This article originally appeared in the Election print issue, in stands November 2024. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
Political science students at the University of Utah are exposed to political conversations every day in their college classrooms. Both professors and students take care in the words they choose to use in the classroom, along with the topics that are willing to be discussed.
The study of political science is focused on political theory and “the world of politics and government — particularly the manner in which people organize, administer and seek to improve their governments,” according to the Department of Political Science’s website.
According to an @TheU article on free speech and academic freedom on campus, discussion of all views in a classroom are encouraged, and protected up to a certain extent.
“Discussion and expression of all views relevant to the subject matter of a class are recognized as necessary to the educational process,” the article read. “However, students have no right to impinge on the freedom of instructors to teach or the right of other students to learn.”
Students and professors in political science acknowledge that all people have bias, and how willing people are to have open discussion and listen to other viewpoints can shift the tone of the room in a political science class.
Mitigating Bias: Professor Perspective
Professors in the Department of Political Science have the job of educating their students in the realm of political studies, and many choose to stay up to date with their students on the current state of politics and how that relates to the course material. Outside the classroom they are all regular people like everyone else, so they all have their own bias that must be mitigated in the classroom.
Matthew Burbank, professor of political science and associate dean for undergraduate studies and faculty affairs in the College of Social and Behavioral Science, teaches courses on American government, voting in elections, political parties and research methods. He started his studies in political parties when he was an undergraduate student.
As a professor, Burbank said his favorite parts of teaching are preparing to teach and organizing the information so students can best learn, but also knowing how to best interact with students in a classroom setting. He said class engagement is important to better understand the material and how it is applicable to real world politics.
Michael Dichio, an assistant professor in political science, has focused his teaching career on helping students understand the role of politics in the law. His research is centered on American political and constitutional development with a focus on the Supreme Court and the Constitution.
Dichio teaches three courses at the U: Constitutional Law, Civil Rights and Liberties and Introduction to Law and Politics. In these classes, he aims to ask questions that encompass all sides of an argument and encourage discussion.
“[This is] based on the sort of pedagogical belief that a diversity of views brought to bear on a particular topic can yield sort of some eye-opening insights and get people to think about things in a way … that we’ve never thought about before, or slightly changed the way that we might think,” Dichio said.
Both professors said having diverse viewpoints among students facilitates discussion.
“I think the worst class would be if everybody had the same views that I do, because I think it would be, in a way, sort of hard to learn,” Burbank said.
Burbank added bias in the classroom is unavoidable.
“I think the reality is there’s no way that you could teach in a university setting that would be without biases in it,” Burbank said.
He said this bias exists in other subjects besides political science, as every professor no matter what the subject will have a bias in what they choose to teach and how they choose to teach it. As an example, Burbank pointed to English professors’ ability to choose which books their classes read.
Dichio agreed that bias in the classroom can appear in subtle ways.
“Biases creep in in all sorts of ways. I select the books, I select the terms of debate … even if my students don’t detect my bias, it comes out,” Dichio said.
Fostering Conversation: Student Perspective
Political science students may choose their degree for a variety of reasons, but many hope to pursue law school following their undergraduate education. Others may want to pursue graduate degrees in political science. Both seniors in political science at the U, Max Lepore and Jack Dutton hope to attend law school following their graduations.
Both students spoke on their view of political science classes, how professors’ viewpoints have affected their education and how they see bias come up in the classroom.
Lepore said it is alright for political science professors to express their own views, as long as they are still respectful of differing viewpoints.
“I think as long as you’re open to other views and creating a safe space for students to share whatever they believe in it’s okay … professors are people that are going to have views … that are going to be different than some of the students they teach,” Lepore said.
Lepore referenced the late Dr. Dave Buhler and said he had “some strong views,” but he did a great job of creating a safe space for his students so they could “share what they believed in without thinking they would receive retribution from their professor.”
The students said bias in their fellow classmates also affected the learning environment, with some students being more willing and able to have productive conversations about differing viewpoints than others.
“I think students who major in political science tend to be fairly opinionated people,” Dutton said. “It attracts people who do not mind sharing their opinion, sometimes more so than the rest of us would like.”
Dutton said he finds it valuable for his learning to hear from students in class whose opinions differ from his own.
“Often I do want to hear why my fellow students think [something] … especially if I disagree with them,” Dutton said. “I want to understand why they think that way.”
Lepore said although many students want to have these conversations and have “open minds,” there are other students who are not open to this.
“I think I have seen some people who have … maybe not contributed to a safe space or a super inclusive one, where people are able to share their views free from negative reactions from other students in the class, ” Lepore said. “I think that’s something we as students can do a better job of on both sides of the political spectrum.”
He added that respecting identities is “non-negotiable,” but beyond that students should work to “listen to each other.”
Lepore and Dutton said they have had their views shift from being political science students. In their classes they are exposed to different viewpoints and discourse that fosters growth.
Bias remains prevalent in the classrooms, but it doesn’t seem to take away from the education based on their experiences with a variety of professors who have differing political backgrounds and the common goal to educate.
Burbank and Dichio have their own political backgrounds and realms of study, but both aim to educate their students in a manner that will allow for a deep understanding of the academic and real life applications of the material.
“I think being in political science classrooms that kind of foster discourse and discussion have resulted in situations where I’ve been exposed to ideas different than my own, and in a way that has shaped some of my views,” Lepore said.
