Minority Policy Seminar Begins | Department of Political Science

September 22, 2022 – Shelly DeJong

A new season of the Minority Policy Online Seminar Series (MPOSS) start September 27^e with a talk by Justin Zimmerman on “Race, Class, and Distrust”. This series, hosted by Drs. Ana Bracic and Nazita Lajevardi from the Department of Political Science, and Dr. Mark J. Brandt from the Department of Psychology, focuses solely on how politics affects and is affected by marginalized people who have less power and are often excluded from the system.

“Politics is complex. To understand it, we need to look at it from multiple angles,” Dr. Brandt said. “MPOSS is where this can happen.”

This season, the first nine lectures are all presented by early-career researchers, who are already making an impact in the fields of political science and social psychology and who are in the academic job market. Their talks will cover hot topics directly related to political challenges facing the United States and many parts of the world, including how social media affects inter-ethnic relations, cultural self-expression, candidacies of black women and how race affects legislative behavior. .

“I am proud that MPOSS is now home to some of the most innovative and brilliant minds studying minority politics in the fields of psychology, American politics, and comparative politics,” said Dr. Lajevardi.

Historically, forming intellectual connections across disciplinary and national boundaries has been a challenge for this field. To increase accessibility and help break down the isolation of researchers, conferences are all held online. This reduces barriers for those who live far away or have limited funds to attend conferences. Recorded discussions are posted online so that conversations can be continued and shared in educational courses.

“MPOSS stands out because it connects multiple subfields and exposes researchers working on identity to questions and approaches that might be a little off the beaten path,” Dr. Bracic said. “For me, seeing cutting-edge new identity research is the most exciting and invigorating part of MPOSS and I hope scholars from many departments tune in to see our fantastic lineup of speakers.”

Talks begin at noon EST. The first 40-45 minutes are Zoom presentations with 15 minutes reserved for questions and answers. Attend the Minority Policy Webinar Series by signing up to receive the Zoom Links here.