Summary
The US onAir Network will be working with volunteers from Wisconsin universities, colleges, and nonprofit organizations to oversee the curation and moderation of posts, aircasts (online discussions), and in person events for the Wisconsin onAir Hub … related to federal, state, and local elections and government.
Our first outreach will be to University of Wisconsin partly because of its proximity to the state capital. We have identified many of University of Wisconsin’s civic engagement, academic, internship and research programs related to making democracy and civic responsibility a focus of higher learning on their campus … for students, faculty, staff, and local community. This post, over time, will have similar information on other collaborating organizations in the state.
Contact ben.murphy@onair.cc for more information on how to involve your organization.
About
The University of Wisconsin’s onAir chapter will initially focus on training interested undergrad and graduate students on how to curate Wisconsin onAir content especially submitting Top News articles, events, videos, and information and moderating forums in each post they curate.
Student curators will also work with state senate and house committee chairs to produce aircasts on issues being discussed and bills being proposed in their committees.
During election season, students with other other organizations like the League of Women Voters, will coordinate and produce aircasted debates with candidates.
University of Wisconsin
Source: About UW
Since its founding in 1848, this campus has been a catalyst for the extraordinary. As a public land-grant university and prolific research institution, our students, staff, and faculty members partake in a world-class education and solve real-world problems. We’ve changed the way the nation takes its vitamins and brought flamingos to Bascom Hill. We’ve inspired satirists and senators alike. We’ve fearlessly sifted and winnowed to find today’s truths. And with the Wisconsin Idea as our guiding principle, we’re not only changing the 936 acres we call home—Badgers are also creating a better future for Wisconsin, the nation, and the world.
Civic Engagement Programs
Source: Morgridge Center for Public Service
The Morgridge Center for Public Service connects University of Wisconsin-Madison students, staff and faculty to local and global communities to build partnerships and solve critical issues through service and learning. The Morgridge Center was founded in 1996 with the generous support of alumni John and Tashia Morgridge. In the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, we believe in building reciprocal relationships with our partners and strong citizens among our student population.
Mission
The Morgridge Center for Public Service connects campus and community through service, service learning and community-based research to build a thriving democratic society.
Vision
The Morgridge Center for Public Service will lead the University of Wisconsin-Madison in preparing students to be their best civic selves for lifelong civic engagement by building capacity, in partnership with the community, to address complex problems locally and globally.
Student Government
Source: Associated Students of Madison
About ASM
The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) is the official student governance body of UW-Madison, representing the needs of over 43,000 students. ASM is composed of roughly 50 elected or appointed students, 50 student employees, 12 professional staff members, and 200 student appointees on committees that hold legal rights to recommend university policies, budgets, and candidates for UW employment. ASM allocates approximately $50 million in segregated university fees each year and is responsible for management of the Student Activity Center and distribution of the student bus pass. The roles of ASM can be divided into three categories: direct action, governance, and service.
Direct Action
The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) is first and foremost a grassroots organization that works to directly involve and empower all students in making their own lives better by participating in strategic campaigns. Through this work students learn to be effective, engaged citizens who can coordinate and advocate for themselves. This aspect of ASM is most prominent during the recruitment drives, through the work of open committees and campaigns, and via intern projects.
Associated Students of Madison (ASM)
4301 Student Activity Center – 4th Floor
333 East Campus Mall
ASM office phone: (608) 265-4276
ASM office email: info@asm.wisc.edu
Internships
Source: Internships
Internships are an important option for professional development at most schools in the U.S., and increasingly throughout the world. Each year majors in Political Science work as interns in a variety of places including governments (legislatures, executive agencies, courts), politics (political parties, campaigns, political advocacy organizations), interest groups, nonprofits, law firms, research organizations, k-12 schools and universities, and museums and historical sites.
By definition, internships are a way to learn by doing. This is important as today’s employers rank ‘workplace skills and experiences’ very high on their list of preferable college grads who are applying for jobs [1]. But how can you develop your workplace skills and experiences as a college student? Internships are one, major tool for you to do so. There are many sources in Political Science, and at UW-Madison in general, that can help you explore the value of internships, research possible workplaces, effectively apply to internships, and make the most of the internship experience once you start work.
