Following their popular series of public debates on the issue of who can use the word, the researchers will be available for campus visits in the fall of 2013. “We see these visits as providing opportunities for us to share some of our findings and engage with colleagues and students about this timely topic,” says McIlwain.

While the authors employ a variety of theories and methodologies to address their research questions, they have distinct perspectives on the topic. “We do not agree on who should be able to use the word and in what contexts,” says Caliendo. “Those differences are reflected in a unique final chapter of the book that is constructed in a dialog format, similar to what bell hooks and Cornel West employed in Breaking Bread.” Many who have attended their debates on this issue in the past note that in addition to the substantive content, the scholars serve as an excellent model of civil discourse  – something that is rarely visible in media representations of political disagreement but that college students appreciate.

For inquiries, please visit the RaceProject website or contact either of the principal investigators directly.

See here for more information about their partnership with hip-hop recording artist FM Supreme and the #PUSH tour.

Photo credit: http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/2010/08/sunday-inspirations-eliminate-n-word.html

PUSH. 50 Schools. 50 Churches.

Acclaimed hip-hop recording artist FM Supreme has announced a collaboration with researchers from The Project on Race in Political Communication to support her PUSH initiative. In an unprecedented effort to instigate consideration of social justice in the context of “post-racial” America and bring attention to recent violence in Chicago and elsewhere through hip-hop performance with accompanying lecture and discussion, FM Supreme will embark on a tour that includes performance of her socially conscious music and poetry, as well as scholarly discussion with Dr. Stephen Maynard Caliendo (Department of Political Science, North Central College) and/or Dr. Charlton McIlwain (Department of Media Culture and Communication, New York University).

FM Supreme, aka Jessica Disu, 23, is a writer, poet, MC, educator and activist from Chicago. She is a 2x champion of Louder Than A Bomb, the largest teen poetry slam festival, and has independently produced six of her own music projects and albums since the age of 16. FM Supreme has performed at colleges, concerts and open mikes across the United States and has toured in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and London, England. She has served as a high school teacher and is a mentor to youth across the

globe. FM Supreme has shared stages and platforms with MC Lyte, DJ Kool Herc (founder of Hip Hop), KRS-ONE, Kurtis Blow, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, David Banner, Jean Grae, Nikki Giovanni, Saul Williams, Russell Simmons, Spike Lee, Steve Stoute (Tanning of America), Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Jesse Jackson Sr. and a host of others. FM Supreme is the founder and leading artist of The Chicago International Youth Peace Movement, a peer to peer social network inspiring young people through Hip Hop and Spoken Word to address global youth violence nonviolently through the arts. On her journey campaigning for youth peace, FM Supreme has had the opportunity to share ideas and her positive Hip Hop message for social change with President Barack Obama, Dr.Cornel West, Public Enemy, Amy Goodman, Bill Ayers, The National Strategy Forum, The Ford Foundation, The Open Society Institute and dozens of others. FM Supreme is the co founder of The Chicago Asia Youth Peace Exchange and will journey with co-founders and 6 youth peace activists from Chicago to Thailand for three weeks to study non violence in December 2013. For booking: ChicagoYouthPeace@gmail.com.

Drs. Caliendo and McIlwain have been conducting and publishing social science research under the auspices of The Project on Race in Political Communication for over a decade. Their most recent book, Race Appeal: How Candidates Invoke Race in U.S. Political Campaigns (Temple University Press) won widespread praise by critics, is the winner of the American Political Science Association’s Ralph Bunche Award for best scholarly work on the subject of ethnic and cultural pluralism (2012), and was named one of eighteen of the year’s “Best of the Best of the University Presses” by the Association of American University Presses. For nearly a decade, they have spoken about their work at colleges and universities such as Vanderbilt University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, Hofstra University, and Penn State University—Berks. They each are regular contributors to local, national and international media outlets on the subject of race and political campaigns.

Inquiries should be directed to FM Supreme by emailing FMSupreme@gmail.com

Awards:

Race Appeal is the recipient of the 2012 Ralph J. Bunche Award from the American Political Science Association. The award recognizes the best scholarly work in political science published in the previous calendar year that explores the phenomenon of ethnic and cultural pluralism. The press release is here. A list of previous recipients is here.

