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The Democratic and Republican National Political Conventions being held this summer could turn out to be two of the most exciting and interesting conventions in several decades. The course will look ahead and discuss, analyze and preview the July GOP convention in Cleveland and the Democratic Convention also being held in July in Philadelphia. We will look at how a brokered convention that goes beyond one ballot would work. Could Trump be denied the GOP nomination if he has the majority of primary votes? Would a Trump GOP platform be against much of what Republican Party believes in? Could there be a compromise “establishment” candidate to emerge at the convention? Will Bernie and Hillary be able to work together or will their supporters fracture the Democratic Party in Philadelphia this summer? Will a progressive Democratic platform be too liberal for winning the general election? The class will discuss and analyze the role of the media—traditional and social-and how they present the conventions this summer and the role media has played in previous political conventions. We will also discuss how the various candidates and the political parties use the media to get out their message. From the 1924 Democratic Convention that went a record 103 ballots to the 1932 Democratic Convention where Roosevelt became the first candidate ever to address the delegates in person to the “police riot” Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968, the class will go over the history of America’s political conventions. We will discuss the controversies of the past and the upcoming controversies expected this summer. We will look at how television changed the political conventions in 1960 and how social media and the Internet will be changing the national political conventions in the summer of 2016. This will be an exciting and interesting course following the end of the primary campaign season and looking ahead to the summers’ Democratic and Republican conventions!