This course will introduce students to the concept of ideological debates as a political tool, focusing on the ways interest groups involved in “hot button” political issues work to define those issues in ways that promote their desired policy outcome. Particular emphasis will be placed on economic issues such as the federal income tax, minimum wage, and national debt. The course will utilize sociological tools as well as historical techniques of textual analysis to assess how different groups seek to define “America” in different, often contradictory ways.