American University Research

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Publications

Panel on Criminal Justice Policy and Reform–WCL

The WCL’s Program on Law and Government convened a panel of experts to discuss what defunding the police and criminal justice reform could look like in the future. Read the article recapping this panel event here. 

Displacement: Global Conversations on Refuge—Prof. Tazreena Sajjad, SIS

Prof. Tazreena Sajjad contributed to this new book about the growing number of displaced people around the world with her case study of the Rohingya in Bangladesh. 

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Faculty Experts’ Corner—CAS

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Publications

A Solid Foundation—Prof. Antoaneta Tileva, CAS, SIS

“A wave of pandemic-induced uncertainty has thrown a pall over America’s economic performance, yet one sector remains a defiant shade of rose against a generally dark background. Why are home sales rebounding so quickly, with some locations reporting a return to the days of bidding wars? Is this a meaningful and lasting trend or simply a function of limited data from which to draw conclusions?” Find the full article here. 

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Faculty Experts’ Corner—CAS

Prof. Anthony Ahrens discusses the importance of gratitude, especially during challenging times. See the video here. 

Funding

Resources for New Federal Grant Applicants

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Publications

A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice—SOC

AU Prof. Caty Borum Chattoo and co-author Prof. Lauren Feldman of Rutgers University have published a new book about how and when comedy can be used for social justice. They discuss what works and what doesn’t work, interview comedians, and contemplate the future potential of comedy on social change movements. Read the full article about this exciting publication here. 

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Pride as Protest: Marking Pride During Two Pandemics

Join this event with president of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David and hosted by the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics. It will discuss the origins of Pride and what the intersection of celebration and protest looks like in 2020. Register in advance for the event on Wednesday June 24 at 1PM. 

Funding

Grant Writing Tips

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Publications

Celebrating Juneteenth—CAS

Read this Q&A with Prof. Sybil Roberts Williams about the history behind Juneteenth, her experiences with the holiday, and the relevance of marking the date today. 

“If you just do parades and have barbecues—that’s lovely, but you miss the point that to get to this place of celebration, there had to be a great amount of sacrifice and courage. There had to be significant choices made, by people who said, “You know, I don’t know what freedom looks like, I don’t know what’s even in the next county, because I’ve never been allowed to go there. But I am going to walk there. And I am going to be free.” That’s a commendable feat.”

Juneteenth Subject Guide—Library

The AU library has put together a useful subject guide for learning about Juneteenth. Materials include a variety of articles, books and even resources for children. 

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Faculty Experts’ Corner—CAS

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Publications

How the US Government Sold the Peace Corps to the American Public—Prof. Wendy Melillo, SOC

“By the end of the 1960s, the messages embedded in the individual ads appealed to youthful idealism, patriotism, a desire to see the world and the hero myth without references to the struggle against communism being waged in the Vietnam War.” Read the full article here. 

Why Some Nursing HOmes are Better than Others at Protecting REsidents and Staff from COVID-19—Prof. Anna Amirkhanyan, Prof. Kenneth J. Meier, and Austin McCrea, SPA

“As scholars of public management, we have found that three factors likely play the biggest role in determining how well a nursing home responds to a disease outbreak: whether it operates for profit, the degree of government regulation and the quality of management.” Full article here. 

Funding

Managing Pivot Funding Opportunities

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Publications

How to Understand Protests—Ernesto Castañeda, CAS

Read this useful article explaining the use of sociological terms such as “categorical inequality” and “contentious politics,” for describing and understanding the current protests and movement in the U.S.

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Policing the Black Man—Prof. Angela J. Davis, WCL

On Friday at 2pm EST, Prof. Angela J. Davis will be discussing her book which explores how the criminal justice system impacts the lives of Black boys and men. Register here to join the event. 

Unbreathable—SOC

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Publications

Environmental Leaders Discuss Next Gen Environmental Regulations for the Modern Era—SPA, WCL

“Low compliance rates with rules intended to protect air, water, and public health are both vastly underestimated and unresolvable by stronger government enforcement. Experts maintain that poorly designed regulations are the root of the problem; the structure of these rules dictates rates of compliance.”

