Obama, Foreign Policy, and the Discourse of Race: An Analysis of Dually Constructed Leadership

The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States brings race to the forefront of domestic and international politics. We build on our mutual interest in Barack Obama’s presidency to bridge the disciplinary gap between Africana Studies and Political Science in order to analyze the political obstacles and opportunities which leaders of minority status face.

Adam Irish, Mellon Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellow, Political Science and Mike Sawyer, Visiting Instructor of Political Science present the next Faculty Lunch Talk. This talk will present our current understanding of the political tensions surrounding President Obama as both an American and “Other” elected to represent the national interests of the US. We will also sketch out our plans to apply this conceptual unpacking to a set of case studies and other leaders.

Comments, suggestions, and questions of this work in progress are welcome! Please join us for the discussion on Thursday, March 27th at 12:30 pm., President’s Dining Room 1 & 2

Tagged