Politics

America's arduous struggle over competing visions of nationhood involving race is a giant step closer to resolution with the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, says Vanderbilt University historian Gary Gerstle. Read More

Watch video of a Nov. 19 forum "Vanderbilt Government Relations 101." Read More

Like other presidents before him, President-elect Barack Obama will be under immense pressure to reward campaign workers, state and local party officials, interest groups and key donors with positions in the new administration. Read More

Vanderbilt experts are available to comment on education, immigration and health care policy. Read More

Political pundits have time to reflect in the days ahead on the reasons behind Barack Obama's historic election as the first African American president, but the president-elect must focus immediately on his transition and the challenges ahead, according to several Vanderbilt professors. Read More

Watch video of a Thinking Out of the (Lunch) Box talk by Carol Swain. Read More

A smooth presidential transition with an emphasis on advance preparation and avoidance of past pitfalls is crucial to a strong start for the next administration, says political scientist David E. Lewis. Vanderbilt experts are available to discuss the many aspects of this year\'s presidential election. Read More

Watch video of a talk by Vanderbilt Law School professor and constitutional law expert Suzanna Sherry. Read More

Watch video of a Sept. 25 talk about hip-hop, the presidential election and the youth vote. Read More

Watch video of a Sept. 22 talk by James J. Yee, Army captain and former chaplain at the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay. Read More

Alexandros Mallias, Greece's ambassador to the United States, will join Vanderbilt University Professor of Classics, Emerita, Susan Ford Wiltshire for a discussion of the roots of the American political tradition in the ancient Greek city-states 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, in Room 237 of The Commons Center. Read More

Watch video of Donna Ford, professor of special education at Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development, discussing her research with gifted minority youth and what is needed to close the achievement gap. Read More

It\'s that time again. With the mud flying in the presidential race, pundits, journalists and political observers of all stripes are denouncing the campaign\'s new, strikingly negative tone. Listening to them, you\'d think that the very fabric of our democracy were being ripped apart every time a candidate aired a tough attack ad, threw an elbow or issued a sharply worded statement. Read More

Israel should become a secular democracy and better integrate its Arab minority to help secure its future, Israeli political economist Bernard Avishai will argue during a lecture at Vanderbilt University based on his latest book. Read More

Watch video of an Oct. 7 Vanderbilt and First Amendment Center election panel. Read More

Continued thrust and parry between Barack Obama and John McCain has led many to label the 2008 presidential campaign the most negative campaign in the modern era. Negative ads have dominated the airwaves to the point that even Karl Rove argued that both candidates have gone too far. Read More

Watch video of an Oct. 6 discussion, "This is What Women Want: A Speak-Out the Issues and Views for the Presidential Election." Read More

The highest priority must be given to the development of Afghan security forces that are better able to deal with insurgents within the country, even if they have a haven in Pakistan. Read More

Listen to a podcast from Constitution Day. Read More

Political scholars, journalists and pundits will offer their informed perspective on where the 2008 presidential election is headed during an Oct. 7 forum for students that is sponsored by Vanderbilt University and the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt. Read More