Texts
· Aristotle – Poetics (book)
· Mark Leibovich – This Town. Two Parties and a Funeral—plus plenty of valet parking! (book)
· Mark Leibovich – This Town Melts Down (The New York Times Magazine article)
· Articles and commentaries by key contemporary Beltway actors – before each class students must read at least two short texts by the personalities
Videos and Podcasts
· Numerous videos and podcasts by key contemporary Beltway actors
Course Schedule
1. February 19
Introduction and Course Requirements
2. February 26
Rachel Maddow, talk show host, MSNBC
Aristotelian Dramatic Perspective
Reading: Aristotle’s Poetics
3. March 5
John Oliver, comedian, HBO
Inside the Beltway, the Broadway of Politics
Reading: Leibovich, This Town, Prologue and Chapters 1-5
4. March 12
Jordan Peterson, psychologist and public intellectual
Reading: Leibovich, This Town, Ch 6-10
5. March 19
Ben Shapiro, talk show host, editor, The Daily Wire
Reading: Leibovich, This Town, Ch 11-Epilogue
6. March 26
Naomi Klein, journalist and activist, author of No Logo and Shock Doctrine
Reading: Leibovich, This Town Melts Down
7. April 2
Ta-Nehisi Coates, author, The Atlantic
8. April 9
Bill Kristol, editor, The Weekly Standard
9. April 16
Andrew Sullivan, writer, New York Magazine
10. April 23
Sean Hannity, talk show host, Fox News Channel
11. April 30
Terry Gross, interviewer, NPR Fresh Air
12. May 7 Charles University Rector’s Day – No Classes
13. May 14
David Axelrod, The Axe Files podcast/CNN; University of Chicago Institute of Politics
14. Final Profiles Due: May 21
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