How do you teach 'History of the American Presidency' at a moment like this?
A Q&A with Kathryn Cramer Brownell, a Purdue prof who has that assignment.
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HOW DO YOU TEACH ‘HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY’ AT A MOMENT LIKE THIS? A Q&A
As presidential campaigns continued to spiral toward national conventions this week – you know the deal on both sides the aisle, with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump – I asked Kathryn Cramer Brownell a few questions Wednesday.
Brownell, a Purdue history professor, is author of the 2023 book “24/7 Politics: Cable Television & The Fragmenting of America From Watergate to Fox News” and a senior editor of the Made by History series of current events context in Time. This semester, she’ll teach History of the American Presidency, an upper level course looking at the cultural, social and economic changes in expectations of the modern presidency.
The time stamp seemed particularly relevant on this one. As Brownell said as we got rolling: “It’s been a lot just to keep up.”
Question: What precedent, if any, do you see in the history of presidential campaigns to what's happening and how this one is playing out, so far?
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