Modern political campaigns involve, and increasingly rely on, advertising and digital media. President Obama’s recent campaign was a prime example of how effective use of the Internet can influence voters.
Dhavan V. Shah, an expert on the social psychology of media influence on political judgment, examines the impact of new media in his presentation “Network Nation: How Campaign Ads and the Internet Shape Participation” on Sept. 30 at Vanderbilt University.
The lecture is part of the series “Realities and Representations: The 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign” co-sponsored by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities and the Communications Studies Department at Vanderbilt.
Shah is the Louis A. & Mary E. Maier-Bascom Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his doctorate in mass communication in 1999 from the University of Minnesota, where he also minored in political psychology.
His research concerns the social psychology of media influence, especially communication effects on political judgment, public opinion, lifestyle politics and civic participation. Shah has authored more than 60 articles and chapters and is currently working on three books.
The lecture series “Realities and Representations: The 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign” brings leading scholars and critics to Vanderbilt’s campus to reflect upon the historic nature of the presidential race, as well as to examine the ways in which mass media are shaping the national response to the campaign.
The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities promotes interdisciplinary research and study in the humanities, social sciences, and, when appropriate, natural sciences.
Contact: Missy Pankake, (615) 322-NEWS
missy.pankake@vanderbilt.edu