Political Science

Whether politicians and the press seem like friend or foe, elected officials regularly use news outlets to share and defend their views to the public. New research from Vanderbilt University finds certain media actually influenced the voting behavior of politicians. Read More

This week on VUCast: Find out which gender is better at getting things done in D.C.; a new partnership brings Vanderbilt experts to you; and the story behind the song that is captivating the world. Read More

Important Supreme Court decisions, the Nashville Ballet, and a “behind-the-scenes” look at special law enforcement agents are among the varied topics offered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt this spring. Read More

Vanderbilt historian Thomas Schwartz can comment on how John Kerry will likely approach his new job as secretary of state. Read More

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean was the guest speaker Jan. 28 for an undergraduate public policy studies class taught by former Mayor Bill Purcell, adjunct professor of political science. Read More

Congress and President Obama are taking up the debate over comprehensive immigration reform yet again. Vanderbilt has a diverse array of experts researching various aspects of the immigration debate. Read More

Research by Vanderbilt political science professor Alan Wiseman and his coauthors find women in Congress in the minority party are more effective than their male counterparts when it comes to introducing and negotiating bills, spurring action on those bills, and ultimately seeing them become law. Read More

Watch video from the January 9 Lunch and Learn event with David Lewis. David Lewis, assistant chair of political science, spoke on “What to Expect in Obama’s Second Term”. President Obama was reelected with 332 Electoral College votes and 50.6% of the popular vote. Internationally, he faces a number of… Read More

Param Jaggi Param Jaggi, a sophomore from Plano, Texas, has been named to Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30.” Zakiya Smith, a 2006 Vanderbilt graduate, and Eugene Chung, a 2005 graduate, also have been named to the annual list recognizing rising stars across the fields of energy, education, marketing and… Read More

Tennessee voters prefer the state run the online Health Care Exchange required by the Affordable Health Care Act, according to a new poll from Vanderbilt University. More than 45 questions were asked of voters on a variety of subjects. Read More

Cecilia Hyunjung Mo followed in her father's footsteps to understand the thorniest issues in political science. Read More

Dowell (Vanderbilt) Connie Vinita Dowell, dean of libraries, has been elected to the board of the Association of Research Libraries, a nonprofit membership organization of the leading research libraries in the United States and Canada. ARL comprises 125 libraries at comprehensive, research-intensive institutions that share similar missions,… Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: Amazing Vanderbilt research you have to see to believe! How this “wearable robot” helps paraplegics walk! How winning a football game could influence who wins the presidency. [vucastblurb]… Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: Why our obsession with stock prices is killing U.S. companies. How powerful is the shrinking undecided voter? Vanderbilt takes you from farm to fork [vucastblurb]… Read More

Fred Davis Fred Davis, who served as a media strategist for both George W. Bush and John McCain, will be the second guest in the three-part Election Event Series being sponsored by the Department of Political Science, the First Amendment Center, the… Read More

Mitt Romney can still win the presidential election if he can convince Americans he has the best plan to reinvigorate the economy, according to analysis by Vanderbilt professor John Geer of two new ads released by Romney’s campaign. Read More

There now is only a small and ever dwindling chance that the remaining undecided voters might influence the outcome of the presidential election, said a Vanderbilt University political scientist. Read More

Watch video from the September 21 Lunch and Learn event with John Geer. John Geer, chair of political science, spoke on “Negativity and the 2012 Presidential Campaign: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” This presidential campaign will be the most negative in modern history. Geer argued why that is… Read More

Saturday University, designed to help adults rediscover the joy of education, will focus on the November elections during sessions Oct. 13 and 20. Read More

Barsky (Vanderbilt) Robert Barsky, professor of French and Italian and professor of English, will deliver “The Changing Role of the Public Intellectual: From the Buildup Toward World War II to the Occupy Movement,” the 10th Annual Elizabeth Killam Rodgers and Constance Killam Distinguished Public Lecture, as part of the… Read More