APL 341 Race Class Narrative
How do political elites stoke racial division to undermine working class solidarity? How can democratic norms be strengthened through messaging that promotes solidarity between differently positioned social groups? The Race Class Narrative (RCN) approach to political messaging was developed by political scientists who study the significance of political and social identities for informing political judgment. RCN is an empirically tested theory about coalition formation and political behavior. It explains how elites use racial division to manage distributional conflict, and how alternative frameworks can change public opinion, participation, and policy outcomes.
In this course, students will use the Race Class Narrative (RCN) as an applied analytic framework. They will engage scholarship on racial politics and economic inequality, analyze evidence from political cognition and political communication (e.g. identity, threat, heuristics, motivated reasoning, framing, and elite cues), and practice research-informed message development. The course also evaluates major extensions of the RCN that integrate gender, sexuality, and other axes of difference, with attention to measurement and democratic ethics.
Prerequisites
4 Undergraduate credits
Effective May 7, 2026 to present
Learning outcomes
General
- Understand major theories of race and class, including how these frameworks explain institutions, policy outcomes, political inequality, and coalition dynamics.
- Explain and apply core findings from political cognition and political behavior research that describe how political subjects perceive information, make political judgments, and translate those judgments into political action.
- Develop campaign messages using the Race Class Narrative approach, producing audience specific messaging for both issue advocacy and electoral contexts.
- Critique political messaging, considering messaging in terms of its alignment with the principles of Race Class Narrative and likely audience effects.
- Adapt the Race Class Narrative approach to incorporate gender, sexuality, and other axes of political difference into strategic political messaging.