Is Age Just a Number? Exploring the Impact of Aging Leaders in American Politics
President Biden is the oldest president to lead the country, followed by former President Donald Trump. Both are the presumptive nominees for the major parties. This summer Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made headlines after two on-camera health scares, but he has insisted he will continue in office. And last week, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced she will seek re-election. These developments have reignited debates about the advancing age of prominent US politicians. Is age just a number? Should there be an upper age limit for elected leaders? Would term limits be preferable? What are the implications of leaders’ advancing age on policy making and representation? Please join the political science department to discuss these and other questions for our first salon of the year. Our conversation will be oriented around two NYT articles and like last year, there will be coffee and cookies.
Senior Thesis Presentation
Presentations From,
Erika Andersen | Indoctrination or Education?: How Religion, Politics, and Identity Shape Book Banning in U.S. Public Schools
Nick Biesterfeld | Politics and Hustlers University: The Effect of Andrew Tate on Gendered Nationalism
Frankie Spurbeck | Riding To the End of the Line: The Effect of High School Transportation Policy on Adult Transit Ridership
Coffee and Conversation with POLS Faculty
Please join us in our next “conversations over coffee: a salon with POLS faculty”. This month we’ll be talking about the disruptive technology of chatGPT and the implications it poses for democracy. The following NYT article will be the launching point for our conversation. Light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there.
THIS WILL BE HELD IN STAMM WEST, not East.
Learn about the Politically-Oriented Graduate Programs at Portland State University
The director of the political science graduate program, Dr. Melody Valdini, is offering a special zoom session just for Lewis & Clark students who are considering graduate school in the future. She will explain the three politically-oriented graduate programs at PSU (Master’s in Political Science, Master’s in Public Policy, and PhD in Public Affairs and Policy), with a focus on highlighting the differences between the programs and alumni outcomes. The zoom session is this Thursday, February 2 at 4pm, and here’s the zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94216034200 Please consider attending this valuable info session!
Conversations over Coffee: A Salon with POLS Faculty
Details to follow.
Conversations over Coffee: A Salon with POLS Faculty
This month we’ll be talking about a Washington Post article entitled “Apocalypse Now: Democrats Embrace a Dark Midterm Message.” You can read the article here. Even if you’re not able to read the article in advance, come ready to talk about all things party election strategy. You can also refer to the attached flyer.
Conversations over Coffee: A Salon with POLS Faculty
You are invited to a new event series we’re calling “conversations over coffee: a salon with POLS faculty”. We’re planning on hosting this event about once a month to provide an opportunity to have a guided, but also informal opportunity to discuss interesting topics with you. Coffee and cookies will be served. Anyone can attend, so bring your interested friends along too.
This month we’ll start by talking about a NYT op-ed entitled “The Art of Choosing What to Do with Your Life” and how a liberal arts education can prepare you to select a life path. You can read the article here or come thinking about questions such as why you decided to attend a liberal arts college and what you hope to learn while you’re here.
What? Conversation with POLS faculty
When? Thursday, September 15th 3:30-4:30
Where? Howard 302 (aka the Fish bowl)
Meet The POLS Major
Join us for Trivia Night and meet your professors!
Political Science Informational and Mock Primary
Join the Political Science professors to learn about the major, student research, post-grad paths, and participate in a mock Presidential primary.
Political Science Capstone Presentations
Hear from fellow Political Science students on their Capstone projects.
Lessons from the Campaign Trail
Q&A with LC alums working on the trail.
What Can Political Science Teach Us in the Trump Era?
Join us to learn more about the political science major. Each professor in the department will introduce themselves, the classes they teach, and discuss how their sub-field of political science informs politics today. We will also review the department’s current major and minor requirements as well as new changes to the major and minor expected to be implemented next year. Pizza and drinks will be served!
