American Politics Commons^™

Protest Music In Response To The United States’ Oppressive Political Culture: An Analysis Of Beyoncé'S "Freedom" And Janelle Monáe's "Americans", Jessica Torrey

HMC Senior Theses

This paper aims to study a popular musical artist’s responsibility towards the empowerment of marginalized communities in the United States through an analysis of the songs “Freedom” by Beyoncé and “Americans” by Janelle Monáe. These songs will be analyzed in conjunction with the political climate during the time of their fabrication and release as well as the political climates discussed in the songs themselves. This paper presents a thorough analysis of the lyrical and musical components of both songs as well as an analysis of a specific performance of both songs. These analyses will be presented in conversation with many …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #4: Politics & Ethics In Government, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads 2021 - Politics & Ethics in Government

The Life in Hampton Roads survey typically includes a few questions about political attitudes. In 2021, the questions asked included party affiliation, job approval of President Biden and preferences for the 2021 gubernatorial election. The survey also included a set of questions about ethics in local government that have been asked in previous surveys.

Voter Rationality In The United States, Asael Marvel

Honors Program Theses

The decade preceding 2020 has brought into question the political rationality of the average American voter, as it seems many individuals may vote against what is best for themselves. This begs a simple question, are American voters voting in their won rational self-interest, this project looks into a myriad of theories on voter rationality and the processes behind how voters may calculate or come to their voter decisions in an election in order to answer these questions. Then using the 2012 Cooperative Congressional Election Survey creates a method to analyze whether a specific group within the US is voting rationally, …

In The Aftermath Of A Racialized Incident: Exploring International Students Of Color’S Perceptions Of Campus Racial Climate, Christina W. Yao, Kaleb L. Briscoe, Jennifer N. Rutt

UNL Office of Research and Innovation, Social/Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium

The purpose of this study is to illuminate international students of Color’s experiences with a campus racial incident at a predominantly White institution (PWI). This study emerged after the release of a YouTube video from a self-proclaimed White supremacist at the participants’ institution, who made comments such as “I am the most active white nationalist in [the state].” In this study, we seek to answer the question: How does a campus racialized incident affect international students of Color’s experience and perceptions of the campus climate at a PWI? The experiences of this population must be considered, especially because of the …

A Woman Of Power: The Leadership Of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hannah F. Anton

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) was elected to the House of Representatives in 1987 and was the first female Speaker of the House, originally elected to the position in 2007. Despite the length and significance of her career in the House, there is very little academic literature devoted to the effectiveness of her leadership. In an attempt to fill this research gap, this thesis will raise the following questions; Is Nancy Pelosi an effective Speaker of the House, and has her effectiveness changed significantly over her term as Speaker? For purposes of this research, leadership effectiveness is defined as the Speaker's ability …

Scallywag Pedagogy, Peter Mclaren, Petar Jandrić

Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters

This chapter explores the dynamic between truth and deceit in twenty-first-century transnational capitalism, emerging neo-fascist movements, and post-truth media landscapes marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the anthropogenic bioinformational challenge. It establishes the centrality of the concept of truth in revolutionary critical pedagogy and underscores the importance of linking true words with true actions in the formation of critical praxis. Revolutionary praxis consists of the dialectical process of self and social formation, while critical educators are situated as protagonistic agents who work in and through history. Truth is therefore not about a timeless or objective state we name history. Action …

U.S. Government And Politics In Principle And Practice: Democracy, Rights, Freedoms And Empire, Samuel Finesurrey, Gary Greaves

Open Educational Resources

This book is written for students early in college to provide a guide to the founding documents and structures of governance that form the United States political system. This book is called American Government and Politics in Principle and Practice because you will notice that what has been inscribed in law has not always been applied in practice-particularly for indigenous peoples, enslaved peoples, people of color, women, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, those formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the working class within U.S. society. In designing this book, we have two goals. First, we want you to know what the founding documents …

The Effect Of Proximal Carceral Contact On Political Participation, Emily Loomis

Honors Program Theses

In light of the events of the summer of 2020 with the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breanna Taylor, the United States has seen nationwide protests. The purpose of this research is to further examine the relationship between the criminal justice system and the individuals who come into indirect contact with it. The carceral state, or criminal justice system, has expanded rapidly in the last fifty years. An institution of its size and influence has far-reaching consequences, including on those who do not directly come into contact with it. This can affect how everyday citizens interact with the …

The Administration Of American Elections During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sydney Wagner

Honors Program Theses

Elazar identifies three main political subcultures that intermingle to form the national political culture: traditionalistic, moralistic, and individualistic. I am using these three political subcultures to see if they offer an insight into each state’s decision regarding election administration. In times of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, will states react differently as they attempt to administer elections and does political culture inform such varied responses? I conducted case studies of Iowa, Georgia, and Pennsylvania and applied a series of variables including the strength of each state’s voter ID law, the voter turnout, state office control, and relevant events. After …

Anti-Communist Politics Of The Second Red Scare And How It Affected Hollywood And The Types Of Movies Being Made, Maddy Everson

Honors Program Theses

During the Second Red Scare from 1947 to 1957, anti-communist sentiment was rampant and affected Hollywood and the types of movies being made. This was due to governmental agencies—as well as non-governmental institutions and people—being suspicious of and investigating anyone who was suspected of having communist ties. This caused a level of fear that affected what was shown in the content of the movies and who could make them. It is important to examine how the movies and film industry was influenced by the Second Red Scare. This is because Hollywood was strongly affected not only at this time but …

U.S. Presidential Election Portrayed By Foreign Media: Costa Rica And Nicaragua Comparative Study, Emily Neumann

