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Disciplinary Research: Political Science

Brandon J. Poplar

Delaware State University

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Disciplinary Research: Political Science

Boundless by nature and an essential artifact of America's foundation and political

vitality, political science and its undeniable impact on the furtherment of societal innovation and

collective advancement proves itself paramount in creating necessary change. With an emphasis

area of social sciences and humanities, under the emphasis pattern of law studies and the

discipline of political science, I, Brandon J. Poplar, want to use political science and its divinities

to riddle America of its realities and influence intellectual justice and stimulation through

conversation. Through the lungs of professional political scientists and lawyers before me,

wisdom and scientific analysis of America's sociopolitical status bellows as they deconstruct the

American political system and spread awareness of the American government and how policies

affect the American population. Although there exist few American professors of political

science whom also have previously practiced law and have written an academic publication in

the last decade, University of Chicago's Professor Cathy J. Cohen has defined all the odds and

has made an enduring impression on the field of contemporary political science and beyond.

Professor Cathy J. Cohen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Miami

University in Oxford, Ohio, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan in

Ann Arbor, Michigan. According to the University of Chicago's Department of Political Science

website, Professor Cohen stands as a distinguished service professor through the University of
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Chicago's highly illustrious David and Mary Winton program. Professor Cohen formerly served

in a multitude of administrative positions, including chair of the Department of Political Science,

director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, and deputy provost for

Graduate Education at the University of Chicago. Professor Cathy J. Cohen also has previous

relations with Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as she previously served as a tenured

professor of political science. Professor Cohen uses her knowledge and background in political

science to find answers to various socio-political and socio-cultural issues in the United States.

One of the most notable publications by Professor Cohen is her book published on September

13th, 2010, by Oxford University Press, Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of

American politics, where the current situation of black youth in America is examined

authoritatively and persuasively using empirical data by Professor Cohen. Professor Cathy J.

Cohen focuses on what young Black Americans experience and think while highlighting the

political ramifications using the findings from the Black Youth Project, a ground-breaking

countrywide poll. Through the political science theory logic of collective action, Professor

Cohen argues that Black Youth in America can find systematic change through a collective

common interest and valiant advocacy. When trying to understand the macro scheme of racial

injustices, America has a history of trying to create a "fix-all" solution to a social problem much

more complicated than the solution of education. Professor Cathy J. Cohen seeks to deliver hope

to an aging American system where books and teaching do not furnish the necessary resources to

stand up to the physical detriments of contemporary racial injustice to black youth.

After reading Professor Cathy J. Cohen's Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the

Future of American politics, there existed a resonation of truth and candidness within her

revelations of how American culture treats racial injustices. Taken aback by the realities of
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mistreatment that young people of color face daily, it seems as though America has found its'

equilibrium of staying content with racial injustice in its fondness of solely promoting education

as the antithesis to deliberate racist acts. Although I am a supporter of educational endeavors and

their use in destroying stigmas and prejudice-based barriers, I, too, believe in Professor Cathy J.

Cohen's sentiment that nothing will escalate beyond that equilibrium of injustice without the

force of a crusade through the logic of collective action. Even within professional experiences,

the overarching idea of advocacy stands consequential as it is necessary that we preach what we

teach as we often do fight for what is right and earn what America shall learn. I have taken her

professional endeavors as a road map to navigate the political atmosphere and create policies and

laws to provide equity to all Americans far and wide. It is through hundreds of years of

oppression, thousands of lives lost, and a million wishes from the people whom have fallen

victim to the ignorance of American society that their prayers of being understood and accepted

come to fruition through policies and laws created as an aftermath of political science research

and execution.
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References

About Cathy J. Cohen - The Black Youth Project. (n.d.). The Black Youth Project;
https://www.facebook.com/blackyouthproject/. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from
http://blackyouthproject.com/about-us/cathy-j-cohen/
Cathy. (n.d.). Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics
(Transgressing Boundaries: Studies in Black Politics and Black Communities). Oxford
University Press.
Cathy Cohen | Political Science | The University of Chicago. (n.d.). Political Science | The
University of Chicago. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://political-
science.uchicago.edu/directory/cathy-cohen
Cathy J. Cohen | Academic Influence. (n.d.). Academic Influence | Better Rankings for a Better
Education. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://academicinfluence.com/people/cathy-j-
cohen
Prof. Cathy Cohen to deliver 2022 Ryerson Lecture on race and vulnerability | University of
Chicago News. (n.d.). University of Chicago News. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/prof-cathy-cohen-deliver-2022-ryerson-lecture-race-and-
vulnerability