Books by "David O. Sears"
6 books found
Racial Resentment in the Political Mind
by Darren W. Davis, David C. Wilson
2021 · University of Chicago Press
A thought-provoking look at how many White people feel threatened by improvements that benefit racial minorities. In Racial Resentment in the Political Mind, university professors Darren W. Davis and David C. Wilson challenge the commonly held notion that all racial negativity, disagreements, and objections to policies that seek to help racial minorities stem from racial prejudice. They argue that racial resentment arises from just-world beliefs and appraisals of deservingness that help explain the persistence of racial inequality in America in ways more consequential than racism or racial prejudice alone. The culprits, as many White people see it, are undeserving people of color, who are perceived to benefit unfairly from, and take advantage of, resources that come at Whites' expense—a worldview in which any attempt at modest change is seen as a challenge to the status quo and privilege. Yet, as Davis and Wilson reveal, many Whites have become racially resentful due to their perceptions that African Americans skirt the "rules of the game" and violate traditional values by taking advantage of unearned resources. Resulting attempts at racial progress lead Whites to respond in ways that retain their social advantage—opposing ameliorative policies, minority candidates, and other advancement on racial progress. Because racial resentment is rooted in beliefs about justice, fairness, and deservingness, ordinary citizens, who may not harbor racist motivations, may wind up in the same political position as racists, but for different reasons.
In Teaching America, more than 20 leading thinkers sound the alarm over a crisis in citizenship—and lay out a powerful agenda for reform. The book’s unprecedented roster of authors includes Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Senator Jon Kyl, Senator Bob Graham, Secretary Rod Paige, Alan Dershowitz, Juan Williams, Glenn Reynolds, Michael Kazin, Frederick Hess, Andrew Rotherham, Mike Feinberg, Seth Andrew, Mark Bauerlein and more. Their message: To remain America, our country has to give its kids a civic identity, an understanding of our constitutional system, and some appreciation of the amazing achievements of American self-government. But we are failing. Young Americans know little about the Bill of Rights, the democratic process, or the civil rights movement. Three of every four high school seniors aren’t proficient in civics, nine of ten can’t cut it in U.S. history, and the problem is only aggravated by universities' disregard for civic education. Such civic illiteracy weakens our common culture, disenfranchises would-be voters, and helps poison our politics.
In Forced Justice, David Armor explores the entire range of controversial issues in school desegregation policy, including evolving Supreme Court doctrines, the educational and social impacts of desegregation, and the effectiveness of mandatory versus voluntary desegregation methods, including magnet schools. He challenges the "harm and benefit" thesis of Brown v. Board of Education, finding few significant educational and psychological benefits from desegregation, and he counters conventional wisdom by arguing that voluntary plans using magnet schools are just as effective in attaining long-term desegregation as mandatory busing. Armor concludes by proposing a new policy of "equity choice" which draws on the best features of both the desegregation and choice movements.
In the wake of the black civil rights movement, other disadvantaged groups of Americans began to make headway--Latinos, women, Asian Americans, and the disabled found themselves the beneficiaries of new laws and policies--and by the early 1970s a minority rights revolution was well underway. In the first book to take a broad perspective on this wide-ranging and far-reaching phenomenon, John D. Skrentny exposes the connections between the diverse actions and circumstances that contributed to this revolution--and that forever changed the face of American politics. Though protest and lobbying played a role in bringing about new laws and regulations--touching everything from wheelchair access to women's athletics to bilingual education--what Skrentny describes was not primarily a bottom-up story of radical confrontation. Rather, elites often led the way, and some of the most prominent advocates for expanding civil rights were the conservative Republicans who later emerged as these policies' most vociferous opponents. This book traces the minority rights revolution back to its roots not only in the black civil rights movement but in the aftermath of World War II, in which a world consensus on equal rights emerged from the Allies' triumph over the oppressive regimes of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and then the Soviet Union. It also contrasts failed minority rights development for white ethnics and gays/lesbians with groups the government successfully categorized with African Americans. Investigating these links, Skrentny is able to present the world as America's leaders saw it; and so, to show how and why familiar figures--such as Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and, remarkably enough, conservatives like Senator Barry Goldwater and Robert Bork--created and advanced policies that have made the country more egalitarian but left it perhaps as divided as ever.
A truly comparative introduction to political science that reflects the diversity of approaches to the discipline Power & Choice offers an in-depth look into the nuances of politics through the analysis of collective choices for a group or state through the use of power. Organized topically and using extended case examples from around the world, Power & Choice provides undergraduate students with a clear and engaging introduction to political science and comparative politics. The 16th Edition has been updated to address the issues raised by the covid-19 pandemic, as well as the impact the Trump and Biden presidencies have had so far upon the world and its democracies, including challenges in states such as Hungary where illiberal democracy and nationalism are on the rise. The authors have also included discussion of the impact of the death of George Floyd upon race relations in America, and how issues such as growing inequality are impacting politics. This edition adds examination of women’s economic development and the rising importance of LGBTQ issues globally.
Japan's endless patience with diplomacy in its conflict with Russia over the Northern Territories; America's decision to commit large-scale military force to Vietnam vs. its ultimate decision to withdraw; and Canada's two abortive flirtations with free trade with the United States in 1911 and 1948 vs. its embrace of free trade in the late 1980s."--Jacket.