Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

'I'M Rooting For Everybody Black': The Intersection Of Black Joy, Politics, And Linked Fate, Rabria Moore

Honors Theses

Linked fate is a concept that says what happens to one individual in a group affects the group as a whole. Research has shown that Black people tend to subscribe to that concept of linked fate, especially in relation to politics. Further studies, although not exclusively labeled as such, have shown that Black people feel a sense of linked fate when it comes to pain too. This thesis explores the intersection of Black joy, politics, and linked fate. Black joy is understood to be a shared experience amongst individuals of African descent. Black joy emphasizes the choice that Black people …

Who Changes Who? Political Implications Of The Rising Hispanic Population, Drayton Purvis

Honors Theses

Studying the growth of the Hispanic population yields specific political implications to be drawn based on the rate of growth for each Congressional District. Using Data from 2000, 2010, and 2020 Censuses along with Harvard’s Data Set titled, “Historical Congressional Legislation and District Demographics 1972-2014”, the information allows for interpretations to be made based on a Congressional District’s NOMINATE score and its percentage of the Hispanic population. After researching specific influences that help shape the Latino population in a political sense, like country of origin and level of generation in the United States, there were certain characteristics that have been …

The New Teacher Of Ideas: A Study On Social Media, Political Influencers, And Generation Z, Brenley Rinaudo

Honors Theses

The current study focuses on members of Generation Z and where they learn about politics and receive political news. Different than previous generations, Generation Z receives news on social media more than on traditional media platforms (Murmuration, 2023). Politicians must quickly begin to understand how to engage and connect with the next generation of voters on these social media platforms. For these reasons, this study surveyed members of Generation Z at The University of Mississippi. Current University of Mississippi students are members of Generation Z and reflect common trends among this Generation, such as constant usage of social media. This …

Une Politique Laïque: L’Utilisation De La Laïcité Dans Les Discours Politiques Français, Zachary Holmes

Honors Theses

La politique française est fortement liée avec la laïcité, comme on peut voir avec son utilisation dans les discours des politiciens. Elle a la capacité d’unifier les gens sous un idéal commun, mais elle peut aussi faire des divisions dans la société. Donc, il faut considérer comment on veut traiter l’idée en France. Il est impossible de dire comment elle va faire partie du futur, mais il est clair que, pour le moment, elle est un outil important pour les politiciens qui veulent avancer leurs programmes différents. Il est probable qu’elle continuerait à être une idée puissante dans les prochaines …

Instadamn –The Power Of Instagram’S Platform As An Instigator And Indicator For Offline Political Participation Among Young Adults, Natalie Davidson

Honors Theses

Over the past decade, exposure to various forms of political content on social media, as well as social media usage for political means, has been studied by scholars as a link to predicting offline political participation by social media users. While evidence has been gathered that categorizes activity on the platforms of Facebook and Twitter as potential influencers and predictors of offline political behavior, the literature on the political relevance of Instagram as a predictor of offline political participation has yet to be fully explored. Additionally, although younger generations have historically participated in some forms of political behavior (particularly voting) …

Delineating The Source And Implications Of Social Polarization, Logan Kohan

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research was to examine the causes and consequences that meta-perceptions of polarization in the United States entails. The survey used in this study assessed respondents demographic and political information prior to questions regarding polarization. This study found that the polarization in the United States results from a multitude of variables, including: the intrusion of partisan cues into everyday life, social sorting, polarization’s implicit effect, and differences in moral concern. Moreover, polarization encompasses and variety of ramifications that include disease, amplified interparty animosity, biased policy evaluation, reduced governmental efficiency, intraparty polarization, tribalism, and the quest to achieve …

The Effect Of The Black Lives Matter Movement On American Attitudes, Isabelle Warren

Honors Theses

The present research focuses on changing attitudes towards Black Lives Matter (BLM)

and racism. Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013, but came to a political and social forefront following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. Based on research that large-scale movements have the capability of creating long term attitudinal changes, this research seeks to address the significance of BLM on attitudes in undergraduate students. Participants were recruited from University of Richmond Introduction to Psychology courses over the Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022 semesters. They completed a survey assessing their attitudes towards …

Bystanders Without An Excuse: On The Moral Duty To Revolt, Meghna Melkote

Honors Theses

Che Guevara, an Argentine revolutionary who served as a key player in the Cuban Revolution, was known for his forceful rhetoric calling people to action to engage in revolution. His language was the language of duty - when he called on people to act, he did so with moral force behind his words. In the face of nascent revolution and discontent, he called upon those aggrieved to “tremble with indignation every time that an injustice is committed in the world” and act accordingly1. Guevara is appealing to a common intuition many leaders in social justice seem to have; there is …

