This lecture series hosted annually is named after George S. Parthemos who served the University of Georgia with great distinction for over 30 years until his death in 1984. During his service at the University, Parthemos served as Head of the Department of Political Science and Vice President for Instruction. He was also an extraordinary teacher. This series, sponsored by the Department of Political Science, honors Dr. Parthemos’ commitment to education. Each year, the Parthemos Scholar not only delivers a public lecture, but also teaches classes and interacts with students and faculty over two to three days.

2020 Parthemos Lecture

Vincent L. Hutchings

Hanes Walton Jr. Collegiate Professor and Research Professor, The University of Michigan

“Whitewashing: How Obama Used Implicit Racial Cues as a Defense Against Political Rumors.”

George S. Parthemos Lecture

February 28, 3:30pm, Baldwin Hall, Room 480

Professor Hutchings’ general interests include public opinion, elections, voting behavior, and African American politics. He recently published a book at Princeton University Press entitled Public Opinion and Democratic Accountability: How Citizens Learn About Politics, that focuses on how, and under what circumstances, citizens monitor (and consequently influence) their elected representative’s voting behavior. In addition to this project, Professor Hutchings also studies how the size of the African American constituency in congressional districts can influence legislative responsiveness to Black interests. The most recent product of this research was published in the Journal of Politics. Finally, he is also interested in the ways that campaign communications can “prime” various group identities and subsequently affect candidate evaluations. This study examines how campaign communications can subtly—and not so subtly—prime voter’s racial (and other group-based) attitudes and subsequently affect their political decisions. Research from this project, co-authored with Professor Nicholas Valentino and Ismail White, has been published in the American Political Science Review. Professor Hutchings, and collaborators Ashley Jardina, Rob Mickey, and Hanes Walton, are currently exploring how different news frames can diminish or exacerbate tensions among Whites, Blacks and Latinos

Professor Hutchings was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholar (2000-2002) and has received multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, most recently (2009) for his project entitled “Elite Communications and Racial Group Conflict in the 21st Century.” He is currently the University of Michigan Principal Investigator for the American National Election Study for the 2012 election cycle.

Past Parthemos Lectures

1987: Richard E. Fenno
1988: Warren E. Miller
1989: Earl and Merle Black
1990: Samuel Patterson
1991: William Galston
1992: Larry J. Sabato
1993: Kenneth J. Meier
1995: Thomas E. Patterson
1996: Leslie Friedman Goldstein
1997: Catherine E. Rudder
1998: Richard A. Brody
1999: Barbara Sinclair
2000: Ian Shapiro
2001: Kenneth A. Shepsle
2002: John H. Aldrich
2003: Russell Hardin
2004: Adam Przeworski
2005: Martha Nussbaum
2006: Frederick C. Harris
2007: Jürg Steiner and John Roemer
2008: John Zaller
2009: Larry Bartels
2010: Elinor Ostrom
2011: Gary King
2012: Arthur Lupia
2013: Gary Cox
2014: Quentin Skinner
2015: David Mayhew
2016: Morris P. Fiorina
2017: Lee Epstein
2018: Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier
2019: Charles Stewart III

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