2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Paper Somewhere in the Middle: The Racial Attitudes of Multiracial
Individuals
Tasha S. Philpot, University of Texas, Austin
Lauren D. Davenport, Princeton University
Overview: In this paper, we examine whether people who classify
themselves as bi-racial have fundamentally different attitudes
about race than those identifying with only one racial group.
Paper Political Mobilizing Beyond Racial Identity Categories
Randy Cota, Rutgers University
Overview: This paper, in exploring the multi-scenic intelligibility
of race, will examine how efforts to undo racialization—the
“undoing” of race—might impact political mobilization based on
racial identities/categories.
Paper Understanding Race, Democracy and Post-Industrial
Paradigms
Mario Love, Meramec Community College
Overview: Deciphering race and power in democratic paradigms.
Paper The Evolving Color Line: Political and Cultural Implications
Toni-Michelle C. Travis, George Mason University
Eric Shiraev, George Mason University
Overview: The Color Line needs to be examined now that the U.S.
is a multicultural country with "people of color". Who is white and
who can become white? What are the policy implications of
moving from a subordinate immigrant status to one of privilege?
Disc. Harwood McClerking, Ohio State University
Natalie Masuoka, University of California, Irvine
29-22 ATTITUDES TOWARD IMMIGRANTS AND
IMMIGRATION POLICY
Room Burnham 1, 7 th Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair Matt A. Barreto, University of Washington, Seattle
Paper Representing Immigrants: Navigating Through Anti-
Immigrant Opinion
Grace E. Cho, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Overview: This paper examines how members of Congress
respond to both naturalized and noncitizen immigrants in their
districts in light of anti-immigrant opinion in their districts,
particularly in states where immigrants have not traditionally
settled.
Paper Translating Public Opinion? Why Small Towns Turn Anti-
Immigrant
Daniel J. Hopkins, Harvard University
Overview: Drawing on data from surveys and newspapers, this
paper argues that the incentives of local elites--and not the
attitudes of the public--explain the proliferation of anti-immigrant
policies in smaller localities.
Paper Changes in Latino Attitudes Toward Immigration: Evidence
from National Studies
J. L. Polinard, University of Texas, Pan American
James Wenzel, University of Texas, Pan American
Ellen Baik, University of Texas, Pan American
Overview: Latino perspectives on immigration and immigration
policy have been well researched. We extend this literature by
examining changing attitudes within the Latino populaion over the
course of three national studies.
Paper Latinos Unidos? An Analysis of Latino Attitudes toward
Immigration Policy
David L. Leal, University of Texas, Austin
Adrian D. Pantoja, Pitzer College
Overview: This paper analyzes Latino, Anglo, and African-
American attitudes toward immigration - with a focus on the
attitudes of Latino national-origin group respondents (those of
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran, Dominican, and
Colombian heritage).
Paper Can Public Opinion be Explained by One’s News Source?
The Case of Latinos and Immigration Reform
Marisa A. Abrajano, University of California, San Diego
Simran Singh, New York University
Overview: This paper examines whether one's news source can
help to explain Latinos' atittudes towards immigration.
Disc. Matt A. Barreto, University of Washington, Seattle
32-12 AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Room LaSalle 1, 7 th Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair Robert W. T. Martin, Hamilton College
Paper Tocqueville and Wilson on the Character Foundations of
American Democracy
Brian Danoff, Miami University
Overview: This paper explores the connections between
Tocqueville’s writings and the thought of Woodrow Wilson. I
argue that Wilson had a Tocquevillian concern with the
relationship between institutions and the “character foundations of
American democracy."
Paper Equal Opportunity: A Theory of Justified Inequality during
the New Deal and the Second World War
Michael J. Illuzzi, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Overview: Analyzing U.S. newspaper articles using the concepts
of inequality and equal opportunity during the New Deal and
World War II, I identify the assumptions that help sustain
historical and institutional obstacles to meaningful political
reform.
Paper The Use of Abraham Lincoln’s Rhetoric of Equality in the
Post-New Deal Era
Jason R. Jividen, Northern Illinois University
Overview: As part of a project on the appeal to Lincoln in
American political rhetoric, this paper evaluates claims to
Lincoln’s legacy in the post-New Deal Era, mainly focusing upon
the Great Society and the Supreme Court’s use of the equal
protection clause.
Paper The Conscience of Liberalism: Thomas Paine's Critique
Private Property
William B. Parsons, James Madison University
Overview: An examination of Thomas Paine's critique of John
Locke's theory of private property.
Disc. Angelica M. Bernal, Yale University
33-11 HOW SHOULD WE DO POLITICAL THEORY?
Room Suite 9-142, 9 th Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair William A. Gorton, Alma College
Paper Political Theory and Ordinary Language: A Road Not Taken
Colin P. Bird, University of Virginia
Overview: This paper argues that the techniques of ordinary
language analysis are a neglected resource in contemporary
political theory and explains why and how they should be revived.
Paper What is the Purpose of Political Theory?
Burke A. Hendrix, Cornell University
Overview: This paper argues that political theorists do the most
good, and pose the fewest dangers, when they do not stray too far
from concrete, real-world cases.
Paper Power, History, Race, and Justice in America
Christopher J. Lebron, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Overview: This paper offers an account of political justice as it
regards race and a history of institutionally legitimized dominance
in America.
Paper Probably Democratic: Probability Theory, Chance, and
Democratic Theory
Mindy Peden, John Carroll University
Overview: I explore uses for the role of chance in theorizing
democracy and explores how the potentially fortune friendly use
of probability theory in the social sciences has been
misrepresented to highlight an imaginary predictability of political
life.
Disc. William A. Gorton, Alma College
33-26 POLITICAL THEORY AND THEORIES OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Room Dearborn 2, 7 th Floor, Sat at 2:35 pm
Chair TBA
Paper Political Realism: How Realist, How Realistic?
Robert V. Bartlett, University of Vermont
Walter F. Baber, California State University, Long Beach
Overview: Political realism is neither very true to its philosophical
origins nor very realistic from a practical perspective. Only by
being better grounded in pragmatism can “realism” in political
science escape its status as an oxymoron.
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