Event: Government professors to discuss Professor Walter Dean Burnham’s contributions to the study of American elections
When: Friday, Feb. 5, 9:30 a.m. 4 p.m.
Where: Batts Hall 5.108
Background: The J.J. Pickle Speaker Series in American Institutions and Public Policy has organized a symposium to honor Walter Dean Burnham, a Department of Government professor emeritus and the Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Centennial Chair in State Government.
Two panels will explore and critique Burnham’s contributions to the study of American elections and the changing electoral landscape. The event will mark the release of Burnham’s new book, “Voting in American Elections: The Shaping of the American Political Universe Since 1788,” a monumental data archive documenting turnout in U.S. elections.
The first panel, at 9:30 a.m., will discuss “Turnout and Electoral Change” and will feature Government Professors Daron Shaw, Benjamin Page and Tom Ferguson, and Government graduate student Adam Myers.
The second panel, following lunch, will discuss “Electoral Realignment and Punctuated Change.” In addition to Professors Page and Ferguson, it will include Professor Bartholomew Sparrow.
Professor Bryan Jones will chair both panels. Department Chair Gary Freeman will make introductory remarks.