550: Assignment #1
History 550 Study Guide for Assignment #1, 2023
Part 1: identify and explain the significance of key terms
Part 2: write an essay in answer to one of the two prompts that will be on the test.
Be ready to explain the epistemic crisis: it's causes and consequences.
Be ready to discuss strengths and weaknesses of the American Constitutional government, including the Congress, the presidency, and federalism. Consider the degree to which it allows the people to govern themselves.
Consider how features of the epistemic environment and the Constitution may play a role in causing polarization.
Key terms. Epistemic crisis
Discipline of verification
Objectivity
Public forum (function of press, aka village square)
Cosmopolitan
Tom Cotton op-ed
James Bennet*
Social media algorithms
Meaningful social interactions*
Ideological clustering
Eastern sensibility* (this is refers to the culture of the coastal elites)
Internet publishing
Cognitive dissonance
News deserts
Late-night comedy
Sneering condescension*
Verbal cruelty*
Boxers or briefs (53)*
Motivated reasoning
Identity-protective cognition
Group identity*
Naive Realism
Affective polarization
Partisan disdain
Objectivity injunctions
Science literacy paradox*
Polarizing effects of knowledge
Values diversity
Scientific reasoning skills
Jonathan Haidt
Moral Foundations Theory (68)
Philip Converse, "Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Politics"*
Partisans
Ideologues
Acquiescence*
Political hobbyism
Status quo*
Cosmopolitican wing (of the Democratic Party) (part of the eastern sensibility)*
Yard signs*
Wire services (EG, AP)*
Key Terms. Government
Stared items (*) are the to help you answer big questions but won't be an ID term on the test. Discipline of verification
Constitutional chains*
Federalist Papers
James Madison
Supremacy clause (Article VI)
Federalism
Connecticut Compromise
Three-fifths compromise
Judicial review
Madison v. Marbury
Coalition governments
Proportional representation
Multiparty system
Parliamentary governments
Snap elections
Lame duckery
Gilens and Page*
"Miracle at Philadelphia"
Senate
Filibuster
Cloture vote
Tea Party
Majoritarians
Super-majority
Cooling saucer*
Recess appointments*
Single-member districts
Statewide slates
Gerrymandering
Amendment procedure*
Vigorous executive
Delegated power*
Commander in chief
Unitary executive theory
Torture memos*
Electoral College
Twelfth Amendment*
Interregnum
Runaway presidency
Signing statements*
Federalism
Mayors*
School board
Mutual toleration
Forbearance
Authoritarianism*
Centrist politics* (a term we should discuss in class)