American first ladies have long used the media to promote their image. Michelle Obama, the first lady of the @FLOTUS Twitter account, used this government controlled platform to communicate, campaign and bring attention to important White House events. Using Chang Wan Woo et al. rhetorical purpose(s), this study conducts a...
On January 21, 2017, the United States bore witness to the largest single-day demonstration in history—the Women’s March. This mixed methods study uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative data in an attempt to predict participation in this infamous protest. I divulge the ways in which the 2017 Women’s March...
Far from the decimated state it was during the 1990s, Russia has risen to become a key player in many international events, often in opposition to the West. In particular, President Putin and his allies have invested heavily in increasing both Russia’s soft power, or its attractiveness to other countries,...
Political Polarization in the United States is at a level higher today than at any point in the past few decades. Possible causes of this rise in polarization have been provided from various sources, including explanations such as mass media and income inequality. Through historical analysis and a wide literature...
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ChristopherStout, Committee Member, representing the Political Science Department
The Scab Sheet is a student activist publication at OSU. Originally published in 1969-1970, a group of students revived it in 2017 after a near 50-year gap. The fact that students deliberately resurrected this important and storied student publication suggests that students still believe this particular name and outlet have...
For over two years, an exceptionally contagious new disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread around the globe and killed millions. Organizations such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations have suggested that universal healthcare could have helped countries currently lacking such mitigate the severity of...
According to the Center for Disease Control, 7-in-10 people use their smartphones while driving. This includes behaviors such as sending or reading text messages or emails, taking photos, or using social media. Despite its prevalence amongst drivers, using one’s phone while driving is considered one of the worst types of...
The Supreme Court Bar-the lawyers who argue before the US Supreme Court-has historically been an elite and exclusive group. This investigation examines the demographic make-up of the Supreme Court Bar in the Roberts Court and compares it to previous iterations of the Supreme Court Bar, as well as the national...
My study of universal healthcare was motivated by the juxtaposition of social welfare and self-interest in the United States. Unlike most other industrialized countries—whom have adopted either a multi-payer or single-payer system of universal healthcare—the United States is situated uniquely, from both a philosophical and political standpoint. Among others, it...
This thesis examines whether and how interest groups concerned with capital punishment change how they frame the issue when advocating before the Supreme Court via amicus curiae briefs over time. I measured the frequency of frames used throughout amicus briefs submitted in cases pertaining to how the death penalty could...