Friday, October 22, 2010
8:30am - 5:00pm
Toll Room, Alumni House
University of California, Berkeley
TO READ THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS CLICK HERE.
This conference brought together leading scholars, along with several journalists and political commentators, to discuss and debate the emergence and implications of the "Tea Party Movement" in the wake of Obama's election. Much has been made of the Tea Party Movement in the media however there is little, if any, scholarship on it. This conference, which features historians, political scientists, sociologists, and race and gender scholars, was intended to begin to fill this gap.
Key questions that the conference addressed include: Is the "Tea Party Movement" (TPM) a new social movement, an emerging political party, a media-driven construction, or something else? What are the origins, ideology, and constituencies of the TPM and how were they formed? What is the relationship between the TPM and the Right, especially the GOP and the Christian Right, in the U.S., and what role will the TPM play in shaping the 2010 and future elections? How do race, class and gender factor into the TPM's message and membership? How are TPM activists tapping into and/or managing the populist, libertarian, and radical currents on the Right, as well as fear, anger and resentment among segments of the American public? What significance does the TPM hold for the future of American politics?
Sponsored by: Center for the Comparative Study of Right-Wing Movements (now known as Center for Right-Wing Studies)
Co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, the Institute of Governmental Studies, the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science, the Sociology Department, the Gender and Women's Studies Department, the Haas Diversity Research Center, the Townsend Center for Humanities, the Center for Race and Gender, the Center for the Study of Social Change, the American Cultures Center, and the Berkeley Undergraduate Political Science Association.
