"Democracy is Hard"/"Democracy is Messy"

Much has been said about generational differences in voting patterns during the 2008 election. An upper-division sociology course–Political Sociology–focused on theory and practice within the context of three pedagogical concerns that were used to help students add the missing element of political involvement to their understanding of what it means to be civically and socially engaged citizen. Working with a grassroots organization, the students applied what they were learning in the class about political involvement to their participation in community initiatives and a "get out the vote" drive.