Generational Perspectives on American Politics: Applications and Methods

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Generational influences are often overlooked but increasingly recognized as an important variable in American politics. Yet stereotypes and misconceptions about generations are common. For example, Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has frequently described his as the first generation to experience mass shootings; he has also been consistently asked throughout the recent debates about his relative youth. At the other end of the age spectrum, Vice President Biden has often been questioned about his “advanced” age.
Yet the study of generations within the discipline of political science generally lags behind the attention the topic has received in other arenas within the academy (e.g. sociology, marketing). Political scientists (rightly) devote considerable attention to the importance of demographic characteristics including race and gender. The papers for this proposed panel are part of a larger project (Schultz and Friedman, forthcoming 2021, University of Michigan Press) focusing on the often-understudied ways that a generational lens can add to an understanding of American politics. That is to say, the study of generations is important because, as is true of issues concerning race and gender, it enhances our understanding of the socialization process and the circumstances surrounding one’s formative years; it addresses fundamental questions about who participates and whose ideas get represented; and it has the potential to provide a window into future politics.
The papers proposed for this panel demonstrate the range of ways a generational lens can matter. They also grapple with several methodological issues that need to be confronted to adequately specify the effects of generation versus other variables such as race, class, gender, and age.
Professor Laura Stoker examines generational changes in the fundamental concept of party identification. She employs an APC perspective to do so. Other papers fill out the picture by examining generational differences on a variety of attitudes on specific issues.
Andrew Fullerton, Jeffrey Dixon and Victoria Nash examine changing immigration attitudes over time and attempt to sort out the effects of generation vs. environmental changes or aging.
Whitney Ross Manzo and David McLennan consider generational changes in a variety of aspects related to gender.
Finally, Krista Jenkins and Bruce Peabody examine generational differences in citizen attitudes toward “heroes,” seeking to understand what we can learn about generational differences from the analysis.
Collectively, the papers examine potential impacts of generations, paying careful attention to methodological concerns. Employing data over extended time periods or utilizing multiple questions seeking to measure a core concept, the authors use data analyzing the latest surveys and polls. They also attend to the inherent difficulty of sorting out the effects of generations vs. other factors such as life cycle or period effects.

Sub Unit

• Division 36: Elections and Voting Behavior

Individual Presentations

• Generational Change in Party Identification: An Accounting - Laura Stoker, University of California, Berkeley

• Gender and the Generations: You Haven’t Come a Long Way Yet, Baby - Whitney Ross Manzo, Meredith College

• What American Heroism Teaches Us About Generations and Politics - Bruce Peabody, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Krista E. Jenkins, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Chair

• David A. Schultz Hamline University

Discussant

• David A. Schultz Hamline University