Politics of Identities

The study of the politics of identities is a cross-cutting research area that draws faculty from all areas of the discipline and beyond.  Faculty and students interested in identities examine it as both cause and effect, studying the ways in which race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other politically relevant factors shape political behavior and attitudes.  We also explore the ways in which identities are constituted, and what this means for politics.

Our research and teaching address the powerful role played by ethnicity, gender, and race in politics across the world.  Our faculty and students work on many dimensions of identity, but we have particular expertise in public opinion, social mobilization, immigration, and citizenship. We seek to understand how these factors shape and are shaped by ethnicity, gender, and race.  We approach identity as a crucial factor in politics in many areas of the globe, including the United States, and our faculty have wide-ranging area expertise that they bring to bear on large questions of political identities.

Faculty:

Emeritus Faculty:

    Associates:

    The Politics of Identities group encourages the participation in programs across the UCSB campus. We collaborate with a number of related groups and departments. These collaborators include Sociology, History- Comparative Race and Ethnicity, the Broom Center for Demography, and the Center for Middle East Studies; and the departments of Anthropology, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Chicano Studies, Feminist Studies, Global Studies, Linguistics, and Religious Studies.

    Identity Events:

    The Politics of Identities group sponsors three workshops a quarter at which students and faculty from across UCSB present their ongoing research.  Students present their papers in politics of identities (see requirements) and are also encouraged to present seminar papers, conference papers, draft articles and chapters of their dissertation for discussion and feedback.  In addition to regular workshops, the Politics of Identities group sponsors lectures by outside experts in the identity field.

    Politics of Identities Events, 2024-25

    Wednesday, October 9, 2024, 5pm - 6:30pm, @HSSB 6220 McCune Conference Room

    Childless Cat Ladies, Trans Kids, DEI Hires, and Not White Wives
     
    Election panel by Chris McAuley, Pei-te Lien, Jigna Desai, Jane Ward, Noshi Shah, & Diane Fujino
    Faculty in Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Feminist Studies, Political Science, and Center for Feminist Futures 
     
     
     

    Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 6:30pm – 8pm, @Chem 1179

    The Choice of Our Lives--For Real: Identity, Media, and the 2024 Election
     
    Election panel by Christopher Parker, Bruce Bimber, Alfredo Gonzalez, & Alison Brysk (chair)
    Faculty in Political Science and Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara
     
    The most important election in recent history is upon us. This is a common refrain, but it
    rings true in this case. With the recent Supreme Court decision that grants a president
    immunity for most acts committed in office, some say that the republic will not survive
    another Trump presidency. If, on the other hand, Harris wins, Trump has said that a
    bloodbath will ensue. How, as a country, did we get here? From clashing visions of
    American national identity, to the ways in which group identities inform our political
    preferences, this election ultimately rests on identity. In this roundtable, we discuss the
    relationship between identity, polarization, and the 2024 election. We also explore the
    ways in which the media--social and otherwise--mediates the relationship between all
    three.
     
     
     
    Thursday, February 6, 2025, 2pm- 3:30pm, @Ellison Hall 3824
     
    Hahrie Han, book talk: Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church (Penguin Random House, 2024).
     
    Professor of Political Science & inaugural director of SNF Agora, John Hopkins University
     
     
     
    Thursday, February 13, 2025, 12:30pm- 2pm, @Ellison Hall 3824
     
    Jane Junn, "The Allure of Patriarchy: Explaining Support for Gender Inequality in U.S. Politics"
     
    USC Associates Chair in Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science and Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of Southern California, lead author of Women Voters: Race, Gender, and Dynamism in American Elections (Cambridge Elements, 2024)
     
     

    Requirements:

    Politics of Identities (POI) can be selected as a secondary field in conjunction with one of the traditional fields. The POI is distinct from traditional sub-fields. Its theories, concepts, and empirical work incorporate expertise from across the traditional sub-fields and it is interdisciplinary in nature.

    Click here for a printable version of the Politics of Identities requirements.

    Areas of Specialization

    The areas of specialization allow for a wide-range of interests including political theory, human rights, policy analysis, international relations (ethnic conflict, civil war), comparative and American politics (ethnicity and political parties, social movements, democratic development), religion, immigrants, and demography among others.

    • Ethnic & Identity Conflict1
    • Ethnic/Racial Politics (Comparative and American Politics)
    • Intersectionality (Gender, Sexuality, Race, Class, Religion)
    • Migration and Citizenship
    • Theories and Concepts of Identity

    Courses

    All students wishing to complete the POI sub-field are required to take four (4) courses, at least three (3) of them, from the following list of courses offered by POI faculty in the department. Students interested in specializing in the sub-field are advised to take at least one POI course from the department in each of the first two years of study. Consultation with the faculty advisor about which courses to take at the beginning of the school year and at least once each quarter is strongly recommended. 
     
    PS 235       Comparative Political Institutions (Stoll)
    PS 237       Social Movements/Collective Action (Ahuja, Bruhn)
    PS 251       Political Parties and Political Representation (Stoll)
    PS 252       Public Opinion and Political Participation (Parker)
    PS 263       Race/Gender in American Politics (Lien)
    PS 274       Contemporary Civil War & Political Violence (Coggins)
    PS 594AS   American Social Movement (Parker)
    PS 594BT   Black Political Thought (Rice, Parker)
    PS 594PG   Politics & Gender (Brysk)
    PS 594xx    Migration and Forced Displacement (Masterson)
    PS 594xx    Immigration and Identity (Bruhn)
    PS 594xx    Citizenship, Culture, and Consent (Gonzalez)
     
    Additional Elective Courses from Outside the Department
     
    Departments offering identity related courses include Anthropology, Black Studies, Chicano/Chicana Studies, Communications, East Asian Language and Culture, Feminist Studies, Gervitz School of Education, Global Studies, History, Linguistics, Psychology and Brain Sciences, Religious Studies, Sociology.

    Identity Events

    Students who intend to declare identity as a secondary exam field within Political Science are required to attend the identity events at least once per quarter with credit given (1 credit per quarter).  POI students are expected to attend a minimum of six identity events before completing their qualifying papers on POI. Students are strongly encouraged to present their working papers in one of the POI workshop panels offered periodically upon demand.

    Research Paper/Field Paper

    A publishable research paper is required. Students will present their papers at the Identity Workshop and we will urge them to present their paper at a professional association meeting. Our intention is that the research paper is submitted for publication, but we do not require that it be published to complete the Identity Field.  
     
    Alternatively, a student interested in pursuing Politics of Identities as a secondary exam field can petition to write a field paper in a self-defined field on Identity Politics. Consult the field paper requirements in the Graduate Student Handbook for more details.
     

    [1]Ethnic and identity conflict can include a focus on conflict in one or more of the following traditional subfields:  international relations, comparative politics, and American politics.