This course is organized around research and writing related to the history of local citizen participation in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century.  Movements directed towards civil rights, women’s rights, the environment, right to life and lower taxes encouraged millions of citizens to become more actively engaged in local politics.  By the turn of the century, the popularization of the internet and social media eased many barriers to participation and allowed citizens with common interests to find each other locally.

Every student will write a research paper on the topic of citizen participation based upon primary sources.  Students will also be required to master the secondary literature related to their topic.  The final length of the paper should be approximately twenty-five to thirty pages, excluding footnotes and bibliography.  During the first half of the course, we will meet weekly to discuss some examples of local citizen participation, and then, to present your work in progress.  We will meet less frequently for the second half of the class, as you shift to independent research and writing. 

All of the common readings, including sample theses from past classes are available through the course Collab site.

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