Thomas E. Patterson

Thomas E. Patterson is Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is author of the book Informing the News: The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism, published in October 2013. His earlier book, The Vanishing Voter, looks at the causes and consequences of electoral participation, and his book on the media’s political role, Out of Order, received the American Political Science Association’s Graber Award as the best book of the decade in political communication. His first book, The Unseeing Eye, was named by the American Association for Public Opinion Research as one of the 50 most influential books on public opinion in the past half century. He is also the author of the award winning Mass Media Election (1980), and a general American government text, We the People, now in the 11th edition. His articles have appeared in Political Communication, Journal of Communication, and other academic journals, as well as in the popular press. His research has been funded by the Ford, Markle, Smith-Richardson, Pew, Knight, Carnegie, and National Science foundations. Patterson received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1971.
More info here.

Sort options

U.S. Political Institutions: Congress, Presidency, Courts, and Bureaucracy (edX)

Examine the inner workings of the three branches of the U.S. Federal Government. How do the three branches of government operate? How is power shared among Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court? What role is played by federal agencies that have no direct constitutional authority of their [...]

U.S. Public Policy: Social, Economic, and Foreign Policies (edX)

Learn about public policy in America and the dynamics of American politics. Public policy puts laws into action. The executive branch directs the combined activities of the federal government to address a multitude of problems, from the environment to the economy. The policies of the United States affect social [...]

American Government: Constitutional Foundations (edX)

Learn how early American politics informed the U.S. Constitution and why its promise of liberty and equality has yet to be fully realized. This course explores the origins of U.S. political culture, how that culture informed the Constitution, and how that framework continues to influence the country’s politics and [...]

Citizen Politics in America: Public Opinion, Elections, Interest Groups, and the Media (edX)

Learn about the forces in American politics that seek to influence the electorate and shift the political landscape. Public opinion has a powerful yet inexact influence on elected officials. Politicians risk their careers if they ignore it, yet its power is not easy to capture nor quantify. This course [...]