Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Multipolar Melting Pot: A Spatial Analysis Of Political Orientation In The United States, Nathanael Baumann

CMC Senior Theses

Politics at the national level seems increasingly polarized – but what does polarization really mean in a political context? Is the American political landscape so unidimensional that voters throughout the country can be represented by a linear left-right spectrum? By classifying gubernatorial candidates across the country based on their distinct social and economic positions, then mapping them in a two-dimensional space, I posit a very different kind of political landscape – one made up of diffuse, fluid political preferences.

A Hot Conflict Growing Ever Hotter: How Climate Change Provokes Instances Of Violence In South Sudan, Madison Menard

CMC Senior Theses

In South Sudan, people are not engaging in violent altercations because of climate change. People are not deciding to kill other people because the average temperature of the world has risen 1 degree celsius, or harming their neighbor because of irregular rain patterns. Alas the link from climate change to violence is not as direct as that. Rather, climate change has played a non-direct role in the South Sudanese conflict. Within the political marketplace it has subtly altered conditions which later spark or intensify outbreaks of violence. Climate change in this sense should be viewed as a stressor of sorts …

A Network Pandemic: Exploring The Effects Of Social Connectedness On The Spread Of Covid-19 In The United States, Mrinalini Bhushan

CMC Senior Theses

Social interactions influence the way we think and act. Recent literature on COVID-19 and social connectedness explores how social interactions influence people’s perceptions of the risk from COVID-19 and their behaviors. This paper seeks to investigate how social connectedness, political ideologies, and physical interaction are associated with local COVID-19 case and death rates at the US county level. Social connectedness, as defined by (Bailey et al, 2018) measures connectedness between US counties based on Facebook friendship links. I examine whether a county’s average social connectedness to other counties, as determined by the Facebook index, has an impact on its own …

Healthy And Unhealthy Responses To American Democratic Institutional Failure, Thomas D'Anieri

CMC Senior Theses

I have set out on the hunch that politics in America “feels different,” that we are frustrated both with our institutions as well as with one another. First, I will seek to empirically verify this claim beyond mere “feelings.” If it can be shown that these kinds of discontent genuinely exist to the extent that I believe they do, I will then explain why people feel this way and why things are different this time from the economic, political, and social points of view. Next, I will examine two potential responses, what I will call the populist and the institutional …

Looking Beyond Shostakovich's Thirteenth Symphony, Juana Granados

CMC Senior Theses

The objective of this thesis is to explain how Dmitrii Shostakovich used Yevgeny Yevtushenko's poetry to create the Thirteenth Symphony. This collaboration between two arts, poetry and music, reflects more than just separate ideas. The five movements of the symphony bring to public conscience the political opinions of Shostakovich regarding life in the Soviet Union.

Empathy: A Tool To Unite?, Patrick Wildman

CMC Senior Theses

I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Professor Bowman, for providing valuable input as I pursued this important topic. I would also like to thank Professor Krauss, my unofficial Psychology advisor.

I would like to thank my parents who raised me to value empathy. Our family-dinner conversations weren’t always pretty, but they served me well as I made the trek from Cincinnati, Ohio to Claremont, California. As we were encouraged to speak, we were required to listen and to try to understand different viewpoints. We didn’t always agree, but the confinements of our home forced us to understand not …

Render Unto Caesar: How Misunderstanding A Century Of Free Exercise Jurisprudence Forged And Then Fractured The Rfra Coalition, John S. Blattner

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis provides a comprehensive history of Supreme Court Free Exercise Clause jurisprudence from 1879 until the present day. It describes how a jurisdictional approach to free exercise dominated the Court’s rulings from its first Free Exercise Clause case in 1879 until Sherbert v. Verner in 1963, and how Sherbert introduced an accommodationist precedent which was ineffectively, incompletely, and inconsistently defined by the Court. This thesis shows how proponents of accommodationism furthered a false narrative overstating the scope and consistency of Sherbert’s precedent following the Court’s repudiation of accommodationism and return to full jurisdictionalism with Employment Division v. Smith …

Tapping The Potential Of Sports: Incentives In China’S Reformation Of The Sports Industry, Yu Fu

