algorithm work?
To what extent does Facebook deliver on its promise that ‘it builds technologies and services that enable people to connect with each other, build communities, and grow businesses”?
What are the positive aspects of the algorithm ranking and feeding content that the user wants?
In terms of informed citizenship what are the ramifications of reinforcing filter bubbles or the echo chamber effect?
To what extent do personalized newsfeeds introduce and escalate biased or fictitious news items, conspiracy theories and inane clickbait?
Allow a full 8 minutes for discussion. Encourage them in the first instance to go directly to Facebook’s own Terms of Service page as an unfiltered source.
After giving a two minute warning for students to consolidate their final thoughts, call on the respondents of each numbered question in turn to share their findings and personal reflections.
Finally, the following consolidation questions to guide students towards making connections between the various activities in the politics divides unit:
To what extent do customized newsfeeds and the erosion of common ground for discourse compound the political divide?
Does this matter? Haven’t people always lived in social and informational bubbles?
Reflect for a moment the original question from this unit: “Think carefully and broadly… where have your own political ideas come from? What if anything will you do differently from now on to optimize your political awareness as an informed citizen with sense of agency and belonging?
ENDNOTE:
Balance, FALSITY, AND sOME CORE VALUES
Discomforting and timely political message evoking false balance by eminent cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher. Economist, October 4, 2018.
INFOGRAPHIC: How To Spot False News Groundviews is a citizens journalism website based in Sri Lanka. The site uses a range of genres and media to highlight alternative perspectives on governance, human rights, the arts and literature, peace-building and other issues.