Reid Sata’s Thesis Defense: Online Credit Recovery and Graduation Rates in Oregon Public High Schools
In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act raised accountability measures for schools to raise their graduation rates. Since then, schools have used a variety of programs to achieve this goal, one of which is credit recovery courses. In particular, many schools are using online credit recovery programs, which have become one of the largest areas of growth in K-12 online learning. There remains a gap in existing research on the effectiveness of these courses. There are very few quantitative studies that test the relationship between virtual credit recovery and graduation rates. In this paper, I run a multiple regression analysis on original survey results from a sample of Oregon high schools. I find that there is a relationship between participation in different types of credit recovery courses and graduation rates. However, my results are limited by several factors, and highlight a need for future quantitative analysis in this area.
Festival of Scholars
The annual all-day Festival of Scholars showcases student work in all disciplines, in panel talks, poster sessions, art shows, film screenings, music performances, and more. Come see what your colleagues have been up to this year!
From Activist to Politican- Senator Pramila Jayapal
Pamplin Society of Fellows, Distinguished Visiting Scholar Senator Pramila Jayapal
Meet Your Major - Political Science - Come and learn about the Political Science major and minor!
Come meet the political science faculty to learn about why our major is exciting! There will also be upper division students sharing their experiences in the major and what’s coming up next. Feel free to ask questions about major requirements, individual courses and the upcoming semester abroad in Washington D.C. Please submit your RSVP HERE.
Explore Potential Majors 2014
Come explore Political Science as your potential major!
War and Civil Rights in American Political Development, Class Presentation with Steven White for American Politics
Join the Political Science Department in a class presentation by Steven White for American Politics. Please come and give your feedback!
For Democracy and a Caste System? World War II, Race, and Democratic Inclusion in the United States by Steven White
Join the Political Science department for a research presentation by Steven White.
Scholars of American politics often assume World War II liberalized white racial attitudes, in turn prompting a liberal shift in the federal government’s position on civil rights. However, while intuitively plausible, this relationship is generally not verified empirically. Using both survey and archival evidence, I argue the war’s impact on white racial attitudes is more limited than is often claimed, but that the war shaped and constrained the executive branch’s civil rights agenda in ways institutional scholars have generally ignored. The evidence is presented in three parts: First, I demonstrate that for whites in the mass public, while there is some evidence of slight liberalization on issues of racial prejudice, this does not extend to policies addressing racial inequities. Second, there is some evidence of racial moderation among white veterans, relative to their counterparts who did not serve. However, the range of issues is limited in scope. Third, the war had both compelling and constraining impacts on the Roosevelt administration’s actions on civil rights. In summary, World War II had myriad implications for America’s racial order. It did not broadly liberalize white attitudes, but its effect on the White House was a precursor to the form of “Cold War civil rights” that would emerge in the 1950s.
Scholars of American politics often assume World War II liberalized white racial attitudes, in turn prompting a liberal shift in the federal government’s position on civil rights. However, while intuitively plausible, this relationship is generally not verified empirically. Using both survey and archival evidence, I argue the war’s impact on white racial attitudes is more limited than is often claimed, but that the war shaped and constrained the executive branch’s civil rights agenda in ways institutional scholars have generally ignored. The evidence is presented in three parts: First, I demonstrate that for whites in the mass public, while there is some evidence of slight liberalization on issues of racial prejudice, this does not extend to policies addressing racial inequities. Second, there is some evidence of racial moderation among white veterans, relative to their counterparts who did not serve. However, the range of issues is limited in scope. Third, the war had both compelling and constraining impacts on the Roosevelt administration’s actions on civil rights. In summary, World War II had myriad implications for America’s racial order. It did not broadly liberalize white attitudes, but its effect on the White House was a precursor to the form of “Cold War civil rights” that would emerge in the 1950s.
Justice Designed: How “Policy Infrastructure” Shapes Civil Rights by David Blanding
Join the Political Science department for a research presentation by David Blanding.
How does public opinion affect civil rights policy outcomes over time? What explains differences in policy outcomes across issue domains? This talk explores the recent evolution of policy outcomes in two salient civil rights issue areas: school desegregation and voting rights. Using historical statistical analysis, I show that the relationship between public opinion and policy outcomes depends on “policy infrastructure,” a term I use to encapsulate both the statutory language and institutional support undergirding public policies. The findings not only help to explain the distinct trajectories of policy outcomes in the two issue domains, but also challenge the conventional wisdom on the causal link between public opinion and public policy in democracies.
