Froma Whistle to a Scream: Race and Racism in Modern American Politics
Lecture by Prof. Chris Danielson (Montana Technological University)
Date: 17. April, 2pm
Location: University of Pécs Faculty of Humanities "B" 402 (Ifjúság St. 6.)
Race
and racial appeals have been a common feature of American politics and
political campaigns since its founding. Since the African-American civil rights
movement in the 1960s, overtly racist appeals have declined and been replaced
by more subtle racial appeals to white voters. These 'dog whistles' became a
regular feature of both parties, although the Republican Party made the
heaviest use of them. Yet the rise of Trump has upended this and stripped the
subtlety from these racial appeals. This lecture examines that shift, and how
the undemocratic nature of the American political system has enabled this
process even as the United States of America becomes a more racially and
ethnically diverse country.
Prof.
Chris Danielson is a specialist in the civil rights movement and modern
American politics. A native of Houston, Texas, he received his BA and MA from
the University of Houston, and his PhD from the University of Mississippi. He
is the author of two books, After Freedom Summer: How Race Realigned
Mississippi Politics, 1965-1986 and The Color of Politics: Racism in the
American Political Arena Today, as well as several articles and book chapters.
He is a professor of history at Montana Technological University on Butte,
Montana, and is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Pecs in
Hungary.
