The Cleveland Indians is just one of many sports teams with controversial names.
Richard King, WSU professor of critical culture, gender, and race studies, commented on the issue, which is a focus of his ongoing research. “It’s something that most people haven’t thought about,” he said.
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Incivility isn’t a cause of division in American society.
It’s a symptom.
“People become more uncivil because they get passionate about politics because politics matter to them,” said Cornell W. Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service and professor of political science at WSU. “We have deep divisions and people care passionately about this, and that’s what produces incivilities.
“Political incivility is everywhere.”
Clayton was keynote speaker Thursday during a day-long conference at North Idaho College. The event, titled “Returning Civility to America’s Democracy: The Promotion of Civil Dialogue,” examined the state of civility in American politics and the relationship between incivility and democracy.
Many predominantly Muslim countries boast an enviably high proportion of female engineers. Not only are women participating in STEM subjects in much higher numbers than in the West, they are also excelling. But what are the factors drawing them in and, conversely, driving their Western counterparts away?
According to Julie Kmec, WSU distinguished professor of sociology and co-leader of a new $530,000 study of what motivates women to study engineering, a variety of interlocking socio-political elements are at play.
“We have this sort of ‘be happy, follow your dreams’ mentality, coupled with a macro-cultural value system… a system of gender centralism, which essentially is this notion that men are good at this, and women are good at something different,” Kmec said.
“In developing countries, the economy does not necessarily allow people to have a choice. In Pakistan, for example, there are limited roads and bridges, and they get washed out every time there’s a storm. And so the infrastructure of countries that are developing… means people go to study what’s important for their country.”
So why is it that eastern Washington – heavily reliant on crop subsidies, fire protection, highway construction, higher education, Medicare, unemployment benefits – has shifted to politicians who have fought for government to spend less, tax less, do less?
For answers and analysis, The Spokesman-Review turned to Cornell W. Clayton, a political scientist who specializes in the study of polarization. He serves as director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute of Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University.
When Foley and his generation served in Congress, each of the two political parties was divided. To fashion a majority and get anything done, Clayton said, the leaders of Foley’s generation had to work across the aisle.
North Idaho College will partner with the Coeur d’Alene Task Force on Human Relations, the school’s own Diversity Council, and the Associated Students of North Idaho College in a one-day conference, “Returning Civility to America’s Democracy: The Promotion of Civil Dialogue,” 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday at the Schuler Performing Arts Center in Boswell Hall.
The conference’s keynote speaker will be Cornell W. Clayton, director of Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University.
Clayton also is a professor of political science, an author and well-known lecturer on the topic of civility.