Scot Wilson

Scot Wilson is a curriculum consultant with Close Up and a doctoral student in curriculum studies at Indiana University. Scot was Close Up’s Academic Director and began there in 2006. His main interests are political polarization, economic issues, and the relationship between culture and politics. He was born in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and lived in Italy and Spain before attending college at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He received a B.A. in History and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction.

Posts by Scot Wilson:

Civil Rights & Individual Liberties

A Tragedy in Buffalo Sparks Multiple Debates

May 26, 2022

On Saturday, May 14, a gunman killed 10 people and wounded three others in a supermarket serving a predominantly Black population in eastern Buffalo, New York. The shooter, an 18-year-old white man, traveled over 200 miles to the Tops Supermarket.1 He was the apparent author of an online screed that claims the attack was meant […]

Civil Rights & Individual Liberties

Supreme Court Preview: The 2021-2022 Term

October 05, 2021

The Supreme Court begins its new term on the first Monday in October, a tradition that dates back to 1917.1 This year, that meant yesterday, Monday, October 4. In the term ahead, the Court is set to take up many key constitutional and legal issues. To explore those issues, Close Up is offering a free […]

Partisanship & Polarization

Deliberating About Pressing Issues

September 22, 2021

Classroom discussion of current issues is one of the most powerful tools available to help young people develop the skills and knowledge required for democratic citizenship.1 There are many forms that such discussion can take, including short reactions to news articles, debates, and semester-long legislative simulations. While all of these forms have their place, one […]

Constitutional Issues

Teaching the 26th Amendment

September 16, 2021

One of the most important things that schools can do to promote civic and political engagement is to explicitly teach about elections and voting.1 While this can include teaching about current elections and ballot initiatives or processes such as voter registration, it should also include lessons on the struggle for voting rights by different groups […]

Civil Rights & Individual Liberties

The House Passes the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

August 31, 2021

On Tuesday, August 24, the House of Representatives passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act by a vote of 219-212.1 The bill is an attempt to reestablish some voting protections that the Supreme Court struck down as outdated and unconstitutional in its 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder.2 The bill faces a steep […]

Civil Rights & Individual Liberties

Restoring Confidence or Destroying Democracy? The Fight Over Access to the Ballot

March 08, 2021

The past several election cycles have seen high-stakes fights over access to the ballot and the rules that govern elections. In 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated provisions of the Voting Rights Act, thus making it easier for states to change their voting laws.1 In the years since, conservatives in Congress and in state legislatures have […]

Government & Elections

Political Violence and the 2020 Election

October 13, 2020

Journaling Task: Reflecting On Political Violence On October 8, the FBI announced that it had thwarted a plot led by a right-wing militia to kidnap and potentially assassinate Governor Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich.1 Whitmer, in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, laid some of the blame at the feet of President Donald Trump, writing: I’m […]

COVID-19

Revisiting the Minimum Wage

April 23, 2020

Inequality has been a central issue of the 2020 presidential campaign, with many of the candidates including economic and income equity as major elements of their message.1 The COVID-19 outbreak has also placed economic inequality in the spotlight. While many professionals and white-collar workers are able to work from home, employees in the service industry […]

Government & Elections

Understanding Ideological Labels

February 20, 2020

During campaigns and elections, candidates use political labels, such as liberal, moderate, progressive, conservative, and libertarian, to position themselves in relation to each other and as a shorthand for their worldviews and policy preferences. This presidential election cycle features candidates from across a wider political spectrum than most elections in recent years. In the United […]