10.01.08
Posted in Cognitive Science, Education, Gender Bias, Jacob Canon, Politics, Psychology, Racism, The Oscar Show, UVa College of Arts & Sciences, University of Virginia, elections, ethics, history at 11:04 am by Jacob Canon
In today’s show, we share comments and reflections from the UVa Faculty Roundtable concerning Race and Gender in Politics.
Last Thursday, the Miller Center of Public Affairs hosted the UVa Faculty Round Table on Race and Gender in Politics. Sponsored by the University of Virginia’s Arts & Sciences Magazine, the forum was moderated by Douglas Blackmon, the Atlanta bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. The panel included UVa faculty members, Paul Freedman, Brian Nosek, Lynn Sanders, Vesla Weaver and Nick Winter.
Moderator, Douglas Blackmon called this point in time “an extraordinary moment in American history and American discourse,” while Associate Politics Professor Paul Freedman referred to this time as “Christmas” for political scientists because of the multicultural base of the presidential candidates.
Reflections on Race and Gender in Politics Forum [7:30m]:
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Freedman said the implicit message in political advertising is the important element of political ads. An example of this was a 2006 Republican ad run in Tennessee, concerning Democrat, Harold Ford, Jr. Freedman said, the ad included “a white woman who claimed to have had met Harold at the Playboy Party and she suggested that he call her, the ad concluded with the text on the screen, Harold Ford…’he’s just not right.’ And many people suggested that the implicit message was, ‘he’s just not white.’” Freedman added this year’s election has seen less of these types of messages.
Associate Politics Professor Lynn Sanders, spoke to the question, “will Obama lose this election due to race.” Referring to a recent Stanford AP poll and the subsequent media spin that Obama will lose the election by six to fifteen percent simply because he is black, Sanders said, “I think that it is really, really interesting how tied we are to that kind of pessimism. There is an alternative framework that we could be focusing on, which is… that we’re living in a time when we have accomplished such a feat that we can have these different kinds of candidates.” Referring to the Bradley/Wilder effect - when voters tell pollsters they are undecided or likely to vote for a black candidate, yet, on Election Day, they vote for the white candidate - Sanders said this effect has lessened over the past forty to fifty years and the reverse was observed in the 2006 Tennessee race between Ford and the Republican candidate.
Assistant Politics Professor Nick Winter spoke about the book he is working on, “The Secret History of Gender.” Winter said, looking at data from the last three decades, the Democratic party is associated with stereotypically feminine traits such as being “… compassionate, generous, egalitarian, and so forth and conversely they like the republican party for relatively stereotypically masculine characteristics, it’s efficient, supports the work ethic…” Yet, when it comes to Presidential candidates, he said the electorate tends to feel “… that our ideas about what it makes a good leader are themselves very associated with ideas about men and masculinity.”
Associate Professor of Psychology Brian Nosek’s data suggests that some political choices we make are influenced by “implicit” feelings toward blacks, women or the aged without us even realizing it. Nosek said of people who participate in his online surveys, “… 80% of white Americans who come on and try this task have a stronger association of black with bad, than white with bad, suggesting that they have associations in their minds that are quite distinct from the egalitarian values that they tend to express. Likewise with gender, it’s harder to associate female with leader or female with career than males, even if they will explicitly say, ‘no, I’m egalitarian minded… we don’t necessarily know that these things are happening.”
Mr. Blackmon observed that the research of the panelist had led to potentially opposed ideas of how much race and gender effect the election process.
Answering this question, Assistant Politics Professor Vesla Weaver satirically noted, that this may be the first time that professor Sanders and she had been considered the “racial optimist in a room.” She went on to say, “I’m certainly not saying that there aren’t negative racial attributions that happen. I do think we need to question how much the Bradley Effect has been overstated, how much the negative aspect of race is the thing that makes headlines, and what effect that has on perceptions, on people, on raising sensitivities, on looking for it.” Professor Sanders added that it was interesting “…the way conservative and optimistic, and liberal and pessimistic, are associated. And this is a real consistent theme in this year’s election.” She said that none of the panelist felt that bigotry and racism were no longer issues, yet much had changed in the short time since the 1960’s.
