Constitutional Rights, Gender, Midterm Elections, Midterms, Race, Reproductive Rights, same-sex marriage, Sexuality
Alison Gash is an academic expert in United States courts, gender, race, sexuality, same-sex marriage, constitutional rights and public policy. At the University of Oregon, she is an associate professor of political science. Her research explores how advocates work to overcome contentious policy debates and how their efforts ultimately influence the "facts on the ground." She is the author of Below the Radar: How Silence Can Save Civil Rights (Oxford University Press 2015). Her work as been featured in Washington Monthly, Politico, Slate, Huffington Post, Newsweek and The Conversation.
abortion politics, Congress, Midterm Elections, Midterms, partisan politics, Polarization, political parties, Public Opinion, U.S. Politics
Political scientist Neil O鈥橞rian is an academic expert in U.S. politics with focus on public opinion, political parties and polarization. Neil can comment on public opinion and political participation in Oregon鈥檚 congressional and statewide races as well as national politics. His research agenda and expertise also include the partisan politics of abortion in the United States.
Media Ethics, Midterm Elections, Midterms, Political Communication, Political Communication Expert
Journalism professor Whitney Phillips studies where political communication, interpersonal communication, and information dysfunction collide. Her research shows that, while we need to be plugged into the news cycle, we also need to consider issues of citizen wellbeing and mental health, since nothing shuts down engaged citizenship faster than stress and overwhelm. Equally critical is interpersonal communication; According to her research, we need to focus on strategies for having difficult conversations about issues that make us angry and people we fundamentally disagree with.