(Mis)Informed: What Americans Know About Social Groups and Why it Matters for Politics
Cambridge University Press 2021In this Element, Marisa Abrajano and I examine just how much the public knows about some of America's most stigmatized social groups, and evaluate whether misinformation matters for policy attitudes and candidate support. We design and field an original survey with large national samples of Black, Latino, Asian, Muslim, and White Americans, and include measures of misinformation designed to assess the amount of factual information that individuals possess about these groups. We find that Republicans, White Americans, the most racially resentful, and consumers of conservative news outlets are the most likely to be misinformed about socially marginalized groups. We also find that misinformation predicts hostile policy support on racialized issues, is positively correlated with support for Trump, and difficult to correct. Our research speaks to the prospects of a well-functioning democracy, and its ramifications for the most marginalized.
Available now!
Outsiders at Home: The Politics of American Islamophobia
Cambridge University Press 2020Discrimination against Muslim Americans has soared over the last two decades with hostility growing especially acute since 2016 – in no small part due to targeted attacks by policymakers and the media. Outsiders at Home offers the first systematic, empirically driven examination of the status of Muslim Americans in U.S. democracy, evaluating the topic from a variety of perspectives. To what extent do Muslim Americans face discrimination by legislators, the media, and the general public? What trends do we see over time, and how have conditions shifted? What, if anything, can be done to reverse course? How do Muslim Americans view their position, and what are the psychic and sociopolitical tolls? Answering each of these questions, I show that the rampant, mostly negative discussion of Muslims in the media and national discourse has yielded devastating political and social consequences.
Reviewed in Perspectives on Politics.
Reviewed in The Forum.
Interview with Opinion Science Podcast.
Reviewed in Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
Reviewed in Ethnic and Racial Studies
Interview with New Books Network in Political Science
Interview with She Speaks: Academic Muslimahs
Interview with Michigan Radio’s Stateside (12:55 mark)
Interview with Simran Singh, Religion News Service
Interview with Cenk Uygur, The Conversation (TYT)
Interview with John Iadorala: The Damage Report (TYT)
Now available on Amazon!
Understanding Muslim Political Life in America: Contested Citizenship in the Twenty-First Century
Temple University Press 2019In this co-edited volume with Brian Calfano, leading scholars on Muslim Americans cover a variety of topics assessing the Muslim American experience in the post-9/11 and pre-Trump era, including law enforcement; identity labels used in Muslim surveys; the role of gender relations; recognition; and how discrimination, tolerance, and politics impact American Muslims. Understanding Muslim Political Life in America brings clarity to the social, religious, and political dynamics that this diverse religious community faces.
Race and Representative Bureaucracy in American Policing
Palgrave Macmillan 2017This coauthored book with Adam Butz, Brandy Kennedy, and Matthew Nanes, examines issues of race and policing through the lens of representative bureaucracy theory. According to representative bureaucracy theory, demographic correspondence between government employees and the local population can lead to more favorable outcomes for minority groups. The book provides a brief overview of issues surrounding race and policing in America, documenting racial representation occurring in local police forces nationwide, and explores the potential causes and consequences of underrepresentation. It concludes by discussing the implications of our findings and offer potential policy remedies and solutions that local law enforcements can pursue in order to reduce minority underrepresentation and improve policing outcomes.
Available on Amazon.