The goals of the panel to open public discussion on these issues were summarized by Professor Weaver’s salient comments concerning what would occur if the topic of race and gender were not brought to the public’s attention. Weaver said, the danger is not only, not having this type of public discourse, but that “it opens up space for a powerful counter narrative to develop on November 5th. And that is the counter narrative that, for blacks, for young voters, for anyone that was mobilized… and saw this as the first time their constituency was being spoken to, the counter narrative would be, if not now, then when.” She added, “it opens up a rift in that powerful American dream logic. It opens a rift in the notion that this is an egalitarian society. That we can move forward together… And so if we don’t have that very public conversation now about race, the public conversation that going to get had when we look in the mirror on November 5th is going to be a conversation that is going to be uglier.”
You’ve been listening to the Oscar Show, I’m Jacob Canon. Join us next week when we will discuss the work of Brad Cox, professor of physics and a principal investigator with the University of Virginia’s High Energy Physics Group and his involvement with the new Large Hadron Collider in Geneva Switzerland.
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09.24.08
Posted in Cognitive Science, Education, Jacob Canon, Politics, Social Psychology, The Oscar Show, UVa College of Arts & Sciences, University of Virginia, elections, ethics, history, sociology at 11:04 am by Jacob Canon
In today’s show, we introduce the Moderator and UVa Faculty panel participating in the Race and Gender in Politics Forum being held tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, located at 2201 Old Ivy Road, in Charlottesville, VA. This event is free to the public.
With the election season upon us, and the diverse nature of the major candidates, Americans are faced with unique challenges when they go to the polls this November 4th. With the notable exception of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, the major candidates for the office of President of the United States have been white males. But this election season, both major political parties have offered candidates that begin to explore the multicultural basis of our nation.
Race and Gender in Politics [5:48m]:
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Tomorrow evening, September 25th at 7:00PM, the Miller Center of Public Affairs will be hosting the UVa Faculty Round Table on Race and Gender in Politics. This event is sponsored by the University of Virginia’s Arts & Sciences Magazine will be Moderated by Douglas A Blackmon, the Atlanta bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. This forum will discuss many of the issues that face the electorate this season. The panel will include UVa faculty members, Paul Freedman, Brian Nosek, Lynn Sanders, Vesla Weaver and Nick Winter.
The moderator, Douglas A. Blackmon, has written extensively about the American quandary of race. Many of his stories in The Wall Street Journal have explored the interplay of wealth, corporate conduct and racial segregation.
Associate Politics Professor Paul Freedman, has written about the negative advertising that is present in American politics, and has come to the conclusion that this type of discourse has positive effects in educating the public concerning issues. Freedman found that voters who saw more campaign advertising were more energized and knowledgeable.
Associate Professor of Psychology Brian Nosek’s interest in politics emerged while he was doing research in implicit cognition, which examines thought and feeling outside of awareness and control. His data suggests that some political choices we make may be influenced by “implicit” feelings toward blacks, women or the aged without us even realizing it.
Associate Politics Professor Lynn Sanders, has found another dynamic at work in the American political system. Sanders research has found there are differences in survey data received depending on the race of the interviewer and interviewee. If they are the same race, prejudices are more likely to be revealed. She found this evidenced by the differing results in the public vote of caucus states versus the private vote found in primaries states during the recent Democratic campaign.
Assistant Politics Professor Vesla Weaver’s research has detailed the disparities between the outcomes of whites to darker- and lighter-skinned blacks and Hispanics, including lower incomes, high incarceration rates and higher execution rates for the dark-skinned. Her data appears to show that the gradient of skin tone also appears to have an effect, and that this disparity carries over to politics as well.
Assistant Politics Professor Nick Winter’s book, Dangerous Frames explores the ways that political leaders can mobilize our ideas about race and gender in ways we don’t realize; his current project is exploring the ways that ideas about masculinity and femininity shape political discourse and public opinion.
