Paula D. McClain

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Bio

Paula D. McClain is James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Professor of Public Policy and is the former Dean of The Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education (2012-2022). She moved to Duke from the University of Virginia in 2000. She also directs the American Political Science Association’s Ralph Bunche Summer Institute hosted by Duke University, and funded by the National Science Foundation and Duke University. A Howard University Ph.D., her primary research interests are in racial minority group politics, particularly inter-minority political and social competition, and urban politics. Her articles have appeared in numerous journals, including Journal of Politics, American Political Science Review, Urban Affairs Review, The Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race and Politics, Groups and Identities, among others. Westview Press published the will publish the eighth edition of her book, “Can We All Get Along?" Racial and Ethnic Minorities in American Politics, with coauthor, Jessica D. Johnson Carew in early 2025. Her 1990 book, Race, Place and Risk: Black Homicide in Urban America, co-authored with Harold W. Rose, won the National Conference of Black Political Scientists' 1995 Best Book Award for a previously published book that has made a substantial and continuing contribution. American Government in Black and White: Diversity and Democracy, co-authored with Steven Tauber, won the American Political Science Association’s Race, Ethnicity and Politics Organized Section Best Book Award for a book published in 2010. The 7th edition of the book will be published in early 2025.She is past president of the American Political Science Association, past president of the Midwest Political Science Association, and past president of the Southern Political Science Association and the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. She is a past vice president of the American Political Science Association, served as Program Co-Chair for the 1993 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, served as Program Chair for the 1999 annual meeting of Midwest Political Science Association, served as Vice President of the Midwest Political Science Association, served as Vice President and 2002 Program Chair of the Southern Political Science Association, and served as a Vice President and Program Co-Chair of the 2003 International Political Science Association World Congress which was held in Durban, South Africa in July 2003. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Duke University Blue Ribbon Diversity Award (2012), the Graduate School Mentoring Award (2010), the Frank J. Goodnow Award for contributions to the profession of political science from the American Political Science Association (2007), a Meta Mentoring Award from the Women’s Caucus for Political Science of the American Political Science Association (2007), the Manning Dauer Award from the Southern Political Science Association (2015), and 2017 Midwest Women’s Caucus of Political Science (MWCPS) Outstanding Professional Achievement award. She is an Associate Editor of the National Academy of Sciences’ journal, PNAS NEXUS. In 2014, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.Publications include:

Research

What's New About the New South? Race, Latino Immigration, and Inter-group Relations

As a result of the Durham Pilot Project: St. Benedict the Black meets the Virgin of Guadalupe, we now have site-specific answers to some of the questions raised earlier, but in order to see whether attitudes identified in Durham manifest themselves in other Southern cities that have been the recipients of substantial Latino immigration. Thus, I submitted a proposal to the Russell Sage Foundation to resurvey Durham and expand the project into four additional cities—Memphis, TN, Little Rock, AR, Greensboro, NC, and Dalton, GA. The Russell Sage Foundation awarded a grant to fund three of the cities, e.g., Durham, Memphis and Little Rock. I will be searching for additional funds to include the other two. The grant is for $157,000 and runs from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008.

The Durham Pilot Project: St. Benedict the Black meets the Virgin of Guadalupe

The past 10 to 15 years has seen a tremendous increase in the Latino population in the South. What is different about the South, especially the states of the Old Confederacy, from the other cities that I have studied over the years, is that Latinos, for the most part, are an entirely new population introduced into the region. Historically, the racial dynamic, rooted in slavery and solidified during Jim Crow, has been wholly black and white. The increasing presence of this third group, Latinos, has created and is creating conflicts and tensions among blacks, Latinos and whites. This project is aimed at identifying the sources of the conflict among blacks, whites and Latinos, and the effect Latinos are having on the politics and socioeconomic status of blacks and whites in a Southern context. It is a pilot study using Durham as the research site.The project, begun in 2001, has several data sources--historical, elite interviews and a survey. We developed a questionnaire and are in the process of interviewing black, Latino, and white elites. Our goal is to complete fifty interviews. The Ford Foundation has funded the city-wide survey which was conducted by the Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia and completed in July 2003. The sample consists of 500 black, white, Latino and other residents of Durham, NC.

Courses

PS316.01: Racial and Ethnic Minorities in American Politics

This course in a graduate-level introduction to the politics of the United States’ four principal racial minority groups. The importance of race and ethnicity in American politics, and the politics (historical, legal, attitudinal and behavioral) of blacks, Latinos, American Indians and Asian Americans are explored. The course will describe and analyze how the structures of the American political system and its present operation seriously disadvantage blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans and American Indians as they attempt to gain the full benefits of American society. Other aspects of the black, Latino, Asian and Indian peoples experience will be discussed to give a more balanced perspective of black, Latino, Asian and Indian peoples participation in the American political arena.

• PS316.01 Syllabus

PS505S: Race in Comparative Perspective

This course explores the comparative way race is socially constructed in the United States, several European, Latin American, and selected other countries in the world. At times, we will also examine the concept of ethnicity within race and within these countries. In addition, we will examine the historical context in which the notion of race developed, and the very real effects of this social construction on the social and political lives of communities of color in these countries. Race as a defining characteristic is present in many countries; unfortunately, we are only able to explore a few. Nevertheless, you should think about and explore notions of race in countries that we do not cover. The material in the course falls under the emerging subfield of race and politics known as comparative race.

• PS505S Syllabus

PS141D: Introduction to Racial and Ethnic Minorities in American Politics

This course is about the continuing importance of race and ethnicity in American politics, and the politics (historical, legal, attitudinal, and behavioral) of four of the United States' principal racial minority groups--blacks (African Americans), Latinos, Asians and to a lesser extent, American Indians. The course will describe and analyze how the structures of the American political system and its present operation seriously disadvantage blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans and Indian peoples as they attempt to gain the full benefits of American society. Other aspects of the black, Latino, Asian and Indian peoples experience will be discussed to give a more balanced perspective of black, Latino, Asian and Indian peoples participation in the American political arena. For example, the course will describe and analyze how and in what ways the structures and functions of the Presidency, Congress, and the bureaucracy affect the aspirations of these four groups.

• PS141D Syllabus

PS278S: Race and American Politics

The definition and meaning of race have been, and continue to be, shaped by U.S. political and legal institutions. Hence, politics and race in the United States have been inextricably intertwined. The course focuses on the continued salience of race in American politics, and its influence on white and black political attitudes and behavior, and on the behavior and attitudes, where information is available, on Latinos. Attention is paid to the historical context in which the concept of race and race relations developed, and addresses the current context in which racial dynamics are played out. The course will provide a broad overview of the salience of race in the American political fabric and how it structures racial attitudes on a number of political and policy dimensions. Spring 2010.

• PS278S Syllabus

Books

Articles

Dr. McClain's articles have appeared in numerous journals, including:

Vitae

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Educational Background

Academic Administration

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Links

Contact

Office

140 Science Drive, 208 Gross Hall, Box 90204
Durham, NC 27708
Tel (919) 660-4303
Fax (919 660-4366
pmcclain@duke.edu