Three Essays on Race and Politics
Contributors: Hochschild, Jennifer; Peterson, Paul E.; Sidanius, Jim; Bobo, Larry
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Description: Understanding how race shapes the lives of individuals and transforms institutions is central to social science. Yet, for many scholars, race is widely understood as a fixed and monolithic category that is resistant to manipulation. As a result, making causal claims about ``immutable characteristics'' such as race or ethnicity has been strongly discouraged by statisticians and experts of causal inference. In contrast to previous literature, I propose a different framework that, in some cases, reconciles race and causation. Using a lab experiment and observational data about the urban uprisings of the 1960s, I test whether racialized and politicized cues from a subordinate group (in this case, blacks) can change psychological, behavioral and attitudinal measures among a dominant group (in this case, whites).
Notes: Keywords: causation, methodology, priming, race, urban riots, voting behavior.

Thesis Ph.D. Harvard University 2013