Digital Pulpit: A Thematic Analysis Of Evangelical Leaders’ Statements On Twitter In The Two Weeks Following The January 6 Capitol Riot, Everett Belle Kirkman

Honors Theses

White evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% voted for him. That support baffled pundits at first but held up throughout his presidency. By the time the 2020 election season was ramping up, White evangelicals who supported Trump held more tightly to their beliefs, many taking to social media to convey their opinions. Since the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, over 600 outspoken Trump supporters have been arrested and charged for inciting violence in dispute of election results. This research is a thematic content analysis of the statements …

Female Infertility In The United States And India: An Analysis Of Treatment Barriers And Coping Strategies, Devneet Singh

Honors Theses

This research studies barriers to accessing fertility treatment in the United States (U.S.) and India, as well as the coping strategies infertile women use. Barriers include reproductive health knowledge, cost, and politics, while coping is affected by cultural stigma, family, and religion. These two countries were chosen for their different cultural contexts, healthcare systems, and political infrastructure. Ten fertility specialists across both countries were interviewed as expert informants. Reproductive health knowledge was the most important barrier to accessing care in both countries, with similar gaps in understanding when and what type of care to utilize, though social media can educate …

Triumphing Over Trauma: Addressing Past Experiences And Mental Health Following Resettlement In The United States, Tyler Greenwood

Honors Theses

Refugee populations are exposed to an unusually high number of traumatic events in their lifetimes that have the potential to cause long-lasting psychological harm. Millions of people are forcibly displaced by international conflicts, ethnic genocide, targeting of political dissidents, climate disasters, and countless other traumatic events. For the small fraction of refugees who are resettled in wealthy nations such as the United States, they are fortunate to leave behind the harmful and often violent places which they are fleeing from, but they are also leaving behind their families, friends, homes, and traditions. During and following resettlement, refugees continue to face …

Democracy In Peril: Examining The Resurgence Of Fascism And The Radical Right In Europe, William Sirmon

Honors Theses

Fascism and the radical right are on the rise in Europe in ways that haven’t been seen since the Second World War. Understanding the reason for this phenomenon is imperative to democracy’s defense. Europe is the birthplace of democracy and political liberalism, and the continent is a model of these ideas for the rest of the world to strive to follow. European democracy’s future is in peril with the resurgence of fascism and the radical right, fueled by growing Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, economic issues, and the overall disillusionment of democratic institutions. The new wave of conservatism and the far-right share …

Small-Family Mindset: An Analysis Of The Impact Of China's Family Planning Policies On Family Culture, Sarah Ansley Croft

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the impact of China’s family planning policies on women’s attitudes towards family culture and the implications on China today. The family planning policies began in the 1970s as an emergency measure intended to create a short-term voluntary small-family culture by decreasing fertility rates. My research, comprised primarily of primary and secondary qualitative sources, discusses the development and implementation of the policies, the economic reforms beginning in the 1980s, and their joint effects on fertility rates, sex ratio at birth, women’s liberation, and changes in family culture, particularly in rural areas. This study found that the family planning …

Perilous Place: Personal Stories Point To Possible Solutions To Widespread Flooding In The Mississippi Delta, Jared Poland

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and create journalistic stories highlighting the Yazoo Backwater Pumps Projects relationship to climate change while utilizing narrative storytelling techniques. Before explaining the methodology used for conducting research and interviews, the researcher describes the influence that innovations of mass communication channels have had on the way humans form groups and persuasively advocate for their positions. The researcher describes their historical perspective of mass media innovations that were vital considerations during their discovery and investigation of this politically divisive issue. The researcher more specifically focuses on the innovations that have occurred since the digital …

Women, Money, And Politics: Do Female Politicians Raise As Much Money As Men?, Taylor Harris

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to answer if female politicians raise as much money as male politicians. In order to answer this question, I collected data from the Harvard MIT Election Data Science Lab. It has every candidate that ran in the general election for the House of Representatives from 1976 through 2018, but, for the purpose of this project, only the Presidential election years from 1980 through 2016 are used in this data set. It also includes how much money they raised, what state they are from, and what party the candidate was affiliated with. This data set also accounts for …

