Talk Politics with a Living Legend

 One of the best parts of the high school to college transitions is the ability to take the classes you want and you are passionate about. Throughout your four years at Tulane, you’ll take classes you like and dislike and there will be a certain few you never forget.

Each spring semester famed political mind James Carville, the brains behind Bill Clinton’s 1992 Presidential Campaign, gives students a hands-on, in the trenches look into politics unlike anything else on campus. Professor Carville spent years as a political analyst on CNN before recently being hired by Fox News and now brings that candor, excitability, and unpredictability to the classroom.

When I took the course last spring, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I knew I had a nerd-like passion for politics as an international relations major, but knew this would be a far cry from my Intro to American Government course. You can’t help but be a little star-struck by the “Ragin’ Cajun” sitting in front of you in class with his signature accent talking about the politics of the day. The central theme of our class was the Republican Party’s need for change after the 2012 Presidential election.

Professor Carville leads the class as ABC News’
George Stephanopoulos listens intently

In order to give us the full spectrum of perspectives about the Republican Party, Professor Carville invited some casual guests to our class: Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of RedState.com Erick Erickson, and Mitt Romney’s lead pollster Neil Newhouse were just a few of the notable voices who lent the class a hand.

The best part is that all the speakers are off-the-record meaning they will pretty much say anything and add an element of honesty you don’t always get when you read about them in, say, The New York Times or Politico. Bobby Jindal gave us a test run of a speech he was planning to give to a national audience the next day. Eliot Spitzer got frank with us about political scandals. You can’t replicate what you get in this class.

Professor Carville has no qualms about giving his thoughts on an issue and riling up the class. He’ll divulge lessons learned from a career and politics and be upfront about the issues he sees in today’s political world.

Professor Carville speaking at Tulane Commencement

Lastly, you might be thinking to yourself “Wow, this sounds amazing, but intimidating!” Don’t worry about that. As long as you come to class prepared Professor Carville doesn’t care what you think, “as long as you think.” After all, isn’t that what college is all about?



Brandon Faske
Haworth, NJ
bfaske@tulane.edu