This course will explore the history and current status of voting rights in the United States. When and why has the right to vote been extended to or taken away from different groups? What are the consequences of these changes for lawmaking and public policy? What ethical principles and rhetorical strategies are used to justify changes to voting rights? Special focus will be paid to economic, racial, and gender-based limitations on the franchise throughout American history, as well as to contemporary concerns about the voting rights of those convicted of felonies and access to voting for disadvantaged groups.
Course Attributes: EN S; BU BA; AS SSC
