You must read all the Lecture Materials before you start to write essay!
The lecture materials are the conclusion of the readings.
In order to give you a clearer understanding, I will provide both.
Overview: During the first half of this course, we examined populism as a theoretical concept, noting that despite a growing interest in populism as a political and social phenomenon, the concept remains contested, with some scholars contending that populism is a strategy, others indicating it is an ideology, and others arguing that it is a “political style.” For your midterm examination, you will examine the extent to which populism as a “political style” fits the American experience by applying the concept to the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump campaigns.
Prompt: Over the course of the last few weeks, we have paid particular attention to the “populist political style” as a way to determine whether or not a candidate is “performing populism”. Given your understanding of the “populist political style” and the American political system, are Sen. Bernie Sanders AND former President Donald Trump populists? Why? Why not?
Define the three components of the “populist political style.”
Briefly outline the behaviors associated with each of the three components of the “populist political style” (i.e., How is each component “performed”?).
Apply insights from the above discussion to Sanders AND Trump (i.e., Are their behaviors consistent with “performing populism”?).
Use the above to construct your argument as to whether Sanders and Trump are populists (i.e., Are Sanders and Trump broadly “performing populism” Why? Why not?).
Requirements: The paper should provide a well-organized argument to the prompt, using course materials (lecture, course readings, current events materials, etc.) to substantiate your argument. In terms of format, the essay should: be 6-8 double spaced pages in length, use 12-point font and standard one-inch margins, and contain a bibliography (which does not count towards the page limit). Please be advised that papers which 1) lack a clear thesis statement and/or 2) show little or no familiarity with course readings will be penalized. There is a handout on the course website to assist with formatting a social science paper. You may use either MLA or APA format to cite sources within your paper.