Hand Over Fist: Russia's Use Of Military Aggression To Affect Regional Policy, Bobby G. Simmons Ii

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to assess Russia's effectiveness at using military exercises to affect the policies of neighboring Eastern European states. This is first done through an analysis of three Russian military exercises: Zapad-2017, Kavkaz-2020, and Ocean Shield-2020. The overview and results of the exercises are discussed. Then, three Eastern European countries are assessed as targets of Russian military aggression: Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine. The relationships between these countries and Russia are then reviewed before discussing how each country was impacted by one or more of the three aforementioned Russian military exercises. Following this analysis, a brief assessment …

A Rhapsody Wild, Corey Davis

Honors Theses

This thesis is a fictional novel which explores themes of morality and tragedy within the society of a crime-and-murder-ridden city called Spekender. The mayor, Ev Edison, has become a disgraced recluse as a result of the tragic deaths of his wife and unborn child a year and a half prior to when the story takes place. His remaining children (three boys and a girl named Nimble) are left to navigate their disaster-torn worlds in isolation from their father and from each other. All of this changes one day when Nimble encounters a dangerous supernatural character that seems to know everything …

Learning To Check Yourself: Improving Civic Engagement Through Duties, Better Voting Practices, And Combatting Group Loyalty, Katherine Brumund

Honors Theses

This project examines civic engagement. It is divided into three chapters: apathy, voting, and group loyalties. I derive two duties, a duty to care and a duty to reason well, that serve as a framework for community engagement aimed at facilitating moral progress. In the second section the main topic is voting. I argue for strategies to vote well. The third section of this project then focuses on group loyalties. This project uses two duties to frame how to engage with others, proposes a better way to participate civically, and ways to avoid pitfalls associated with group membership.

Make America Great Again? American Conservatism And Donald Trump, Justin Lange

Honors Theses

LANGE, JUSTIN M. Make America Great Again? American Conservatism and Donald Trump. Department of Political Science, June 2019

ADVISOR: Prof. Clifford W. Brown, Jr.

It might seem difficult to imagine now, but once upon a time it was possible to feel shocked by political developments. We’ve become so desensitized, especially in the last few years. Yet in 2016, there was a profound sense of disbelief over the results of the American presidential election. How could Donald Trump, a complete political outsider who’d never before held office, defeat an opponent who seemed to hold every office except for the presidency she …

Who Runs The World: The Impact Of The Gender Of Clerks On The Legal Profession, Taylor Bernstein

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the role of gender on law clerks from the federal appellate clerks. There has been significant scholarship on the importance of the gender of judges and on the role and influence of law clerks; however, to this date there has been no analysis of how the gender of law clerks may or may not influence the clerkship experience. This honors thesis seeks to address that question and shed light on important aspects of the federal judiciary and the legal profession. I have approached this inquiry through descriptive and qualitative analysis, focusing on law clerks from this millennium. …

Nature And Human Flourishing In The Laws Of Manu And The Daodejing, Qijing Zheng

Honors Theses

By comparing the interpretation of dharma in the ancient Indian Laws of Manu (Manusmṛti) with the concepts of dao in the Chinese classic, Daodejing, this thesis discusses that, despite the plausible perception that the former represents despotic, hierarchical governance while the latter promotes freedom (and even anarchy), the two texts in fact share a similar envision of human flourishing through the following of one's nature, as well as a foundational belief that both laws and political ideals emerge from nature.

American Popular Culture, Politics, And Comedy: How Saturday Nigh Live Delivers The "News", Jillian Callanan

Honors Theses

Saturday Night Live has delved into the realm of politics throughout its forty-one seasons as a means of generating humor through satirical and parodical representations of politicians. This thesis explores Saturday Night Live during election years in particular, when the show generates a great deal of its content from the surrounding political atmosphere to comment on the issues at hand in a way that most often contrasts the style of reporting done by traditional hard news programs. The increasing role of entertainment in news delivery sheds light on the blurred lines between news and entertainment news, and this thesis will …

New Refugees - Old Rules: An Analysis Of Jordanian Refugee Policies And Their Effects On Humanitarian Relief, Sarah Kader

Honors Theses

Over 1.4 million Syrians have fled to Jordan since 2011 as a result of the brutal, ongoing conflict in Syria. Just as the Palestinians fled Israel these last 67 years, the newly arrived Syrian refugees are an ignored actor in a cruel game between the Jordanian state, the United Nations Agencies, the United States and interested non-state actors. The resulting human rights violations, including denial of rights to work, healthcare, education, and movement, are not accidental but are sanctioned by the Jordanian state. This thesis analyzes Jordan’s history with the Palestinian refugees; the motivations and implementation of policies excluding Palestinians …

