What do you know about Washington, DC? What do people in Washington DC –residents, political actors, visitors -- know? This course will explore our city through these two questions, bringing them together while separating the imaginary city that various communities know about from the very real circuits of information that make Washington the vital national and global nexus that it is. In a presidential election year like 2012, Washington paradoxically takes its most prominent position in the national imagination, even as it is (temporarily) most removed form the limelight as candidates campaign around the states. We will thus pay particular attention to the knowldge networks associated with national electoral politics in the Fall 2012 seminar.
Syllabus: WashingtonFocusSeminar.pdf