Chapman University Digital Commons

Follow

• 

  Equal Citizenship and Religious Liberty: An Irresolvable Tension?

  Gordon Babst and John Compton

  In this paper our focus is not on discrimination against religion, but for it. We are concerned that U.S. citizens who are religious believers receive degrees of latitude and deference in the law relative to non-religious believers that privilege religion in general in American society to the detriment of the equal citizenship and standing of other citizens. In many cases, the citizens most impacted by religious deference are precisely those who have been identified in law and policy partly through the lens of majority religious belief, as not deserving of equal consideration. This not ought to be an effect of constitutionally securing religious freedom. We distinguish religion-based deference in law and policy with respect to race and sexual orientation to illustrate the conundrums we find, conundrums that are highlighted in the Supreme Court's recent Hobby Lobby decision.

• 

  Benjamin Barber

  Gordon Babst

  This is a section focusing on the American poltical theorist, Benjamin Barber.

• 

  Brian Barry

  Gordon Babst

  This is a section on philosophy and political science professor Brian Barry.

• 

  Gay Rights

  Gordon Babst

  This is a section focusing on gay rights.

• 

  Moral Community

  Gordon Babst

  This is a section focusing on what it means to have a moral community.

• 

  A Presidency Upstaged: The Public Leadership of George Bush, Joseph V. Hughes Jr. and Holly O. Hughes

  Lori Cox Han

  A president who distances himself from stagecraft will find himself upstaged. George H. W. Bush sought to “stay the course” in terms of policy while distancing himself from the public relations strategies employed during the administration of Ronald Reagan, his predecessor. But Bush discovered during his one-term presidency that a strategy of policy continuity coupled with mediocre communication skills “does not make for a strong public image as an effective and active leader in the White House", as author and scholar Lori Cox Han demonstrates in A Presidency Upstaged.

  Incorporating extensive archival research from the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University—including documents only recently available through requests made under the Freedom of Information Act—Han thoroughly examines the public presidency of George H. W. Bush. Han analyzes how communication strategies, relationships with the press, and public opinion polling shaped and defined his image as a leader. The research for this study also includes content analysis of press coverage (both print and television) and major public addresses during the Bush administration.

• 

  Off to the (Horse) Races: Media Coverage of the "Not-So-Invisible" Invisible Primary of 2007

  Lori Cox Han

  "While it may seem obvious to even the casual observer of U.S. politics how important news media coverage is for a presidential candidate in the heat of the primary or general election battle, it is the media attention garnered during the pre-nomination phase of the campaign that can play a crucial role in deciding if the candidate even makes it to the first nominating contest. Often referred to as the "invisible primary;' the pre-primary period for the 2008 election occurred earlier and lasted longer than in any previous campaign in modern American history...This chapter will consider two aspects of news media attention during the 2007 invisible primary. First, the role of the news media as the "great mentioner" was considered by analyzing how often candidates' names were mentioned in news coverage...Second, a more specific analysis will be provided of the four candidates presenting a potential first to U.S. presidential politics-Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and Mitt Romney-and the news coverage each received during the invisible primary."

• 

  Boy Scouts v. Dale

  Gordon Babst

  This section deals with the discrimination against Boy Scouts of America soutmaster James Dale.

• 

  Bradwell v. Illinois

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on the right of a married woman to be a practing lawyer.

• 

  Consuming Its Own? Heteronormativity Contra Human Plurality

  Gordon Babst

  This chapter focuses on heterosexuality and heteronormativity.

• 

  Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Group of Boston

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on the rights of Irish LGBT groups in Boston.

• 

  Introduction to Moral Argument, Religion, and Same-sex Marriage: Advancing the Public Good

  Gordon Babst

  This introduction explains the ongoing arguments about gay marriage and religion.

• 

  John Locke

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on the importance of philosopher John Locke.

• 

  Lawrence v. Texas

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on the discrimination of homosexuality in Texas.

