Hostility for people in opposing political parties in the U.S. has been increasing for decades. Research in political science is at the frontier of more detailed measures of polarization that show what drives those feelings. This research provides insight on what might change the course of the nation.

In her course “America Decides,” Amber Boydstun, a professor of political science, is taking a different approach to teaching electoral politics that helps students to unpack the emotions bound up with their own or each other’s politics.