Sunrise Senior College Online Course Registration

Come join SSC’s resident political analyst, Dr. Robert Arseneau, as he delves into the central question, "How will voters cast their ballots in 2024.” Voters now face an unprecedented election unseen since the 1968 conventions. The delegates, not the primary voters, will select our next Democratic party presidential candidate.  As our next President, will voters choose Vice President Kamala Harris, America’s first black woman now running as a national candidate with her promise to continue the direction of the Biden administration expanding their policies, or will they vote for a dramatic change in the country's policies and direction and once again elect incumbent President Donald Trump and his vision to “Make America Great Again?"

Over the first two lectures of this three-session presentation, Dr. Arseneau will provide insights, analysis and discussion on the changes in the Party coalitions. This will include the impact of the drift of working-class Whites, Blacks and Hispanics toward candidate Trump. He will also review data on how voters' assessments of the issues that might affect the outcome of the election including: abortion, immigration across our Southern border, the state of the economy, climate change and the future of Democracy. He will also provide analysis and discussion for the classes’ consideration of the information about how the voters' assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of candidates Harris and Trump as individuals are affecting the election.

Each candidate' s campaign platform will be summarized and the major events in the 2024 campaign will be outlined. In his final wrap-up lecture, we will look at the outcomes of the election on November 5th and where the country stands now, and how the projections made by the analyst and pundits went both wrong and right. 

Every four years Sunrise Senior College looks forward to the critical objective analysis that Dr. Arseneau brings to this complex often stressful subject. His first lecture will be on October 26th with the second session occurring on the Saturday before the election November 2nd. We will then meet for a post review of the election results on November 9th.      

Instructor:  Robert B. Arseneau has a Ph.D. in Political Science from U.C. Berkeley, and has taught courses in American government at U.C. Davis, U.C. Berkeley, and Dartmouth College. He is currently doing research on U.S. House elections from an historical perspective.

Class Information:  This is a hybrid class - held in-person in UM@M’s room SCI 102 and via Zoom. 

All facilities at the University of Maine at Machias (UM@M) are fully handicap compliant.  The facilities used by Sunrise Senior College (SSC) at the college have ramps, elevators and handicap accessible bathrooms.  Our offsite functions and activities have various limitations and restrictions and may not be fully handicap accessible.  SSC will endeavor to identify limitations at these to you in advance.

                                                           IMPORTANT:  See Below

This class is available to all current Maine Senior College (MSCN) Members. The general public not wishing to join Sunrise Senior College at this time may attend this class for a $20.00 fee.

Sunrise Senior College (SSC) is a membership-based organization. Our SSC members receive special benefits as current members when they register for this course. Any member of another MSCN college is also able to enjoy this course, but may incur some additional charges. If you are a member of the general public, you can take this course but will have to pay additional fees associated with being a non-member. For any attendee that is not a current member of Sunrise Senior College, the materials required for the course are your responsibility. When checking out, please carefully read and answer the questions asked associated with this specific course so that you are charged appropriately for this class. Failure to do this may result in your being cancelled from the course. We hope you enjoy this offering.