Women and Politics

With the ascension of Nancy Pelosi to Speaker of the House and third in line to the presidency, the election of many other women in the mid-term elections, and the highly -visible presence of Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Clinton on the national political stage, there has been much discussion of the impact of the increasing prominence of women political leaders at all levels of government. One such impact appears to be stronger interest in politics in college-age women. I taught a course in Political Communication last semester at Saint Mary's College, a Catholic women's college, and the level of the students' interest and engagement about politics was impressive. Our class weblog demonstrates well this interest, along with some sharp critical insights about last fall's campaign and elections.