CMC Senior Theses

Since the 2010s, China’s sports industry has undergone comprehensive reforms. This paper attempts to understand this change of direction from the central state’s perspective. By examining the dynamics of the basketball and soccer markets, it discovers that while the deregulation of basketball is a result of persistent bottom-up effort from the private sector, the recentralization of soccer is a state-led policy change. Notwithstanding the different nature and routes between these reforms, in both sectors, the state’s aim is to restore and strengthen its legitimacy within the society. Amidst China’s economic stagnation, the regime hopes to identify sectors that can drive …

Voting, Politics, And Gender: Has America Paved The Way For A Female President?, Hannah Bower

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of candidate gender on voting behavior in presidential elections in the United States. By delving into the vice presidential nominations of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and Sarah Palin in 2008, I provided the baseline for the experiences of Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns in 2016. Ultimately, I present the argument that the United States is ready for a female president, either this year or in the near future.

Forces Of Change: Silicon Valley's Developing Relationship With American Government, Marissa C. Mirbach

CMC Senior Theses

Silicon Valley has increased its political engagement over the past decade, and is becoming an increasingly powerful force in government. It defies traditional affiliation labels, and behaves differently than other industries. It embodies a blend of altruism and self-interest, which guides its interactions with government and its intentions in affecting policy changes. In order to better understand Silicon Valley's political life, this thesis outlines a brief history of its development, and then delves into three policy issues: education reform, immigration reform and encryption and security. This focus allows for an up-close, detailed look at the multi-faceted relationship between Silicon Valley …

The World According To Frank Underwood: Politics And Power In "House Of Cards", Lindsey E. Davidson

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis, argues that House of Cards portrays an embellished reality of our government through a Machiavellian lens, particularly looking at the politics of scandal through the 25^th Amendment and impeachment, as well as the role of political spouses. It also address the underlying question of appointing someone as controversial as Frank Underwood to the vice presidential position knowing his manipulative nature, and will analyze his schemes from a realistic perspective.

Pointless?, Jonah Yuen

CMC Senior Theses

A fundamental question in politics that has no conclusive answer to this day is whether or not campaign expenditures are pointless. Determining the role of campaign contributions and spending in elections is important for formulating campaign finance reform policy and also for understanding the public choice economics behind elections. Politicians seem convinced that money is an important component in any successful election as illustrated by numerous fundraisers and lofty goals of raising $1 billion for presidential campaigns, yet the empirical research on money’s role in elections has not reached a consensus. This project seeks to further explore the relationship between …

Latino Political Power In California, Gustavo Adolfo Cubias Ii

CMC Senior Theses

California has now become a majority-minority state. Latinos, currently the largest minority group in the Golden State, have made remarkable political gains in the past two decades, more recently since the the approval of Proposition 187 in 1994. How have Latinos used this new political power? This thesis provides an in-depth look into the dynamics of the Latino political entity in California, along with a quantifiable analysis of voting trends. Discussion of policy implictions since the Latino wave into the state Legislature is also provided, along with interviews with notable Latino figures, such as Senator Art Torres and Redistricting Commissioner …

Good Nietzsche, Bad Nietzsche: The Role Of Friedrich Nietzsche In Richard Rorty’S Political Thought., Paul A. Snell Jr.

CMC Senior Theses

Richard Rorty found Friedrich Nietzsche’s critique of epistemology (perspectivism) to be a helpful tool in getting us to stop thinking of knowledge as something we find, and instead as something that we create. He also found perspectivism to be a helpful tool in that of the private sphere, of private self-creation. The Nietzsche that provides perspectivism is “The Good Nietzsche”. Rorty, however, conceived of Nietzsche’s ideas as being absolutely useless when it comes to politics, along with his ideas regarding morality, the Will to Power, and the Übermensch. These are the ideas of “The Bad Nietzsche”. Rorty’s actual usage of …

Confrontation Cinema In The Age Of Neoliberalism; Where Brazil And The United States Meet, Rachel F. Rosenfeld

CMC Senior Theses

Contents: Introduction; The Smell of Revolution and Popcorn; Filling the Gaps: Historical Context; Brazilian Cinema in the Age of Neoliberalism and Political Discourse of the New Brazilian Left; US Films and the Iraq War: This isn’t my America; Epilogue