The Fairfield Museum, 370 Beach Road in Fairfield, will host an election law lecture and discussion at noon on Election Day Nov. 8 featuring Fairfield University professors who will discuss the impact of elections on minorities, youth and women. The event is free for Bridgeport teachers and students. Iced tea and cookies will be served, please bring your own lunch. electionday_fairfieldmuseum.eventbrite.com
Presented by Gayle Alberda, PhD, Assistant Professor of Politics, Fairfield University and Jocelyn M. Boryczka, PhD, Fairfield University Professor of Politics.
Dr. Alberda will discuss election laws and “controlling the game.” How is the presidential outcome influenced by the legal process, especially for the minority, youth, and women’s vote? She will also discuss voter ID laws, how they function and influence who wins. Is the ballot out of reach for some citizens?
Dr. Boryczka’s talk will focus on the premise of her book, Suspect Citizens: Distrust in American Politics. She argues that framing American women as suspect citizens, neither fully virtuous nor vice-ridden, makes them particularly susceptible to backlash politics and indicates a bigger problem of distrust deeply embedded in our political script. We will discuss the high levels of distrust expressed by American voters in the 2016 presidential elections, focusing on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as exemplars of suspect citizens as candidates. We will consider their candidacies and this election in light of a long history of distrust in elected representatives that raises real challenges for a democratic society that relies on trust as a binding agent in our social contract between government and the people.
Bridgeport teachers and students free; Members & Educators: $5; Non-Members: $8.
ONLY IN FAIRFIELD … OIF.