South Carolina Humanities and the University of South Carolina are pleased to present “Interpreting the Results of the 2020 Elections,” one of eleven virtual programs in the South Carolina Humanities Electoral Initiative. The live, virtual forum will take place at 7:00 PM on the eve of the presidential inauguration, January 19, 2021. Katelyn Stauffer, Elizabeth Connors, Robert Oldendick, and Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod, political scientists from the University of South Carolina, will share their interpretations of the 2020 election and the impact it will have on the future of government in the United States. Topics include women voters, election forecasts and voter turnout, continuity and change in Congress, and the impact the election could have on redistricting. Click here to register for the event. If you view the program, please click here to take our brief survey.
The South Carolina Humanities Electoral Initiative is part of a national initiative entitled “Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation” administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Through “Why It Matters,” 43 humanities councils will explore the history, importance, and impact of the American electoral process.
Dr. Elizabeth Connors studies and teaches how people’s social surroundings influence their political values, opinions, and behaviors. She uses a variety of research methods—including survey experiments, lab experiments, and various types of observational analyses—to study political behavior, communication, and psychology. Her research has been published in Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Science Research and Methods, and Political Behavior.
Dr. Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod examines partisan polarization and the rhetoric used at different levels of government, with a focus on the President, members of Congress, and state legislators. His research explores inconsistencies in both policy and rhetoric, with the goal of identifying mechanisms for undermining polarization. He has published in Political Communication and Publius: The Journal of Federalism.
Dr. Robert Oldendick has served as principal investigator or project manager on more than two hundred projects. He is the author of articles on research methodology, including procedures for sample selection in telephone surveys, methods of respondent selection within households, and the effects of question wording and format on responses to survey questions. He has published in journals such as the Journal of Official Statistics and Public Opinion Quarterly.
Dr. Katelyn Stauffer focuses her teaching and research on gender and politics, representation, electoral politics, and public opinion. Her current work examines how group presence and perceptions of political representation influence American opinion towards legislative bodies and their members. She has published in Political Research Quarterly, Electoral Studies, European Journal of Politics and Gender, and Politics & Gender.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
