Political Science and Public Policy

Elon University is hosting a March 29-30 conference on media and politics in which the public is invited to attend workshops with influential public policy makers, journalists and academic researchers. Media and Politics: Openness, Accuracy, and Honesty in the 21st Century Media Landscape is made possible by Elon University’s Turnage Family Faculty Innovation and Creativity Fund for the Study of Political Communication.

The wide variety of information sources in the 21st century – coupled with a news media industry weakened by budget cuts – requires citizens to more closely evaluate the motives of governments and businesses that are today in a better position to push their own agendas, according to a panel of researchers who spoke Tuesday for an inaugural conference on politics and the media hosted by Elon University.

Jacy Lance, an Elon College Social Sciences Fellow, presented her research at the annual conference of the Southeast Council for Latin American Studies (SECOLAS), which took place March 16-19 at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Sharon Spray, associate professor of political science, and Laura Roselle, professor of political science, presented a paper, “Strategic Narratives, Human Security, and Climate Change,” at the International Studies Association Annual Conference held from March 16-19, 2011, in Montreal, Canada.

Four out of five respondents in the latest Elon University Poll would support an amendment to the state constitution that would make all public business of any government body in North Carolina open and available to the public.

Sharon Spray, associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, and Laura Roselle, professor of political science, have published the second edition of their book, Research and Writing in International Relations. The textbook presents step-by-step guidance and resources needed to compose political science research papers that go beyond description and into systematic and sophisticated inquiry.