How does public opinion affect civil rights policy outcomes over time? What explains differences in policy outcomes across issue domains? This talk explores the recent evolution of policy outcomes in two salient civil rights issue areas: school desegregation and voting rights. Using historical statistical analysis, I show that the relationship between public opinion and policy outcomes depends on “policy infrastructure,” a term I use to encapsulate both the statutory language and institutional support undergirding public policies. The findings not only help to explain the distinct trajectories of policy outcomes in the two issue domains, but also challenge the conventional wisdom on the causal link between public opinion and public policy in democracies.
Class Presentation with David Blanding for American Politics
Join the Political Science Department in a class presentation by David Blanding for American Politics. Please come and give your feedback!
The Effects of Religious Commitment on Media Perception and the Acquisition of Political Information by Benjamin Gaskins
Join the Political Science department for a research presentation by Benjamin Gaskins.
Scholars have shown that religious involvement can prepare individuals for civic activity by endowing them with the skills and motivation to engage in politics. Others, however, assert that religious dogmatism may lead to disengagement with the secular world and politics more generally. These two perspectives have resulted in contradictory findings on a key aspect of civic ability: political knowledge. I argue that while religiosity may indeed increase individuals’ engagement in a wide array of political activities, religious commitment decreases the ability to acquire accurate information about certain types of political facts. This argument is tested with a number of national surveys, and I find that while religion has a non-negative effect on knowledge of general political structures and figures, it increases the perception of media hostility, which leads to lower levels of political knowledge about policy-specific and surveillance information.
Scholars have shown that religious involvement can prepare individuals for civic activity by endowing them with the skills and motivation to engage in politics. Others, however, assert that religious dogmatism may lead to disengagement with the secular world and politics more generally. These two perspectives have resulted in contradictory findings on a key aspect of civic ability: political knowledge. I argue that while religiosity may indeed increase individuals’ engagement in a wide array of political activities, religious commitment decreases the ability to acquire accurate information about certain types of political facts. This argument is tested with a number of national surveys, and I find that while religion has a non-negative effect on knowledge of general political structures and figures, it increases the perception of media hostility, which leads to lower levels of political knowledge about policy-specific and surveillance information.
Class Presentation with Benjamin Gaskins for American Politics
Join the Political Science Department in a class presentation by Benjamin Gaskins for American Politics. Please come and give your feedback.
Annual Prelaw Student Meeting
Todd Lochner, Associate Professor of Political Science and Prelaw Advisor for the College, would like to invite all interested students to an informational meeting to discuss the mechanics of law school applications, the LSAT, admission strategies, and how to figure out whether law school is the correct career choice for you.
If you have any possible interest in law school, attendance is strongly recommended.
Questions? Please contact Professor Lochner at tlochner@lclark.edu.
If you have any possible interest in law school, attendance is strongly recommended.
Questions? Please contact Professor Lochner at tlochner@lclark.edu.
Political Science: Meet Your Major
Unsure about your major? Come hear from the Political Science department about why their major is the most exciting around! Already declared? Learn from faculty and upperclassmen about what’s coming up.
Refreshments will be served.
To RSVP, please click here:
Refreshments will be served.
To RSVP, please click here:
Watch Live: President Obama’s Address to the Nation on Syria
Tonight at 6:00p.m., President Obama will address the nation from the East Room of the White House.
The President will be speaking about the United States’ response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons that killed more than 1,400 civilians — including more than 400 children.
Hosted by the Campus Activities Board.
The President will be speaking about the United States’ response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons that killed more than 1,400 civilians — including more than 400 children.
Hosted by the Campus Activities Board.
SENIOR THESIS PRESENTATION: Red Batons: Explaining Variation in Police Use of Force at Public Protests in the United States by Kris Lyon (Lewis & Clark College)
Red Batons: Explaining Variation in Police Use of Force at Public Protests in the United States
A recent report by the Global Justice Clinic at the NYU School of
Law documents the disproportionate use of force at Occupy
demonstrations by the NYPD. Similar stories have been published in
newspapers across the nation since the 1960s. Scholars have sought
to explain the causes of police repression at protests, but few have
examined the use of force at events with peaceful participants.