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How Do States and the Federal Government Manage Their Budgets During a Pandemic? — Prof. Carla Flink, SPA

Watch this quick video for more information on how stimulus relief options, emergency funds, and debt are being handled across the country during the pandemic. 

Faculty Experts’ Corner—Prof. Ernest Castañeda, CAS

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What’s new in research at AU?

Publications

Antiracist Streaming Guide

The AU library has compiled a subject guide specifically for streaming antiracist films, videos, and databases for both personal education and incorporation into class syllabi. 

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Activism and Advocacy While Social Distancing

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Publications

Have We Forgotten MLK’s Warning that Riot’s are the ‘Language of the Unheard’? — Prof. Leonard Steinhorn, SOC

“The lesson from 1968 has little to do with the actual fact of civil unrest taking place that year. It has everything to do with a nation that has yet to reckon with its racial history. “ Read the full article here. 

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Can the Police Be Reformed?

SIS faculty, including Profs. Chuck Call, Jonathan Fox, Cathy Schneider, and Wanda Wigfall-Williams, will discuss police reform in the United States, and what can be learned from other countries. Tune in Friday, June 12th at 9:30 EDT. 

Round Table Discussion—Prof. Angela J. Davis, WCL

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Publications

Police are Reacting to Protests Against Police Violence with More Violence— Prof. Cathy Schneider, SIS

"The kind of policing the United States is seeing this week — riot policing — lies somewhere in the middle. As with protest policing, officers are usually outnumbered. As with criminal policing, engagement with the public happens mostly in disadvantaged neighborhoods among young people of color. The result has been a series of confrontations between police and protesters where the police have often escalated, rather than calmed, conflict — if not expressly started it. Night after night, marches against police impunity are being met by police who act with impunity."

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How Can We Problematize White Supremacy, Mass Incarceration and Police Violence? 

Listen to this podcast interview with anthropology professor Dr. Orisanmi Burton to hear about what the future of social systems could look like and the role of anthropologists and academics in that change. 

Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist

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Publications

The American Nightmare—Prof. Ibram X. Kendi, Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center

Read this powerful and timely article in The Atlantic. For further reading, see Prof. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist. 

The COVID Racial Data Tracker

The Antiracist Research and Policy Center is collaborating with the COVID Tracking Project in an effort to gather and report up to date data on how COVID-19 is affecting people of color. 

Taking My Place at My Father’s Grocery Store—Prof. Patricia Park, CAS

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Publications

Home Is Where the Work Is—Prof. Nikki Blacksmith and alum Doug Bell, Kogod

“Blacksmith suggests using a variety of communication forms—emails and chats can be just as (or more) productive for certain questions and comments as phone calls and meetings. She also advises taking time to understand team members’ different personalities. “Knowing one another helps us understand team member perspectives and when and how to use different strategies of communication,” says Blacksmith.” For more insight into how to successfully telework and manage teams remotely, read the full article here. 

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WCL Faculty Speaks: COVID-19 and Public Health Law

On Thursday, June 11th, Prof. Lindsay Wiley will share her expertise on health law and how it is being impacted by COVID-19 in the second webinar of this series. Register here. 

Webinar Series for Educators and Caregivers—SOE

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New Publications

In the World of Art, History Repeats Itself—Prof. Ximena Varela, CAS

“While Varela was completing her research, the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading across Europe. Varela was working in the Manuscripts Reading Room of the British Library in London, and then in the York Minster Archives. It was a surreal experience, she says, to spend her days reading about the impact of a deadly pandemic seven centuries earlier, and then to emerge each evening onto twenty-first-century British streets during an entirely new pandemic.” Read the full article here to learn more about the history of artists in past pandemics. 

