41030 - Young People and Declining Trust in Social Institutions

Description

Parents pushing for book bans in schools, the recruitment of youth to far-right conspiracy theories, increasing support for the teaching revisionist versions of U.S. history, the #defund movement, parents refusing to vaccinate their kids. The current racial and political moment in American society features what appears to be a declining trust in social institutions. This session examines what we know about this declining trust with an emphasis on how this relates to young people. What do these forms of distrust look like, who expresses them and why, and what are the consequences? This session brings together a group of experts who have all written recent books on this urgent topic but with a focus on different institutions, ranging from education to health to families to the state to the criminal justice system. Panelists will share main research findings and, in conversation with each other, offer ideas about what a declining trust in social institutions means for young people today and the future of U.S. democracy.

Sub Unit

• Special Session

Presider

• Margaret A. Hagerman, Mississippi State University

Individual Presentations

• When the Extreme goes Mainstream: Youth Exposure and Radicalization to Far Right Conspiracy Theories - Cynthia Miller-Idriss, American University

• Are 'Parental Rights' a Threat to School Culture and Student Growth - Laura Pappano, Free-lance Journalist and Author

• Vaccine Opposition, Ableist Logics, and the Politicization of Young People’s Health - Jennifer Reich, University of Colorado Denver

• Post-2020: Defund, Youth, Incarceration, and Resistance - Calvin John Smiley, CUNY-Hunter College

• How the Politics of Historical Revisionism Shapes Youth Resistance Against Social Institutions - Hajar Yazdiha, University of Southern California

Session Organizer

• Margaret A. Hagerman, Mississippi State University