Race and Representation: The National Political Science Review

ISBN-13: 9781560009597 / Angielski / Miękka / 1997 / 343 str.

Georgia Persons

Opis

The National Political Science Review is the official publication of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. This series, now entering its sixth volume, includes significant scholarly research reflecting the diverse interests of scholars from various backgrounds who use different models, approaches, and methodologies. The central focus is on politics and policies that advantage or disadvantage groups because of race, ethnicity, gender, and other major variables. Race and Representation is anchored by a symposium that focuses on efforts to enhance representation of African Americans in legislative bodies under the authority of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, and on recent court challenges to the constitutionality of redistricting plans drawn under that act. The chapters constitute an extension of an ongoing and protracted, highly charged, public debate. In her introduction, Georgia A. Persons discusses how recent Supreme Court rulings, such as in Shaw v. Reno, Miller v. Johnson, and Bush v. Vera, have significantly redefined the meaning and permissible parameters of the Voting Rights Act. She affirms that they have also strongly posited, albeit somewhat indirectly, a legal meaning of representation that is at variance with the more broadly philosophical meaning of representation grounded in the ideal of enhancing equality among different groups in a society. The articles in Race and Representation are refreshingly informative. They include case studies written by political scientists who became involved directly with events surrounding the theme of this volume. A new section, "Reflections," is introduced; it will be reserved for commentary and analysis of an issue that captures the political spirit of the times. In the inaugural contribution, J. Owens Smith reflects on the assault on liberal philosophy as a foundation for civil rights claims and offers an alternative philosophical prism for viewing and justifying such claims. This volume is essential for political scientists, African American studies specialists, and scholars interested in law and government.

Spis treści

1: Editor’s Introductory Note; Symposium: Race and Representation; 2: Voting Rights Policy and Redistricting: An Introductory Essay; 3: The 1990s Round of Redistricting: A Schematic Outline of Some Key Features; 4: Minority Representation and the Tradeoffs in Legislative Redistricting; 5: The Impact of Redistricting on African-American Representation in the U.S. Congress and State Legislatures in the 1990s; 6: Redistricting the Commonwealth: ANarrative and Analysis of the Virginia Outcome, 1991–1996; 7: New York City Redistricting and New York State Congressional Redistricting: A View from the Inside; 8: Georgia’s Reapportionment and Redistricting Process in 1995: Reflections of a Participant Observer; 9: Social Movement Theory in the Examination of Mobilization in a Black Community: The 1991 Sacramento Redistricting Project; 10: The Voting Rights Act and Judicial Elections: A Horse of a Different Color or Canary in the Coal Mine?; 11: Redistricting in the Multiracial Twenty-First Century: Changing Demographic and Socioeconomic Conditions Pose Important New Challenges; 12: Race and Representation: A Commentary; Call and Response: The Politics of Speaking to and for Black America; 13: The Messages and the Messengers: Opinions from the Million Men Who Marched; Progress and Resistance; 14: Two Paths to Minority Empowerment; 15: Limited and Cumulative Voting in Alabama: An Assessment After Two Rounds of Elections; 16: Fiscal Neglect as a Response to School Desegregation: Defunding Desegregated Schools; The Political Science Discipline: Constraints and Concerns; 17: - The Limits of Rational Choice Theory; 18: The Study of African-American Politics as Social Danger: Clues from the Disciplinary Journals; Reflection; 19: Civil Rights Policy and the Liberal Tradition: A Framework for Evaluating Social Policy; Research; 20: Separate and Unequal: Incorporation, Stratification, and Reform; 21: The Political Behavior of American Blacks: A Research Note on Effects of Four Classes of Variables; 22: Early Post-Cold War Views of World Affairs; 23: The Devolution Decade: Assessing the States’ Response; 24: Reform, Re-Invention, and Good Governance: Politics, the Public Service, and Public Accountability; 25: The Preeminent African-American Legal Scholar: J. Clay Smith, Jr.; Book Reviews; 27: Invitation to the Scholarly Community

O autorze

Georgia A. Persons