Cornell is using courses across politics, data science, civil discourse, law and civic leadership to teach students how democracies work and how citizens can participate in them.
The university highlighted the work as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, pointing to classes in comparative politics, public policy, constructive disagreement and First Amendment advocacy, as well as the new Cornell Center on Democracy.
In Introduction to Comparative Politics, Tom Pepinsky, the Walter F. LaFeber Professor of government in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy, teaches students about democracies and other political systems. The course examines how democracy can support peaceful transitions of power and create conditions for rights and freedoms.
Cornell also pointed to Data Management and Programming for Policy and Society in the Brooks School, where students use data analysis to examine public policy questions. One student project analyzed political action committee data and candidate outcomes after a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving campaign spending.
Another course, Disagreement, was piloted in the spring by Peter Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The class is designed to help students disagree more effectively on social and political topics and will be offered again in the fall.
Pathways to Purpose: Civic Leadership in Law, Health, Tech and Business also asks students to consider purpose, civic engagement and democracy in their academic and professional lives. The course was co-taught by Colleen Barry, dean of Cornell Brooks, and Rachel Dunifon, dean of the College of Human Ecology.
Cornell said its new Center on Democracy will support research, education and public engagement on questions facing democratic systems. The center is focused on strengthening democratic principles in the United States and abroad.
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