University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Student, Sociology
Thesis Title: Producing Politics: The Careers and Viewpoints of Campaign Professionals
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Mike Hout
Loic Wacquant Marion Fourcade |
About
The purpose of my dissertation research is to understand the field of national-level campaign operatives in the United States. The role professional campaign staffers and consultants play in American elections, and thus in who ultimately holds the power of elected offices, is hard to overstate. Political operatives create the advertisements and flyers voters see, craft the speeches voters hear, script the phone calls and visits they receive, and determine which voters will be targeted with each of these communications. They shape candidates’ messages, their self-presentations, and their daily schedules. Although candidates may have final say, the vast majority of campaign strategies are decided upon and implemented by campaign staff and consultants.
Yet scholars know remarkably little about the people who play such an important role in shaping the American political landscape. Specifically, this project looks at the paths to entry and advancement within the political field. The first part of my research involves the creation and analysis of a dataset containing the career paths of all staffers and consultants who have held decision-making responsibilities in Presidential or Senate campaigns since 2003. The second part of the project is based on in-depth interviews with a subset of these political professionals in Washington, D.C. and around the country. My hope is that my dissertation research will be published in article and book form, and will advance understanding of the processes of American political campaigns within both the field of sociology as well as among the public more broadly.
*** To Students curious about the Soc 130 course this summer: I do not have a syllabus yet, but here are some things you might like to know: The course will be very interactive. I do not do a lot of lecturing. You actually have to do all the reading. I will try to make it enjoyable, but I am not an easy grader. I will expect you to be there essentially every day.
We will be talking about class & economic inequality, and the ways that intersects with all sorts of other social inequalities. We will be focused on the US but have some data and readings to offer a comparative perspective. I will make you read some Bourdieu, and make sure you understand it.
