If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to [email protected]. Alumni Weekend 2012 UnCommon Core June 2, 2012 Coming Together or Coming Apart: America and the 2012 Election John Mark Hansen Dean, Social Sciences Division, and Professor of Political Science American politics today is polarized between Democrats and Republicans, between liberals and conservatives, as never before. Looking beyond the heated rhetoric, political scientist and Social Sciences Division dean Mark Hansen will trace the extent and origins of America's political divisions, analyze the effect they will have on the 2012 elections, and assess the prospects for effective governance in the future. One of the nation's leading scholars of American politics and a Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Service Professor, Hansen has focused his research on interest groups, citizen activism, public opinion, public budgeting, and politicians' inferences from the outcomes of elections.