Democracy And Citzenship: A Counterintuitive Relationship Examined Through Ancient Athens And The Contemporary Crisis, Shivangi Mehta

Honors Theses

Ancient Athens is often valued for being the birthplace of democracy, a form of government that is often believed to be “by the people, for the people.” With democracy came the emergence of citizenship. In ancient Athens, citizenship was created to outline the political community by defining who belonged to the community and who was excluded from it. Through time, as countries have been claiming they are becoming more democratic, more restrictions have been imposed. These restrictions have created boundaries, thus excluding individuals from citizenship status causing them to lose their rights and abilities, specifically in areas such as political …

The Price Of Democracy: Hong Kong's Identity Crisis In The Umbrella Revolution, Jen Keung

Honors Theses

Most past research on the democratization of Hong Kong has been generally concerned about on the ramifications of institutional power dynamics, and aimed to inform an audience whose primary interests were in China. Accordingly, understandings of the culture and society of Hong Kong becomes limited, as they serve to support an argument for or against Chinese regional despotism. From public media coverage to scholarship articles, very little attention has been paid to the transformations of Hong Kong at the individual level. In a society that has been through constant social, economic and political transformations in the past decades, Hong Kong …

From King Leonidas To Lord Farquaad: Popular Culture And How Authority Is Portrayed In Popular Film Of 2000-2009, Solai N. Wyman

Honors Theses

In a modern age dominated by technology, the role of entertainment such as film is steadily growing in American culture and politics. Film and politics “inform” one another, meaning that film reflects the politics within a society in which they are placed (Christensen & Haas 2005). Using this as justification, the central research question of this thesis is, "What is the political content of popular films of the 2000s in terms of authority, and what does this suggest about the culture and view on authority of the Millennials as a generation?" A content analysis of popular films from 2000-2009 was …

The Origins Of Wave Elections: Narrative Control Polarization And Turnout In New Hampshire Electoral Politics 2006-2012, Zachary Jonas

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the origin of wave elections in New Hampshire in 2006, 2010 and 2012. It finds that recent demographic shifts in the state laid the groundwork for these dramatic electoral results. This paper also examines the nationalization and polarization that have redefined New Hampshire’s political landscape and contributed to massive partisan shifts in state government. The combination of demographic changes and a polarized political culture have created an electoral environment for both Republicans and Democrats that favors turnout, increasing the importance of agenda setting and narrative control in order to produce high turnout among core constituencies. Chapter 1 …

Disguising Religious Ideas In Secular Clothing: The Legitimation Of Religious Ideology In The Same-Sex Marriage Debate, Tess Burns

Honors Theses

This paper attempts to unpack the justifications of position against same-sex marriage in the hopes of revealing the process through which anti-gay rhetoric becomes acceptable. By examining the legal and political arguments against same-sex marriage, we can come to a fuller understanding of how and why ideas become legitimate. The findings will not only be applicable to the anti-gay movement, but to a number of relevant social and political issues, perhaps including abortion and even tax reform. By discovering the ways in which ideas are legitimated, we can come to a deeper appreciation of the mobilization and counter-mobilization efforts that …

The Impact Of Marriages And Extramarital Affairs On Political Careers: A Selection Of Roman Politicians And American Presidents, Shelby Cuomo

Honors Theses

This thesis explores four historical figures who engaged in extramarital affairs while holding political office. These figures include Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton. I assess the varied public responses to these men’s affairs by researching their relationships with women – that is, their wives and mistresses. In Ancient Rome, one politician was exiled from society and eventually killed in battle for his extramarital romance, whereas the other was – and still is – praised as one of the most successful politicians while he was sleeping with the wives of his allies and friends. Both presidents, …

Governing Religion: A Study Of Religions Function Across Three Distinctly Different Societies, Sky Kochenour

Honors Theses

Religion’s place in political order is a controversial subject. How does the function of religion compare to that of political order? Can it support a society in the same way? My research attempts to answer these questions by investigating three distinct time periods and cultures. I first examine the primitive people of the Azande tribe in Africa, an example of a society based mainly on religion. My research then turns to the fifth and sixth century Greeks, a society in flux, attempting to hold on to religion in the throes of a logical revolution. Finally, I turn to America to …