Month: September 2017

Public Professor: RR 91-139

Personally, I believe the most important part of my thesis will be spreading the “word” of my research. Since my thesis is very current and directly related to American politics, it is important for the information and trends I have discovered to be spread to the public so all Americans are aware of the implications of religion in politics. Although I can’t directly change the American political system right now to not be influenced by religion, I can at least alert the public of the influence so they are aware when making voting decisions and forming their political opinions. If the public is aware they are being influenced they might be able to develop their opinions more clearly without the presence of religion in politics.

But how do I spread my message? I could possibly use social media to spread my message; I could make a Facebook page to spread my word? Maybe I could get a group like Americans for the Separation of Church and State to share my Facebook page to help it reach more Americans. On a more local level, I could try to get an article written about my research in a local newspaper or try to get an interview with a local news channel. Or maybe I could get accepted to speak at a conference. I could share my research with a multitude of different people that way. Regardless of how I do so, my thesis message needs to spread; that’s crucial to my motivation for choosing this thesis topic. I want to change the world, whether the change is very large or small in my own community.

Professional Rolodex

 

  1. Garret Graves- House representative for BR’s district
    1. Contact him via website https://garretgraves.house.gov/contact
    2. This is a republican congressman from Louisiana. This could help me with the next phase of my thesis.
  2. Bill Cassidy – senator for LA
    1. Contact him via website https://www.cassidy.senate.gov
    2. Phone for BR?: (225) 929-7711
    3. This is a republican congressman from Louisiana. This could help me with the next phase of my thesis.
  3. Cedric Richmond – House representative for 2nd district in LA
    1. Contact him via website https://richmond.house.gov/contact-cedric
    2. This is a democratic congressman from Louisiana. This could help me with the next phase of my thesis.
  4. Clyde Wilcox
    1. Professor at Georgetown (focuses on government, politics, religion & American politics)
    2. wilcoxc @ georgetown.edu
    3. 202-687-5273
  5. Ted G. Jelen
    1. Phone: 702-895-3355
    2. Email: jelent@unlv.nevada.edu
    3. Professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (government, political science)
  6. Robert Boston
    1. Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Editor of Church & State magazine
  7. John J. Pitney, Jr., Ph.D.
    1. (909) 607-4224
    2. Professor at Claremont Mckenna
    3. Department: government
  8. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
    1. https://www.au.org
    2. Email: americansunited@au.org
    3. Phone: (202) 466-3234
    4. *STUDENTS for church and state separation (sub-divison of this group)

 

RR pg. 45- 90

I am currently working on figuring out the “who” and “where” of my network as I am embarking on the “what’s next” part of my thesis project. On page 71, Badgett gives a checklist of places to network. The following places could apply to my thesis: courts, legislatures, executive branch agencies, unions, political parties, social movement organizations, and community organizations. I definitely want to talk to and make connections with state government officials, as shown in my dream board from Step 1 of the professionalization project. I’d also love to start talking with political parties and unions eventually to help bring my research into active American politics. I believe that political parties, government officials, and interest groups would greatly benefit from my research. It could help them under the grey area of American politics that most people are scared to discuss or address due to fear of backlash from the public. Additionally, I believe different groups of people care about my topic in different ways. Many individuals are passionate about my topic and want to see many changes take place in the United States government. Other individuals, especially those who are more religious, will want to go against my research, ensuring that nothing changes in the American government and/or political system.

To gain the most progress from my research I think I need to focus on networking with people that agree with my separationist view of the constitution. Strict interpretationalist’s opinions would not mesh well with my research and the paper that is its outcome. I think working with like-minded individuals would help me greatly. However, this is not saying I won’t get differing perspectives, like by interview possibly Garret Graves. Just when moving forward with the goal to enact change I think that people with similar beliefs as me will prove to be more useful.

 

Professionalization: Step 1

I have always wanted to enact change in the world around me. Though it may seem a bit cliché, I want to be quite literally, “the change [I] want to see in the world.” As many may know, I am obsessed with politics and never turn down a healthy and respectful political discussion. Additionally, I am fascinated in government and I love learning constantly more about politics and governments. Essentially, I’m a political nerd. This means that not only do I want to incorporate government and politics into a project, but I want to incorporate it into my future long-term. I hope to use my thesis project as a first step into making this dream of mine a reality.

Looking at shorter-term goals, such as what I will accomplish in High School with my thesis project, I believe I have figured out the “what’s next?” part of my thesis. Since completing my rough draft on June 4th, Mrs. Sutcliffe and I have been brainstorming what the future of my thesis could look like. In Mrs. Sutcliffe’s words, “How do you bring this project to the next level?” My dream is to interview two Louisiana politicians from opposite sides of the political spectrum, a democrat and publican, to hear their perspective and opinion on the issues of religion interfering with politics that I discuss in my project. I would also like to know how they interpret the constitution: Does their interpretation match mine? Do they interpret it more literally? Do they believe in the idea of the living constitution? I believe this will help my thesis truly come to live and become something more concrete and real. When presenting on launch day, I think including the results from my interviews will help grab the attention of my audience and help demonstrate to them that the issues in my project have never been more relevant or current in America’s current political situation.

Following Launch Day and the Honors Thesis program as a whole, my work in this field will be far from over. This is a field in which I want to dedicate my future education and career to. In college, I plan to study political science with a major in criminal justice, and follow that bachelor degree with law-school. After completing that education, I hope to work as a lawyer in the beginning of my career and then hopefully transition my career to allow me to be active in politics. I think this will allow me to have a greater impact on American politics and government. I am tired of sitting around and watching American politics fail in certain areas; I want to make real, concrete changes, to the world around me. I believe this education and career path will allow me to best do so. Maybe one day I can help pass a bill to help restrict religion’s presence in politics. The possibilities are endless. However, I am not in denial about the truth of the difficulty of my dreams and goals. I aware the journey ahead of me will be far from easy, but I am eagerly awaiting the challenge.thesis project.png

The Public Professor; RR #1

The Public Professor RR #1

In his book, The Public Professor, Badgett’s writes on page 12: “My goal in this book is to provide tools and knowledge to help you, a new or experienced scholar, connect your research and ideas with people and institutions outside of the academy in order to influence a situation that matters to you.” While reading the first chapter, this quote immediately stood out to me. I thought to myself, “This is exactly what I need help doing on my thesis in this immediate moment!” and sighed with relief, knowing that I was able to receive a multitude of advice regarding what I’m currently trying to do with my thesis. How do I take my research and apply it to the “real world” to create an actual impact? One piece of advice that stood out to me was on page thirteen: “You need to know how to communicate ideas to people who aren’t in your field,” (Badgett 13). I think this is something that all thesis students need to remember. Sometimes you become so immersed in your research world you forget to take a step back and look at it from the perspective of everyone else. I think this is important to remember when choosing a reader for a thesis defense. It is a good idea to have one reader be someone who doesn’t know about the topic. When looking at his five easy ways to get started I think that number five is something that I would consider doing: “Find opportunities to meet your state representative and member of Congress,” (Badgett 18). Although I know we aren’t supposed to be relating this to our thesis yet, I couldn’t stop myself! Generally speaking, I think this chapter is exactly what I needed in this moment. I believe this dog is really going to help me with the rest of my thesis process. It’s going to allow me to bring my research to life which is what I have always wanted!