Politics

Vanderbilt University's annual Impact Symposium will take place March 19-21. The theme of this year’s lectures is “Rise of the Rest: What is the Future of American Foreign Policy?” This year's participants include United States Sen. Lamar Alexander; retired Gen. Wesley Clark; Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor who has served as ambassador to Singapore and China; Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, and Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico who has served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Read More

Watch video of Marc Hetherington, professor of political science, speaking at the Osher Lifelong Learning class, “Politics in a Polarized Polity.” The Feb. 8 class, “Polarization and Congress,” focuses on the branch of government where polarization first took hold, tracing the evolution of the regional bases for the parties and… Read More

Watch video of David Lewis, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Political Science, speaking at the Osher Lifelong Learning class, “Politics in a Polarized Polity.” The Feb. 1 class, “Polarization and the Presidency,” focuses on how changes to the presidential selection process have affected the presidents we elect and… Read More

Watch video of James Lee Ray, professor of political science, speaking at the Osher Lifelong Learning class, “Politics in a Polarized Polity.” The Jan. 25 class, “Polarization in Foreign Policy,” focuses on how U.S. foreign policy was once a point of consensus between Republicans and Democrats; however, we are now… Read More

Beth Halteman Harwell, one of the most powerful and politically connected women in the state of Tennessee, began her political profession in the classroom. Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s weekly newscast highlighting research, experts, students, sports and everything Vanderbilt: Emotional Battle: how Vanderbilt is helping returning troops get mental help Why women make better politicians  See why the country’s smartest kids are flocking to Vanderbilt… Read More

Watch video of John Geer, the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science, speaking at the Osher Lifelong Learning class, “Politics in a Polarized Polity.” The Jan. 18 class, “Polarization and Public Opinion,” focuses on the controversy of whether the American public is really polarized or is it just reflecting… Read More

Vanderbilt experts are available to discuss negative campaigning, religious bias among candidates, patriotism and the Bible, the GOP's stance on immigration and how to eliminate bias in political polling. Read More

Watch video of Marc Hetherington, professor of political science, speak at the Osher Lifelong Learning class, “Politics in a Polarized Polity.” The Jan. 11 class, “Polarization and Congress,” focuses on the branch of government where polarization first took hold, tracing the evolution of the regional bases for the parties and… Read More

The nomination of former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray to head up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “is clearly an issue that has come to the forefront because of election year politics,” said David Lewis, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. Read More

U.S. Congressman and legendary civil rights activist John Lewis will deliver the keynote address Jan. 16 at an event commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Read More

About 20 Vanderbilt University students will get a firsthand lesson in politicking by participating in the Iowa Caucus in early January. Students will attend political rallies, volunteer for candidates’ campaigns and generally observe the Republican caucuses. Read More

Watch video from the December 7 Thinking Out of the Lunchbox event featuring Robert Talisse, professor of philosophy, speaking on “Faith in Democracy.” Citizens in a democratic society share political power as equals. This equality entails that the exercise of political power is legitimate only when it can be justified by… Read More

When the Republican presidential candidates ramp up anti-immigrant rhetoric this campaign season, they are likely to alienate conservative-leaning Latinos. Read More

Watch video of Stanford professor Francis Fukuyama, the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and resident in FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, speaking about his latest book, The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, Nov. Read More

Watch video of Andrew Foxwell speaking Nov. 14 about the impact of technological advances on dialogue. Andrew Foxwell is the Marketing and New Media Director for iConstituent, a Washington D.C.-based company that works with over half of the United States Congress, focusing on improved online strategy, outreach and advocacy to… Read More

Businessman Herman Cain is the favorite of Tennessee voters for the state’s March 6 presidential Republican primary election, but female voters are far less likely to support him. That pattern is unlikely to change in light of allegations of sexual harassment against him, according to a new poll by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University. Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s weekly newscast highlighting research, experts, students, sports and everything Vanderbilt: Occupy Wall Street: A historical look at the new protest movement A cool way to learn how your brain really works with “Brain Matters” See the best of Memorial Madness! [vucastblurb]… Read More

The Nov. 15 Chancellor's Lecture will feature Stanford University professor Francis Fukuyama, who will discuss his latest book, "The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution." Read More

See some of the unique items and stories U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander reveals to Vanderbilt from his time as governor. Plus, how one Vandy professor thinks President Obama could fix the immigration issue and why VUMC is cheering! [vucastblurb]  … Read More