New Hampshire Humanities Collaborative and UNH College of Liberal Arts
Call for Participants for Mock Nominating Convention
November 2, 2019
U.S. national party conventions are the culmination of the presidential nominating process, as well as the only opportunity for the two national parties to formally adopt a platform outlining their policy positions and proposals. The convention also serves as a rare meeting of local, state, and national party officials and elected representatives, as well as interest groups, lobbyists, protesters and counter-protesters. New Hampshire plays a unique and important role in the nomination of the U.S. presidential candidates due to its “First in the Nation Primary”. Building on this role, the New Hampshire Humanities Collaborative and UNH College of Liberal Arts is offering an active-learning based Mock “Nominating Convention”in November 2019. Students from several campuses will come together at UNH in Durham and represent 50 state delegations (plus D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands). In the morning session, students will focus on drafting the party platform. In the afternoon, drawing on polling data and the insight of analysis, students will predict the distribution of delegates for their state and determine the presidential nominee.
We welcome participation from a variety of courses including (but not limited to) Communications, Geography, History, Journalism, Justice Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, the Classics, Theatre and more.
Each faculty participant will receive a $1000 stipend for their participation.
The committee seeks proposals from interested faculty who will:
- Participate in the New Hampshire Humanities Collaborative Summer Academy (June 4) to workshop both content and process of the nominating convention.
- Incorporate the Mock Nominating Convention into a class curriculum (1-2 assignments)
- Set aside one class in their fall course schedule for briefing on the “Elections and the Nominating Convention processes.”
- Attend (with students) the November 2, 2019 Nominating Convention event.
- Provide a 1 page debrief about the experience from both the faculty and student perspective.
Throughout the process, faculty will be offered additional resources and expertise as needed to develop specific assignments and/or foster connections between course learning objectives and the Mock Convention. Experts on the nominating convention will visit participating classrooms in the fall to brief students who will submit a preliminary ballot of candidates and draft positions on key issues for the writing of the party platform. All classes will then come together for a full day event held on the campus of UNH in Durham and include keynotes from notable national political figures. Lunch (for students and faculty) is included.
Evaluation Criteria
- Feasibility of incorporation Mock Convention into course curriculum
- Potential impact on student participation
- Likelihood of successful participation in fall event
- Level of cross-campus engagement and collaboration
Proposal requirements
- One-two page description of the course, general class enrollment, general student profile and preliminary plan to integrate the preparation for the simulation into the fall course curriculum.
- Travel budget (e.g., mileage or bus rental) for studentswho are not on UNH-Durham campus (awarded in addition to faculty stipend).
Proposals due: April 26 (email to alynna.lyon@unh.edu)
Decisions made by: May 3, 2019
If you have questions, please contact Alynna Lyon (alynna.lyon@unh.edu or 862-0881, Leslie Barber (lbarber@ccsnh.edu or 427-7686), or Stephanie Roper (sroper@ccsnh.edu).
