"The Obama Effect"
October 23-25, 2008
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Now that he has become the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party ticket, Barack Obama has challenged conventional wisdom about race, politics, media, and generation. In this historic election year, it is imperative for scholars and professionals in a wide variety of disciplines to reflect upon the potential effects of Obama on: American and global public opinion; party politics; voter participation; media representations; international relations; religious discourses; and constructions of racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender identities.
This conference invites papers from scholars and professionals working from different perspectives on the phenomenon of presumptive Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama's political career. Our goal is to create a conference that will showcase various and interdisciplinary approaches to the "Obama Effect" to provide participants with a multi-faceted view of the past year's campaign and its potential effects on a wide range of social arenas.
Essays and research papers from scholars, journalists, political consultants, community activists, and others are desired. Accepted papers will be considered for inclusion in an edited collection. We are particularly interested in receiving papers that address recent developments in the campaign, and seeing papers on the following topics:
- Michelle Obama and/or her marriage to Obama
- Obama's family relationships
- Young people and the election
- Hate-group websites and reactions to Obama
- Mixed race identity
- International responses to Obama's candidacy
- Perspectives from Latina/os, Asian Americans, and Native Americans
- Religion
- Recent speeches/responses from other candidates
Abstracts must be emailed no later than July 18th.
Contact for abstracts or questions:
Dr. Catherine Squires
Cowles Chair for Journalism, Diversity & Equality
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Murphy Hall 111
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0418
squir050@umn.edu
