Month: October 2019

Dr. Olga Smirnova conducted a webinar on July 2nd “Social Network Structure of Dark Markets,” via “Zoom,” to about 9 people from the DHS and FBI. The basis for the webinar was published as a white paper “Social Network Structure of Dark Markets: Research Summary,” part of the white paper series for the Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis Center (CINA).

See https://cj.msu.edu/_assets/pdfs/cina/CINA-White_Papers-Smirnova_Social_Network_Brief.pdf

The College of Arts & Science’s Center for Survery Research, which includes the political science department’s Peter Francia (director), Jonathan Morris and Baekwan Park, has had their latest poll tracking opinion regarding the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination picked up by RealClear Politics, the national clearinghouse for political polls. A huge breakthrough!

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/NorthCarolina.html

CONGRATULATIONS to all involved!

American Political Humor: Masters of Satire and Their Impact on U.S. Policy and Culture, by Jody C Baumgartner

This two-volume set surveys the profound impact of political humor and satire on American culture and politics over the years, paying special attention to the explosion of political humor in today’s wide-ranging and turbulent media environment.

Historically, there has been a tendency to regard political satire and humor as a sideshow to the wider world of American politics—entertaining and sometimes insightful, but ultimately only of modest interest to students and others surveying the trajectory of American politics and culture.

This set documents just how mistaken that assumption is. By examining political humor and satire throughout US history, these volumes not only illustrate how expressions of political satire and humor reflect changes in American attitudes about presidents, parties, and issues but also how satirists, comedians, cartoonists, and filmmakers have helped to shape popular attitudes about landmark historical events, major American institutions and movements, and the nation’s political leaders and cultural giants. Finally, this work examines how today’s brand of political humor may be more influential than ever before in shaping American attitudes about the nation in which we live.

Features

• Documents the history of political humor in the United States in all of its many forms, with the bulk of coverage weighted toward contemporary political satire and satirists
• Covers writers, cartoonists, radio personalities, television and movie performers, and internet celebrities
• Profiles influential television programs, movies, and other forms of entertainment that have made their mark on American politics and culture
  Includes a chronology of events

See: https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A5370C

Dr. Samantha Mosier presents her research (co-authored with Megan Ruxton), “Trust Issues: U.S. Public Preferences for Entities to Protect the Environment,” at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting in  Washington (Sept 2019).

Abstract: “This paper examines which institutions and entities the U.S. general public trusts to protect the environment. Using data from the Natural Marketing Institute 2016 LOHAS survey, we evaluate which institutions and entities are identified by 1,022 respondents as trustworthy to protect the environment (broadly defined). The results suggest there is not a singular institution or entity that is overwhelmingly trusted by the public to protect the environment. Indeed, a significant portion of the population (25%) trusts no one to protect the environment. Level of education is the most consistent explanatory factor for what influences trust. Higher educational achievement is associated with lower levels of trust. Additional, race and regional location also provide keen insights for variation in trust levels.”