In these critical reflection assignments I am going to ask you to read an article, watch a video, or play a simulation, and then answer a few questions about it. In this second one, you’re going to read a Five Thirty Eight piece about gerrymandering, as well as spending a bit of time playing around with their Atlas of Redistricting.
After you’ve read that article and tried some of the options in the Atlas, I’d like you to write a 300-500 word reflection that covers the following:
1) What are the seven different criteria/goals that they outline as possible ways to draw district lines? (I’ll give you a hint, one is “Republican Gerrymandering” and another is “Compactness”). Explain what each of the seven mean.
2) How do the resulting national redistricting maps look different depending on which criteria they pick? Who or what group does each different map seem to favor?
3) Which of these eight maps seem the most “fair” to you and why? If you were responsible for drawing the district lines, which two of these criteria or goals would you choose? Why did you pick those and not others?
The Article and Map: First, read this article titled Hating Gerrymandering is Easy, Fixing it is Harder. Then spend a bit of time playing around with the Atlas of Redistricting that goes along with the story.