Honors Program Theses

The U.S. presidential election not only grabs a lot of media attention from the United States, but it also catches the attention of media from around the world. How does the foreign media portray the U.S. presidential election? This study seeks to answer a piece of this question through an analysis of media sources in Costa Rica and Nicaragua in the hopes of better informing audiences on the potential frames their media be constructing their information through. The analysis considers the tone, along with the articles’ conversations of policy and personality of the candidates. After selecting 10 articles from each …

Assessing Opinions Towards Transgender Individuals, Tiffeni Russo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this thesis is to examine changing attitudes towards transgender individuals, in that they are overwhelmingly marginalized and discriminated against. Recently, the Trump Administration has sought to limit their protections, such as their right to enter a restroom facility of their preferred gender identity. Up until recently, there was not such an overwhelming presence of transgender media available to the public. The emergence of the transgender community owes its success in part due to the Civil Rights Movement, where gays and lesbians came out in droves to push for their rights and the ability to live their lives …

Divide And Slaughter: Bridging The Gap Between Animal Rights And Racial Justice Through An Analysis Of The Link Between Slaughterhouses And Domestic Violence, Kailey Mcneal

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis concerns the injustices present in industrial animal agriculture in the United States, domestic violence, and their disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. Despite the work of social movements centered around domestic violence and the slaughterhouse, the state of both continues to worsen, particularly for communities of color. My research seeks to uncover what factors preclude the efficacy of these movements. A qualitative analysis of the labor advocacy and animal rights movements in the slaughterhouse and the domestic violence advocacy movement suggests that the current disparate framings of these injustices and a lack of attention to race contribute to the …

Claremont College Students’ Perceptions Of Sexual Education Effectiveness: An Analysis Of Demographic Characteristics And Values, Michelle Calcany Blair

Pitzer Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to determine college students’ attitudes and evaluations of their K-12 sex education while considering demographic factors; in doing so, one can provide young adults with more autonomy over their education while better understanding how to make sex education more effective. The demographic factors that were considered along with student responses were: state of schooling, whether their schooling was religious or non-religious, whether one’s school was public or private, political affiliation of the school and neighborhood, race of the participants, and gender of the participants. These factors were deemed relevant for helping shape how people …

Us And Them: Populism In The United States, Julia E. Pfau

Honors Theses

The term “populism” has been thrown around recently—heedless of any cohesive meaning—to describe a wide variety of politics. But can we define populism with sufficient clarity and precision as to make it a useful term with which to analyze political rhetoric? This thesis weaves together the fragmented literature on populism to invent a unique definition: populism in the United States is a mode of political persuasion characterized by an effort to promote the interests of “the people,” understood to be a monolithic and moral group of ordinary Americans, against a “corrupt” elite or establishment which obstructs these interests. Using this …

“Yes, My Career Would End”: How The Existence Of Illicit Digital Media May Inhibit Women From Participating In Politics, Esther Afrakoma Appiah Dwaah

Masters Theses

The challenges faced by women in their quest to be equal participants with men in politics is not hidden. This study set out to examine how women may be restrained from rising to the highest offices in politics amidst fear of their existing nude contents that exist digitally. The body and sexuality of women have countlessly been employed as a tool to keep them out of political participation. Relying on data gathered through interviews with twenty four respondents, the study confirmed that women who have their illicit digital media in existence are less likely to take lead roles in politics …

Failures To Mobilize And Invest In Youth Voters: The Limitations Of Presidential Advertising In Elections From 1996 To 2016, Grace Killian

Government and International Relations Honors Papers

Following the passage of the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 years of age after a nearly three decades long fight for youth enfranchisement. However, once they were given the right to vote, young people turned out to vote at rates far below those of other age groups in 1972 and have remained persistently lower to the current day. This has left political operatives and scientists wondering why young people appear to be so separated from the electoral process. While many scholars have concluded that youth voters do not participate …

The Presidential Function: An American Public Performed Through The Rhetoric Of Catastrophe, Maxwell Whisnant

English Honors Papers

In this thesis, I explore the ways in which rhetoric is used as a tool within the American presidency. I also study how the concept of the heroic president and gender affect how US presidents communicate with the American people. I then examine the very story of the United States and how words can build publics and counterpublics while remaining distant from platitudes. Finally, I define the presidential function and the ways in which US presidents are able to use the power of definition to shift focus away from massive tragedies.

Decoupling Neoliberal Ideologies With American Governance And Civics, Henry J. Deluca

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Lasting neoliberal ideologies that emerged from the Reagan era have set a precedent for how American society is to understand itself in relation to American governance and economics. At its core, neoliberalism is rooted in the belief of free markets, laissez-faire economics, and federal deregulation. Using moral egoism as its grounding normative ethic and federal deregulation as its means of achieving its goal, this economic approach fails to account for our governments ability to protect the well being and needs of citizens. Furthermore, neoliberalism completely disregards the need for ecological health and stagnates our ability to mitigate the effects of …

Subordination And Separation Of Powers, Matthew B. Lawrence

Faculty Articles

This Article calls for the incorporation of antisubordination into separation-ofpowers analysis. Scholars analyzing separation-of-powers tools—laws and norms that divide power among government actors—consider a long list of values ranging from protecting liberty to promoting efficiency. Absent from this list are questions of equity: questions of racism, sexism, and classism. This Article problematizes this omission and begins to rectify it. For the first time, this Article applies critical-race and feminist theorists’ subordination question—are marginalized groups disproportionately burdened?—to three important separation-of-powers tools: legislative appropriations, executive conditions, and constitutional entrenchment. In doing so, it reveals that each tool entails subordination by creating generalized …