Race Appeal was named one of the “Best of the Best of the University Presses” for 2012 by the Association of American University Presses. Watch the presentation at the American Library Association annual conference (June 24, 2012, Anaheim, CA) here.

Charlton won the 2011 Griffiths Research Award at New York University for his work on Race Appeal. More information, including the impressive list of past recipients, is here.

Stephen was awarded the Dissinger Prize for Faculty Scholarship at North Central College in 2011, in part for his work on Race Appeal.

Media:

Data from Race Appeal were featured in a Newsweek story on February 13, 2012.

Charlton discussed African Americans and the Republic Party on “On Point with Tom Ashbrook” National Public Radio.

Stephen discussed Race and the US Presidential Race on “The Agenda with Steve Pakin,” Public Television, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Reviews:

“The authors . . . have provided a strong and lasting piece of research. Race Appeal importantly illuminates major areas of contention, chiefly whether America is post-racial or not. And their response to the post-racial question is a deeply probative ‘yes and no,’ because voters don’t like racial appeals, yet politicians continue to make them.” Prof. Kathleen Tate, University of California–Irvine (Perspectives on Politics)

“[A]n important book that offers the most comprehensive account to date of the racialized communications environment encountered by candidates of color. . . . Race Appeal [is] a significant contribution to the racial politics literature. . . .  This book is a must read . . . for anyone interested in racial politics in general and minority candidates in particular.” Prof. Michael Tesler, Brown University (Political Communication)

“The most important contribution is probably the varied and fascinating questions that McIlwain and Caliendo leave for future researchers to investigate. Their research provides a solid foundation that future scholars will surely build upon, to the benefit of the communication and political science disciplines.” Prof. J. Michael Bitzer, Catawba College (Choice, “recommended”)

“Race Appeal . . . is a fascinating and well-written book which should be read by anyone who is interested in studying racial and ethnic politics, political communication, and American politics in general. As the number of minority candidates increases in the United States, this book is on the forefront of interesting research which explores how racialization in electoral politics may serve to increase or diminish minority candidates’ opportunities to hold elected office.” Prof. Christopher Stout, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (Journal of Politics)

“This work is timely and informative not only because of the 2012 Presidential election, but also because it places recent and past elections and their candidates in a new, sharper focus. . . . Written in intelligent but non-academic language, this is an outstanding selection for large public libraries, especially those with significant collections in history and popular culture, for libraries in schools with advanced placement classes (like history), and for academic libraries.” Barbara Morrow Williams, Association of American University Presses.

Overview

Combining rigorous analysis with in-depth case studies—including an examination of race-based appeals in the historic 2008 presidential election—Race Appeal is a groundbreaking work that represents the most extensive and thorough treatment of race-based appeals in American political campaigns to date.

Learn more | Order

Stephen and Charlton each took to the airwaves in the first week of April to weigh in on the national conversation about the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the racialized language in the U.S. presidential campaign.

Charlton appeared on CNN, while Stephen appeared on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, an educationally oriented public affairs program out of Toronto, Ontario.

Psychophysiological Approaches to Studying the Effects of Race-Based Messages in Political Campaigns

Scholars have long recognized that racism is rooted in systemic factors that manifest in attitudinal and behavioral elements that are largely unrelated to intent or conscious recognition of prejudice or bias. Empirical researchers have worked hard to adequately tap into latent racist predispositions by devising sophisticated questionnaires and interview methods that are effective in avoiding social filters and conscious-level self-deception that is inherent in self-response survey data. Advances in technology designed to measure psychophysiological factors – functional magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography, electromyography, galvanic skin response, heart rate variability, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, post-auricular response, startle eyeblink modulation, etc. – hold promise in moving forward the state of knowledge in this field broadly, and in the area of potential effects of race-based political messages in particular. In this paper, we advance a theoretical justification for employing such techniques to capture “preconscious” responses to race-based campaign communication.

download paper

Image borrowed from: http://www.dcsc.tudelft.nl/Research/Current/projects-by-person-13-kedarekdne-1140456268-cf51.html

Thanks to Dr. David Worth and the George R. Brown Forensics Society, as well as the School of Humanities, at Rice University for sponsoring the event. Thanks to Karl Schaefer for providing the video.

We prefaced the debate with a brief video that can be viewed/purchased at AbolishtheNWord.com.

Read more here ….

View Emerging Voice Award winners.

View photos from the 2010 EVA ceremony.