Political Science Programs
Source: Political Science Department
Undergraduate Programs
Majors in political science obtain a broader understanding of the world, but also develop important skills in critical thinking and analysis. Students who major in political science will emerge better prepared to make professional choices. These skills are indispensable in any career path you decide to pursue.
The Political Science major is concerned with exploring the exercise of power in its myriad forms and consequences. Students in the major are encouraged to explore such central issues as the ethical problems attendant to the exercise of power; the impact of historic, economic, and social forces on the operation of politics; the functioning and distinctive features of the US political system; the diversity of political systems found among nations of the world and the significance of these differences; the interaction among international actors and the causes of war and peace. When you study political science you gain practical knowledge, intellectual depth, and conceptual tools to pursue careers in law, business, journalism, public service, and education.
Graduate Programs
The Department of Political Science offers graduate study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science. The Ph.D. is earned through a combination of coursework and dissertation. The program is designed to provide students with both a general training in political science and the opportunity to specialize in their areas of interest.
The subfields of political science found in our department are American politics, comparative politics, political theory and philosophy, international relations, and political methodology. The department has a national and international reputation for the high quality of its faculty and the diversity of their approaches and interests. It has long been recognized for an acceptance of varied approaches to the study of politics and for its collegiality. The Political Science Department shares faculty with the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, the Law School, and the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. The presence of programs and centers such as the African Studies Program, the Center for European Studies, the Center for Jewish Studies, the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA), Integrated Liberal Studies, the International Studies major (B.A. and B.S.), Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies, and others is also beneficial to our graduate students, providing opportunities for the advancement of interdisciplinary approaches in student research.
Research Initiatives
Source: Department of Political Science
Fields
The field of American Politics encompasses the study of the structure and dynamics of mass behavior and opinion and of the major governmental and extragovernmental institutions, their interrelationships, their historical evolution and their role in the policy process. Specifically, the field covers the major national government institutions; subnational governments and the federal system; extragovernmental organizations; the behavior and opinions of elites and masses who operate within these institutions and organizations who may seek to influence them… Read more.
Scholars of Comparative Politics investigate similarities and differences in patterns of politics across the world. They engage in within-country, cross-national, and cross-regional research with a geographic focus outside the United States (although the US may be included as a case in cross-national comparative research). Comparativists use a variety of methods and often possess deep expertise in particular countries or regions. This knowledge is important for the purpose of systematic comparison, theory building, theory testing, and awareness of context specific variables and causal relationships masked by immersion in our own polities and societies. The field of Comparative… Read more.
International relations attempts to explain the interactions of states in the global interstate system, and it also attempts to explain the interactions of others whose behavior originates within one country and is targeted toward members of other countries. In short, the study of international relations is an attempt to explain behavior that occurs across the boundaries of states, the broader relationships of which such behavior is a part, and the institutions (private, state, nongovernmental, and intergovernmental) that oversee those interactions. Explanations of that behavior may be sought… Read more.
The Political Methodology field at Wisconsin is broadly defined. It includes training in qualitative and quantitative design, empirical theory, statistical methods and formal theory. As a consequence, Wisconsin students are unusually well trained in the entire field and are prepared to both teach and apply methodologies in all empirical fields of the discipline. The study of, and testing in, methods is not isolated from work in substantive fields, and the exam requires students to be able to apply the methodological questions (theory and technique) to the student’s substantive area… Read more.
Political theory is an integral part of the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, and our current faculty continues a long tradition of intellectual openness and methodological diversity. Faculty research and teaching cover a broad historical range and reflect the thematic diversity of political theory. Students interested in pursuing graduate studies at Wisconsin will find a rigorous and exciting intellectual environment. Through coursework, research, and active participation… Read more.
Research Groups
American Democracy Forum
The American Democracy Forum focuses on the study of the principles of the American founding and the debate and conversation over the place of those principles in the practice of democracy in the United States. Forum activities include postdoctoral teaching and research fellowships, summer seminars for middle and high school teachers, conferences, a speakers’ series in the Political Science Department, and undergraduate essay prizes.
The Elections Research Center fosters cutting edge academic analysis of national and state elections to further the scholarly understanding of factors that influence voter decision-making and election outcomes. It continues a long tradition of excellence in elections-related study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
