The Academic Minute for 2016.10.31-11.4

Academic Minute from 10.31 – 11.4

Monday, October 31st
Charles Sohaskey – Chapman University
Vampires and Tuberculosis
Charles Sohaskey is the biological safety officer at Chapman University.  He also does work at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Long Beach, California.  His principle area of study is the lung disease tuberculosis.  While his lab focuses on latent tuberculosis, the carrier state of the disease, he is also interested in the long grim history of the disease.  He is the author of over 20 peer reviewed papers and has given lectures on the role of this disease in art and literature.

Tuesday, November 1st
Cynthia Botteron – Shippensburg University
Qualified for Election
My research interests are in comparative politics with a focus on the processes of development and the democratization of former colonial states. I conducted research in India on their effort to save the Bengal tiger while tending to the development needs of the tribal community living in and near tiger reserves. I also conducted research in Pakistan on then President Musharraf’s changes to the nation’s constitution. The addition of the requirement that one must have a college degree or its equivalent to run for national office is what captured my interest.

The Constitution Qualifications Global Project is the only one in the world. It is yielding some interesting insights into the creativity and unique character of states because in the choice of requirements, a state is partially broadcasting needs, aspirations, and the nature of its political culture.

Wednesday, November 2nd
Whitney Manzo – Meredith College
Civil Discourse
Dr. Whitney Ross Manzo holds a BA in Political Science and History from the University of Oklahoma and an MA and PhD in Political Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. Her main expertise is in the areas of voter behavior, elections, public opinion, direct democracy, and constitutional and electoral law. Dr. Manzo’s current research focuses on public opinion of political issues as they intersect with gender and race. She also studies how new voting rules affect turnout and behavior and has given presentations to civic groups discussing voter ID laws.

Thursday, November 3rd
Richard Holtzman – Bryant University
Political Narratives
Rich Holtzman is an Associate Professor of Political Science and the Coordinator of the Political Science Program at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. He is an award-winning teacher of American Politics and has published research on Presidential Rhetoric, Narratives and Discourses in American Politics, Teaching Interpretively, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Friday, November 4th
Paul Christensen – Seton Hall University
Campaign Songs
Dr. Paul Christiansen is a musicologist specializing in Czech music and music in political advertisements. He recently completed a book manuscript entitled Orchestrating Public Opinion: How Music Persuades in Television Political Ads for US Presidential Campaigns, 1952-2016. Supported by fellowships and grants from Fulbright, Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, and the American Musicological Society, his work has appeared in New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Journal of Musicological Research, Notes, ECHO: a music-centered journal, Plainsong and Medieval Music, Journal of the Society for American Music, MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, Music and Politics, and 19th-Century Music. Before coming to Seton Hall, he taught at universities in California, New England and the Czech Republic.