‘Deconstructing Donald and Hillary’ focus of Tuesday discussion

A historic campaign between a reality TV star/businessman and the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party has sparked a national conversation about just who we are as a nation.

Next Tuesday, Oct. 4, a panel of DePauw University faculty members who are experts on race, ethnicity, gender, social class and journalism will discuss the implications of the 2016 campaign in a session, “Deconstructing Donald and Hillary: Gender, Race, Class and the 2016 Presidential Election.”

The 4:15 p.m. program will take place at Watson Forum, located within DePauw’s Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, 609 S. Locust St., Greencastle. The public is invited to attend this free event.

Panelists will address how the media, the candidates and the public construct, critique and adhere to political discourse based on class, gender and race. They will assess the candidates’ views on immigration, national borders, police interactions with people of color, and the impact of gender.

The participants will be:

-- Leigh-Anne Goins, assistant professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies, who focuses on the discursive effects of social exclusion on perceptions of value and belonging. The professor’s current work focuses on perceptions of belonging on college campuses when a racist event ruptures perceived social cohesion.

-- Clarissa Peterson, professor of political science and director of Africana studies. Prof. Peterson has expertise in American race politics. Her recent work has explored how President Obama’s campaigns have grappled with discussions about race and ethnicity and public claims about a post-racial society.

-- Emmit Riley, assistant professor of Africana studies, who specializes in American politics and International Relations. Prof. Riley’s research explores the degree to which African American political representation impacts the attitudes and political behavior of whites.

-- Miranda Spivack, Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism, is a veteran political reporter and editor who spent 20 years at the Washington Post, often covering issues affecting minorities and women. Spivack has also has written for Columbia Journalism Review, Washingtonian and the New York Times and has won numerous journalism awards from United Press International, the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Newspaper Guild and the Society of Professional Journalists, among others.

For further information, persons may contact Alicia Suarez, associate professor of sociology and anthropology and director of women’s, gender and sexuality studies, at asuarez@depauw.edu.