So, as this multicultural dynamic changes the Presidential debate continues across America, you are invited to the Miller Center tomorrow evening, September 25th at 7:00 PM to hear this panel discuss gender and race and how they effect the political landscape.
The Miller Center address is 2201 Old Ivy Road, Charlottesville, VA. For more information or direction to the event please call 434-243-8974 or email Cristina Martinez de Andino at clm6q@virginia.edu.
For those who can’t attend, you can watch the forum online by going to www.millercenter.org and the link will appear on the home page shortly before the panel starts.
You’ve been listening to the Oscar Show, I’m Jacob Canon. Join us next week when we will follow up this show with comments and reflections from the UVa Faculty Roundtable concerning Race and Gender in Politics.
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08.20.08
Posted in African, Education, Jacob Canon, The Oscar Show, UVa College of Arts & Sciences, University of Virginia at 11:04 am by Jacob Canon
In today’s show, adapted from an article written by Anne E. Bromley, Senior Writer, Editor for UVa’s Office of Public Affairs, we discuss UVa’s outstanding graduation rates among African-American students at all public universities in the nation.
For the 14th straight year, the University of Virginia’s African-American students posted the highest graduation rate among those at all public universities in the nation, according to the annual compilation published in the winter 2007-08 issue, of the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. The journal reports that U.Va.’s graduation rate of 87 percent makes it “the leader by far in successfully graduating black students” at flagship state universities.
UVa African American Grad Rates [6:16m]:
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William Harvey, U.Va.’s vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity, pointed out, “when comparing other Association of American Universities member institutions, the U.Va. graduation rate is the only public institution in the top 10.”
The next closest public universities are the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California-Berkeley, both with 73 percent, and the University of Michigan, with 70 percent. The national average is 44 percent, compared to 63 percent for white students.
The journal, using data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, deliberately highlights public universities because three-fourths of African-American students in college attend them.
Overall, U.Va. ranks 19th nationally, behind 18 private universities and colleges of varying sizes. The top group comprises 28 schools with black graduation rates of 86 percent to 96 percent, postaed by Harvard. In addition to comparing black and white students at highly ranked institutions, the journal analyzes the data several other ways, comparing by gender, comparing historically black colleges and universities to predominantly white institutions and comparing different types of institutions.
U.Va. reflects a trend across the country: African-American women’s graduation rates are surging ahead of their male counterparts. According to data from U.Va.’s Office of Institutional Assessment and Studies, 91 percent of black women graduate in a six-year period, compared to 83 percent of black men. The University’s overall graduation rate is about 93 percent, which includes white and Asian-American students.
Nationally, the graduation rate for African-American women rose to 48 percent compared to 37 percent for African-American men. Peter Yu, assistant dean of African-American Affairs said, “We need to do more for males. Women utilize support services and resources much more than males.” One of the key factors in the success of black students at U.Va. is the Office of African-American Affairs’ nationally known Peer Advisor Program. Associate dean Sylvia Terry, founder and director of the program, said, “the Peer Advisor Program picks up where the Admissions Office leaves off.” She credits the University’s Office of Admissions to the integral part it plays in recruiting the best students.
Terry said, “We want them to be successful and continue the excellence they bring to our institution. Our Office of Admissions is phenomenal in its work in recruiting students. They are attentive to students in responding to questions, presenting opportunities and working with parents. Our office picks up in the summer writing families and inviting t hem to the University of Virginia family.”
Dr. Maurice Apprey, who has headed African-American Affairs since 2006, recently said his office’s latest initiatives are designed to set the bar higher for black students, urging them to reach beyond the goal of graduating and improve their academic performance, take full advantage of all of the University’s opportunities and increase the number going on to graduate and professional schools. Despite the low national average graduation rate, the good news for African-Americans is that those who graduate have a median income close to that of white college graduates.
