Instructor: Evan Smith
This course focused on the politics and issues driving the moment we were in — the 2024 election cycle and the run-up to the next sessions of the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress and the next biennial election cycle. Each class was built around the central ideas of the moment in politics as well as the handful of issues atop of the campaign season's agenda.
Big-name guests visited the class each week, in person and virtually, to discuss what's really going on: in races and in parties, in the halls of government, from one end of the state to the other, and along the treacherous path from Texas to D.C. This class put students in the intimate company of some of the most powerful and celebrated figures in politics and policy.
Fall 2024 Speakers
Andy Brown (D), Travis County Judge
John Bucy III, State Representative (D-Austin)
Joaquin Castro, U.S. Representative (D-San Antonio)
Sheryl Cole, State Representative (D-Austin)
Sarah Eckhardt, State Senator (D-Austin)
Craig Goldman, U.S. Representative-Elect (R-Fort Worth)
Tony Gonzales, U.S. Representative (R-San Antonio)
Glenn Hegar (R), Texas Comptroller
Gina Hinojosa, State Representative (D-Austin)
Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. Senator (R-Texas) and former Ambassador to NATO
Mike Morath, Texas Education Commissioner
Mattie Parker, Fort Worth Mayor
Karl Rove (R), former Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush and Deputy White House Chief of Staff
Javier Salazar, Bexar County Sheriff
Kirk Watson, Austin Mayor