News Hartwick’s Political Science Expert Laurel Elder To Discuss The Gender Gap In Politics

The community is invited to join Hartwick College students when Professor of Political Science Laurel Elder speaks about her new book, The Partisan Gap: Why Democratic Women Get Elected but Republican Women Don’t (NYU Press, 2021). The event, part of the 2021–22 Hartwick College Faculty Lecture Series, will take place on Friday, November 12, 2021 from 12:20–1:20 p.m. in Eaton Lounge, Bresee Hall, on the College campus. The talk is free and open to the public.

In her book, Elder argues that long-term, structural changes in American electoral politics—including the ideological, regional, and racial realignments of the parties—has created an electoral and political environment conducive to the advancement of Democratic women congressional office seekers, but has created a much more challenging landscape for Republican women seeking office. “The partisan gap among the women in Congress holds significant consequences for the image, functioning, and viability of the two parties,” she says.

Elder has published extensively on topics relating to women’s underrepresentation, public opinion about presidential candidate spouses, and the ways that parenthood is political in United States politics. She is the advisor to Hartwick’s chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, which has won six national awards for its civic engagement programming. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Colgate University in 1994, and her Ph.D. in 1999 from The Ohio State University.

Her book, The Partisan Gap, was developed with assistance of Hartwick College alumni and a current student, and is an example of how the College’s approach to education, FlightPath, incorporates real-world work experiences and alumni connections into each student’s journey. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the talk courtesy of The Hartwick College Bookstore.

Since 1992, the Hartwick College Faculty Lecture Series has provided an opportunity for faculty to share and discuss scholarly accomplishments and works in progress that would be of interest to a general audience. Upcoming Faculty Lectures include:

• Friday, February 11, 2022 — “World without Time: Environmental Policy at Nine Miles an Hour,” by Associate Professor of Political Science James Buthman
• Friday, March 11, 2022 — “A New Chapter in the Story of Another Book That Never Was,” by Professors of English Susan Navarette and David Cody
• Friday, April 8, 2022 — “‘They’re Like the People That Aren’t Exactly, Like, Normal Brained’: Autism in High School from the Perspectives of Three Autistic Teenage Girls,” by Assistant Professor of Education Marisa Kofke. Presented in conjunction with Autism Awareness Month.

Attendees and all campus visitors must be vaccinated for COVID-19 and will be required to provide either their vaccination card or the New York State Excelsior Pass. Any visitor requiring an exception to this requirement must complete this form and receive prior approval from the College. Masks are required in all College buildings.

For more information, visit the Series website or contact Associate Professor of English Bradley J. Fest, at festb@hartwick.edu or (607) 431-4921.