Terry noted one of the ideas of Freeman Habrowski, president of University of Maryland in Baltimore County, a leader in diversity in higher education: “the importance of recruiting the family when attracting [minority] students to predominantly white institutions. She said, “We have done this for years.”
You’ve been listening to the Oscar Show, I’m Jacob Canon. Join us for our next show, when we will well discuss the research of Jessica Voorhees Norris, a Ph.D. candidate in forensic chemistry at UVa, who has developed a method for handling rape kit evidence that reduces part of the DNA analysis time from 24 hours to as little as 30 to 45 minutes.
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08.06.08
Posted in Education, Jacob Canon, Relationships, The Oscar Show, UVa College of Arts & Sciences, University of Virginia, ethics, sociology at 11:04 am by Jacob Canon
In today’s show, adapted from an article written by Rebecca P. Arrington, Assistant Director of Media Relations, we look at the annual Walter A. Ridley Distinguished Lecture at the University of Virginia, held in April in the Rotunda’s Dome Room.
“In an increasingly diverse nation and interconnected world, educators must teach students to be global citizens committed to justice for all people,” a leading voice in multicultural education told a audience at the annual Walter A. Ridley Distinguished Lecture at the University of Virginia. The Ridley Lecture Series honors U.Va.’s first African-American graduate, who received his doctorate in education from the Curry School in 1953 and went on to a distinguished career in higher education administration.
Educating Students to Be Global Citizens [5:35m]:
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According to James A. Banks, director of the University of Washington’s Center for Multicultural Education and the Kerry and Linda Killinger Professor of Diversity Studies, “schools across the nation and the world are becoming increasingly diverse due to immigration.”
Banks said, “there were 191 million migrants worldwide in 2005, and one in every five children in the U.S. is the child of an immigrant. If current trends continue, the number of persons of color in U.S. public schools will equal or exceed the percentage of whites within one to two decades — a situation that is already true in six U.S. states.”
In Banks lecture, titled “Diversity in America: Challenges and Opportunities for Educating Citizens in Global Times,” He stressed that this increased diversity requires changes in the way students are taught.
Banks said , “Because of the way in which people are moving back and forth across national borders today, we must educate students to function across borders, to become global citizens and to develop cosmopolitan values and commitments.”
He added that this focus on global citizenship requires educators to look beyond a curriculum limited to the “testing and assessment” of basic academic proficiency.
Banks went on to say, “All students of course need to master basic skills in reading, writing and math. However, these skills are necessary, but not sufficient. I am deeply concerned about education that is narrowly defined as academic achievement in basic skills. … Reading, writing and arithmetic are only important if they serve to make students humane.”
Banks said that students should be taught not only “the ability to master, access and use factual knowledge, but also the ability to challenge assumptions, to interrogate and reconstruct knowledge” and learn “to know, to care, and to act,” the three goals of global citizenship education. This type of teaching will educate “students’ heads, but also their hearts,” and create “transformative” citizens who are prepared to take an active role in their society and work for social justice.
Banks said, ‘The notion of simple patriotism to one nation has become obsolete and our society needs to accept the multi-dimensional nature of diversity. A person is not simply a citizen of one country or a member of one ethnic group. Instead, one’s identity incorporates a variety of factors, including nation and race, but also factors such as sexual orientation, religion, language and class.”
Banks encouraged educators to nurture three levels of identification in their students: cultural, national and global. This will help create a necessary balance between unity and diversity because, according to Banks, “unity without diversity leads to hegemony, and diversity without unity leads to chaos.”
This balance between respecting a student’s individual, cultural background and at the same time, encouraging national and global identification is what Banks said will ultimately nurture students who are global citizens and answer the question, “How can we educate our students so they grieve for people dying in Darfur and Iraq as much as they do for our own?”
You’ve been listening to the Oscar Show, I’m Jacob Canon. Join us for our next show, when we will well discuss a University of Virginia researcher has received a three-year grant from The Hartwell Foundation to further his research on an innovative method to treat pediatric brain tumors.
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