Shippensburg
to host conference on political scandals
Presenters from
around the nation will participate in a conference next week at Shippensburg
University about political scandals.
The university
is hosting “Scandal! An Interdisciplinary Conference on the Consequences,
Outcomes, and the Significance of Political Scandals” June 21 and 22.
The conference brings
together scholars from across various disciplines and
from institutions around the nation to address the effects and costs of political sex scandals,
corruption scandals and election scandals on individuals, institutions and
societies. Its
interdisciplinary focus provides a unique opportunity to analyze the topic from
different perspectives.
The conference is an
outgrowth of a book co-authored by nine Shippensburg faculty members and
released last Fall. The book, Sex
Scandals in American Politics, analyzed why political scandals occur and
why the public reacts as it does.
The nine co-authors are Dr. Cynthia Botteron, associate
professor of political science; Dr. Alison Dagnes, associate professor of
political science; Dr. Cynthia Drenovsky, professor of sociology; Dr. James
Griffith, assistant professor of psychology; Stephanie Jirard, associate
professor of criminal justice; Dr. Richard Knight, associate professor of human
communication studies; Dr. Mark Sachleben, associate professor of political
science; Dr. Carrie Sipes, assistant professor of communication/journalism; and
Dr. Janet Smith, associate professor of geography-earth science. Dagnes and Sachleben
are co-chairs of the conference.
As part of the conference, the presented papers will become chapters in the book
Political Scandals: A Multi- Disciplinary Approach.
- Panel I is “Congress” with Dagnes as panel
chair. Presentations and the presenters are: “Sack the Quarterback”
by Doug Harris, Loyola
University of Maryland; “Ethics Sanctions” by Jacob Straus, Library of Congress; “Retirements, Media Coverage
& Estimations” by Lara Brown,
Villanova University;
and “Scandals & Strategic Positions”
Scott Basinger, University of Houston.
- Panel II
is “Historical
Accounts, Modern
Implications” with Botteron as panel chair. Presentations
and the presenters are “Tom Clark Under Fire" by Craig Smith, California University; “A Larger Scandal
Beneath a Public Scandal” by Michael
Birkner, Gettysburg College; “Political Corruption in the
Pennsylvania Legislature”
by George Hale,
Kutztown University;
and “La Dolce Vita”
by Roy Domenico, University of Scranton.
- Panel III
is “Shaping thePerceptions of Scandal” with Jirard as panel chair. Presentations
and the presenters are: “Scandal and the Politics of Race”
by Neal Allen, Wichita State University; “He Can’t Say with Certitude”
by Joan Conners, Randolph-Macon
College; “Shattered Dignity: The Apologia
ofJohn Edwards”
by Misty Knight, Shippensburg University;
and “Destroying the Protective Armor of Dignity” by Claudia Bruhwiler, University of Virginia & University of St.
Gallen.
More information is available by contacting
either Dagnes at addagn@ship.edu or Sachleben
at MDSachleben@ship.edu.
6/14/12