Moreover, a possible explanatory variable is missing from the
literature: the political ideology of the protest message. This study,
relying on newspaper accounts and large-N analyses, finds that police
violence at peaceful protests is extremely rare. Yet, liberal protests are
twice as likely to receive force from police and three times as likely to
receive police violence than conservative events. The predictive value
of this theory holds between 1960 and 1980, but becomes less
powerful after 1980.
A recent report by the Global Justice Clinic at the NYU School of
Law documents the disproportionate use of force at Occupy
demonstrations by the NYPD. Similar stories have been published in
newspapers across the nation since the 1960s. Scholars have sought
to explain the causes of police repression at protests, but few have
examined the use of force at events with peaceful participants.
Moreover, a possible explanatory variable is missing from the
literature: the political ideology of the protest message. This study,
relying on newspaper accounts and large-N analyses, finds that police
violence at peaceful protests is extremely rare. Yet, liberal protests are
twice as likely to receive force from police and three times as likely to
receive police violence than conservative events. The predictive value
of this theory holds between 1960 and 1980, but becomes less
powerful after 1980.
Faculty Bookwarming
An event to celebrate a new book written by Associate Professor of Law Erin Ryan. Federalism and the Tug of War Within will be discussed followed by questions from the audience. Coffee and cookies will be served.
Meet Lewis & Clark’s Congressman! A Brown-Bag Lunch and Town-Hall Meeting with U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer
Meet Lewis & Clark’s Congressman!
Join Congressman Earl Blumenauer, U.S. Representative, 3rd District of Oregon for a brown-bag lunch town-hall meeting for undergraduate students!(please bring your own lunch to the town-hall meeting)
Join Congressman Earl Blumenauer, U.S. Representative, 3rd District of Oregon for a brown-bag lunch town-hall meeting for undergraduate students!(please bring your own lunch to the town-hall meeting)
A Tale of Two Leagues: Parties, Interests, and Elections in the 1930s by Emily Charnock
In this presentation, I will discuss an important wave of interest group electioneering appearing in the 1930s – one that laid the foundations for the formation of Political Action Committees (PACs) in the 1940s, and the dramatic escalation of interest group electoral activity over the subsequent decades. Prior to this point, interest groups had largely avoided the electoral arena and focused instead on legislative lobbying – an activity they pursued in a bipartisan fashion. Amid the economic and political turmoil of the early 1930s, however, business and labor interests would enter the electoral fray in a newly visible and assertive way, choosing opposing party sides in the 1936 election. They forged new organizations – the “American Liberty League” and “Labor’s Non-Partisan League” – to do battle on behalf of their favored presidential contenders, and carved out a new financial role for non-party actors in election campaigns. Though they also took pains to distinguish their efforts from truly partisan activity, the strategies and tactics these two Leagues formulated, and the justifications in which they would embed their newly assertive electoral role, would set the stage for a much more proactive and partisan style of interest group electioneering in years to come.
Class Presentation with Emily Charnock for American Politics
Please join the Political Science Department in a class presentation by Emily Charnock for American Politics. Please come out and give us your feedback.
State Mobilization Strategies and Political Competition in Hybrid Regimes
Leah Gilbert (Lewis & Clark College)
My research analyzes the widely-published claim that few countries that began
holding multiparty elections after the end of the cold war are thoroughly
democratic or authoritarian.
My research analyzes the widely-published claim that few countries that began
holding multiparty elections after the end of the cold war are thoroughly
democratic or authoritarian.
The Presidential Election: What Lies Ahead?
The Political Economy Program invites you to join the conversation.
Meet Your Major
Unsure about your major? Come hear from departments and programs about why their major is the most exciting around!
Meet Your Major
Unsure about your major? Come hear from departments and programs about why their major is the most exciting around!
Beyond the Beltway: Senators at Lewis & Clark
In order to educate young citizens about the importance of the United States Senate’s advice and consent function, the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association, thanks to a generous grant from the Arkay Foundation, is proud to announce an unprecedented lecture series of distinguished Senators.