Last year, University of Idaho’s Department of Politics and Philosophy hosted an event about Cambridge Analytica — a British firm that deals with political data. The firm was hired by President Donald Trump’s campaign with wide access to Facebook user data.
This year, the department wishes to follow that success with an event titled “Housequake.” This event will cover information a little closer to home — the impact of the 2018 midterm elections.
Charles Dainoff | Courtesy
“We believe that there’s an audience for this,” said Charles Dainoff, assistant professor of political science . “More importantly, we believe this is a relatively significant time in history and it’s vitally important that as many people as possible understand this fact and understand the reasons why.”
Six professors from the Politics and Philosophy department will speak at the panel-style discussion. The professor speaking include: Dainoff, Assistant Professor Aman McLeod, Temporary, lecturer Markie McBrayer and faculty members Lisa Carlson, Michael Ryan Overton and Florian Justwan. No other departments will be represented on the panel.
“That was originally the idea, for it to be interdisciplinary, but the response from our own department was so enthusiastic,” Dainoff said. “We figured six presentations was enough and that any more would lessen the effect of the presentations.”
“Housequake: The Impact of the 2018 Congressional Elections” will be hosted from 5 to 6:45pm on Thursday, Feb. 21 in the Idaho Commons Panorama Room. The event is free and open to the public.
Each of the professors will give a short presentation before the floor is opened to questions. Dainoff said Carlson will give an analysis of the relationship between Pelosi and Trump, McLeod will discuss the Russia investigation and Dainoff himself will put the information into context with the worldwide trend of retreat from democracy.
“We’re going to try to attack (the material) from multiple angles,” Dainoff said. “(We’ll be) filling people in on the legislative nuts and bolts.”
Dainoff encouraged students, staff, faculty and community members alike to attend this event. He said he believes faculty in his department have a responsibility to educate their students and the public alike, especially in times like this where the political climate can be difficult to understand.
“(People should attend) if they want to be better informed citizens and voters and consumers of news,” Dainoff said. “I think this will help them sort through a lot of the information cascade that everybody has to deal with just to exist in the world today.”
Dainoff credits the department’s Administrative Coordinator Omni Francetich with handling the logistics of the event and creating the poster. According to Francetich and Department Chair Graham Hubbs, however, Dainoff is the official event organizer.