Re-Orienting Policy for Growing Food to Nourish Communities—Prof. Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, SIS

Read how COVID-19 has brought to light some of the inequalities and structural issues of the United States food and agricultural systems. "...lingering injustices—farmworker exploitation, agrarian inviability, egregious monopolies—are all laid bare, and sharpened. Amidst the painful contradictions of collapsing farms and surging demand for local foods emerges the logistical conundrums of vulnerable supply chains.” 

Funding

Getting Started with Pivot

What’s new with AU Research today? Check-out the list below!

Publications 

What Do Citizens Think About Government and Nonprofit Services?

SPA Professors Khaldoun AbouAssi and Lewis Faulk have published their collaborative paper examining the use and awareness of DC area government and nonprofit services. Read more about their findings here. 

The Impact of COVID-19 on National and Global Security

Read this Q&A with SIS Professor Joshua Rovner to learn more about the implications of COVID-19 for global military dynamics and strategies. 

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The Dean’s List: Lessons from Leaders

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Publications

STEM education is the key to raising a generation of climate change leaders—Prof. Carolyn Parker, SOE

“There is a scientific consensus that climate change is impacting our planet, and with vulnerable communities often being the worst hit, we need to discover more ways to mitigate it. As an educator who specializes in science education, I believe that one of the best ways we can equip our society to address climate change is to raise our overall level of scientific literacy, and we do that by promoting and improving STEM education.” Continue reading. 

What Does the U.S. Economy Need Right now? The Fiscal Response to COVID-19—Prof. Bradley Hardy, SPA

“My own hope is that we will continue to look at our systems. We’ll continue to look at how we protect individual and families as well as business to learn from this." Watch the full video here for an explanation of the U.S. fiscal policy response to COVID-19. 

Global Funding Trends

Read more here about how patterns in research funding have changed over the last decade around the globe. 

Research Resources: Free Self-Paced Learning Courses 

Introduction to Finding Grants Are you new to the field of grantseeking? Discover what funders are looking for in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential funders in this introductory course from Grantspace

What’s new with AU Research today? Check-out the list below!

AU Launching New Department of Critical Race, Gender & Culture Studies

“This fall, American University will launch a Department of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies, dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion programming, teaching, and scholarship. The new department grew out of the former Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies Collaborative (CRGC), formed in 2015, which has been at the forefront of the university’s critically important work towards inclusive excellence.” Read more.

Online Plagues, Protein Folding and Spotting Fake News: What Games Can Teach Us During the Coronavirus Pandemic

“Most of us don’t take games too seriously. They are a way to unwind, or these days to maybe escape from the world of COVID-19 for a little while.

But games are also simulations in which real people play, make decisions and interact. This makes games powerful tools for learning and understanding complex situations, such as how diseases spread and even how to treat them.” Continue reading. 

Society’s Dependence on the Internet: 5 Cyber Issues the Coronavirus Lays Bare

“The pandemic also lays bare the many vulnerabilities created by society’s dependence on the internet. These include the dangerous consequences of censorship, the constantly morphing spread of disinformation, supply chain vulnerabilities and the risks of weak cybersecurity.” Read more.

New Project

Evidence-Based Science Communication with Policymakers

In recent years, communication scholars have tackled the study of “the science of science communication” with great energy and rigor. Yet, despite this, comparably few have systematically studied the practice of science communication aimed at the policymaking community specifically. Check-out the new website for more information.

New Publications

Covid-19 and Community Leadership in India’s Slum Settlements Adam Auerbach, SIS

"India’s stringent lockdown has amplified economic distress in slum settlements, where most residents work in the informal sector." 

Redesigning Disaster Relief Ayman Omar and Heather Elms, Kogod

“There’s no kind of systematic way for anyone to say, ‘Hey, can I get [supplies] from this place or that other place?’” says Elms, who holds a PhD in strategy and organization. But, she explains, “part of the problem is that the supplies needed to address the pandemic are different than the ones needed for previous disasters.”

Take It from Pluto the Schnauzer: Comedy Will Help Us Through the Coronavirus Crisis Caty Borum Chattoo, SOC