• 

  Same-sex Marriage

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on the rights of LGBT individuals to wed.

• 

  Zorach v. Clausen

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on the case for deaf private school students to have a sign-language interpreter in the classroom.

• 

  Public Leadership in the Political Arena

  Lori Cox Han

  "In this chapter, I address the concept of leadership and the Important role that it now in the process at all levels and in various branches of I offer a definition of leadership and the various political that encompass this of governing. The vast scholarly literature that has developed in recent decades on the topic of presidential communications offers an excellent assessment of the contemporary importance of public leadership. I a brief overview of public strategies and how they have evolved over time (particularly in concurrence with technological advances in mass as well as relevant examples' that help us to understand the of public leadership. Finally, I conclude with an assessment of how public leadership specifically has shaped the overall definition of political and how that contributes to the dynamic of the current political environment within American government."

• 

  The Family and Religion

  Gordon Babst

  This introduction focuses on religious beliefs in American families.

• 

  The President Over the Public: The Plebiscitary Presidency at Center Stage

  Lori Cox Han

  "In this chapter, I will address the question of the usefulness of the public presidency in the current political environment (that is, can a president’s communication strategy make a difference in terms of what he achieves), as well as the constitutional danger, if any, posed by a president’s attempt at public leadership. Has the public presidency, and its focus on the public aspects of the office, thrown the constitutional balance of power between the three branches out of balance? Does the president really gain political power within the constitutional framework of our government if he is a skilled and effective communicator? Or have we just been duped into thinking that an image of strong presidential leadership on our television screens equates success in the arenas of domestic and foreign policymaking? Finally, I offer a brief assessment of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and their respective efforts at public leadership, and argue that our definition of what constitutes a “good communicator” may be permanently altered due to Bush’s reelection in 2004."

• 

  The Rose Garden Strategy Revisited: How Presidents Use Public Activities

  Lori Cox Han

  "The overall goal of this study was to determine how often, and in which formats, presidents choose to go public, and if differences exist in that pattern during their reelection efforts. This chapter also considers the major developments within the public presidency during the twentieth century, and how those developments contributed to the patterns in public activities that have emerged for Presidents Hoover through Clinton."

• 

  Life After the White House: The Public Post-Presidency and the Development of Presidential Legacies

  Lori Cox Han and Matthew J. Krov

  "This chapter considers two distinct yet related issues: First, we examine the role that continuing press coverage of a former president plays in the development of a presidential legacy; and second, we consider the impact of Clinton’s lingering presence in the news media in the first year after he left office and how that has shaped the early phase of his legacy. While the historical rankings and public approval ratings of former presidents can and do shift—sometimes dramatically—in the years after leaving office, news coverage during the first year can be important in setting a tone as to how the president will be viewed and the public role that he will assume, as well as what news organizations view as significant from his time in office. A recent study on press coverage of former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush suggests that the amount of post-White House coverage decreases after the first year out of office; once both the press and the public are satisfied in knowing how the former president is adjusting to his new responsibilities, then he is no longer viewed as tremendously newsworthy. Therefore, the first year of coverage is important if the former president hopes to create positive coverage through his public activities by working 'toward the goals in which he believes in the hopes of drawing both media and public attention . . . [since] an ex-president with a rigorous agenda is bound to capture more media attention than one with a less rigorous postpresidential schedule.'"

• 

  Buddhism

  Gordon Babst

  This section looks at the way Buddhism views homosexuality.

• 

  Ernst Röhm

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on Ernst Röhm, was both an avid supporter of the national socialist movement in Germany and a homosexual.

• 

  Evelyn Hooker

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on American psychologist Evelyn Hooker and her pioneering studies on male homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s. These studies challenged the "sickness" model of homosexuality then prevalent, and helped pave the way for the modern gay rights movement.

• 

  Hate Crimes

  Gordon Babst

  This section looks closely at the hate crimes committed against the LGBT community.