May 8th, 7pm
A Republic...if you can keep it. Why your vote (still) matters
American democracy is in trouble. But that doesn't mean that you should fall into despair. A primary reason why American democracy seems most responsive to the wealthiest and most powerful people is that these people participate most actively in
politics. If you want to have a chance of making a change in American politics, you have to get involved, through voting, organizing, protesting, and speaking your mind.
Voting is a right that we can choose to receive as citizens of the United States when we reach the age of 18. But it comes with responsibilities and also arguments. Dr. Rhodes will explain to us the struggles voting rights have witnessed based on race,
education, political and sexual identity issues.
He has written extensively on inequality in representation, voting rights politics, education politics, economic, racial, and political inequality, presidential rhetoric, and party politics.
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"Can't attend in person? You can also view this talk live at https://www.youtube.com/live/r-BVetbeuUg"
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The Speaker
Jesse Rhodes most recent book Hometown Inequality: Race, Class, and Representation in America's Local Politics, with Brian Schaffner and Raymond La Raja, examines racial and economic inequalities in representation at the municipal level, and was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020.
He has also published articles in the American Political Science Review, Law and Society Review, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Political Communication, Perspectives on Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Political Behavior, Party Politics, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Polity, Research and Politics, and other journals.
He has been the recipient or co-recipient of several awards, including the 2022 Best Paper Award from the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association; the 2021 Outstanding Academic Title from Choice; and the 2017 Best Paper Award from the Class and Inequality Section of the American Political Science Association. He is also the recipient of major grants from the National Science Foundation and the
Spencer Foundation.