Political Science Professor and Chair Thomas Schaller has been in the news recently analyzing the future of the Democratic Party in the South. In a Bloomberg Politics article examining how Democrats will rebuild after the recent midterm elections, Schaller discussed what could be next for party.

“The irony for me is that even I would say, at this point, there’s no place to go but up for the Democrats,” Schaller said. “There’ve been five federal cycles, and in every single count there’re fewer Democratic officials from the South in almost all of those elections.”

“Look at the Republicans,” Schaller added. “At one point they had three of 53 house seats in New York and New England. They got to near zero. And they’ve clawed back in Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. If Democrats have a landslide cycle, that might mean three new senators from the entire South. That would mean they doubled their Southern numbers in the Senate!”

Schaller was also mentioned in a Daily Beast article which discussed a similar topic, and his most recent column in the Baltimore Sun builds off of what he discussed in his first book Whistling Past Dixie in the context of the most recent midterm elections. To read full versions of the three articles, click below:

Can Democrats Ever Compete for the Deep South? Should They Even Bother? (Bloomberg)
Dems, It’s Time to Dump Dixie (Daily Beast)
Nowhere to go but up for Southern Democrats (Baltimore Sun column)

On December 10, New York Observer published an article on the “Second Gilded Age” in New York City, in which it describes recent increases in spending among the wealthiest New Yorkers. Research by Public Policy Professor John Rennie Short is extensively quoted in the article. The full excerpt is below:

“In the collection of essays, Geographies of the Super-Rich, published last year, John Rennie Short, a professor of public policy at the University Maryland Baltimore County, refers to this period as the ‘Second Gilded Age.’ Mr. Short estimates that 103,000 people worldwide have a net worth in excess of $30 million, and this upper, upper class owns about 40 percent of global assets. The holdings of the 66 New Yorkers on the most recent Forbes 400 list (led by David Koch with $42.9 billion) adds up to an astounding $390.67 billion dollars—more than the gross domestic product of Thailand, a nation with 67 million people.

Mr. Short detects similarities between the two eras. Striking inequality was seen as evidence of Social Darwinism. And it is again, he suggests. ‘Wealth is justified not simply as a result of luck or connections,’ he writes, ‘but as a ‘natural’ phenomenon and hence immune to political change and social debate.’

He also notices contrasts. It was de rigueurfor elites in the late 19th century to live a life of leisure, but today’s captains of industry flaunt their industriousness. ‘The hardworking rich replace the idle rich,’ as Mr. Short puts it.”

To read the full article titled “Gilded Age 2.0: New York’s Richest CEOs, Artists, and Pro Athletes,” click here.

In November, Piotr Gwiazda, Associate Professor of English, participated in the 23rd Ars Cameralis Festival in Katowice, one of Poland’s most prestigious arts and literary festivals. On November 15, he gave a reading from his poetry in Polish translation at Kinoteatr Rialto. On November 17, he presented a lecture “Dreams of a Common Language: On Contemporary U.S. Poetry” at the English Language Institute of the University of Silesia in Sosnowiec.

In a video interview (interview in Polish), Gwiazda described his critical and creative projects. He also commented on the Ars Cameralis Festival.

The Journal of American History (JAH) produces a monthly podcast interview with an author of a JAH article or author of a book on a historical topic. Anne Rubin, an associate professor of history and author of Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory (UNC Press 2014), was the guest on JAH’s November podcast. She was interviewed about her book and discussed how she first became interested in researching Sherman’s March in graduate school.

“The endurance of it is the power of Sherman’s March as a metaphor,” Rubin said. “In the South, people feel it very viscerally obviously in Georgia and the Carolinas. But elsewhere it has come to be this symbol of devastation, and destruction, and fire.”

Rubin’s book analyzes stories and myths about Sherman’s March, one of the most symbolically potent events of the Civil War, as a lens for examining how Americans’ ways of thinking about the Civil War have changed over time. She analyzes stories from travel accounts, memoirs, literature, films, and newspapers to highlight the metaphorical importance of Sherman’s March in American memory.

To listen to the complete podcast interview conducted by JAH editor Edward Linenthal, click here.

Walk In Advising Hours December 15th-18th
Got a question? Stop on by! 

Monday, December 15th
10am-11:30am & 1:30pm-3pm

Tuesday, December 16th
10am-11:30am & 1:30pm-3pm

Thursday, December 18th
10am-11:30am & 1:30pm-3pm

Friday, December 19th
10am-11:30am

Advisors are also available by appointment.