Your response should combine a short critical summary of one or more readings with a discussion of what you see as the most notable contributions or/and deficiencies—theoretical, empirical, methodological—of the readings in relation to the broader seminar topic of that week.
These weekly responses will help you to put your thoughts together and clarify your thinking about the assigned readings. Strive to articulate an original thought or two about what you took away from the readings and think of a question that you would like to see discussed during seminar. Maybe you want to highlight a particular passage or argument that stood out and explain why? Or maybe you use a weekly response as an opportunity to identify a thread you noticed cutting across each of the books/articles/chapters in the set of readings for that week, or a connection to something we previously discussed? Anything along these lines will be appropriate and will make for a strong reading response; try different approaches during the semester.
Discussion Prompt:
In the introduction of, Interpreting Modern Political Life, Blakely presents ideology as “liquid” and “magnetic”. First, explain what these conceptions of ideology mean. Second, do you agree that ideologies are liquid and magnetic? Third, thinking about your own ideologies, do you find these liquid and magnetic characteristics to be true?