Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Date of Graduation
5-13-2022
Publish
yes
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
Department of Political Science
Advisor(s)
Marty Cohen
Valerie Sulfaro
David A. Jones
Abstract
On January 6th, 2021, the nation watched from their television screens as a group of extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. An interesting emotion fell over the U.S. public – it was both shocking and not shocking at all. The attack on the Capitol was a by-product of years of internal division, catapulted by Trump’s presidency. Between racial divisions and the progression of Black Lives Matter, the advancement of COVID and its governmental policies, and Trump’s divisive nature of president at a peak, it seemed almost inevitable that an offense like this would occur.
As political conversations surrounding this event became headline news on every media source imaginable, I began wondering about extremism in general. What drives some people to extremism but not others? Is there a predictable environment that creates extreme ideals? What kinds of demographics are seen engaging in what kinds of extremism? How powerful of a force was media in bringing this group together? These were the initial questions that inspired the themes in this paper.
This paper begins with a literature review examining research on U.S. extremism and media. Next, a methodology further explains the procedural elements of this paper. Then, the four-fold hypothesis analysis begins that seeks to encompass questions about U.S. extremism and its intersection with modern media. The first hypothesis posits a general question about party identification and extremism. The second examines a more direct question about extremism and media usage. The third asks about political news vs. commentary, and the fourth explores differences in extremity between traditional and alternative media. The paper finishes with a conclusion that entails general discussion and considerations for future research.
Recommended Citation
Haneklau, Josephine R., "U.S. extremism and media: How the new age of politics speaks to media usage" (2022). Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current. 144.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors202029/144
Included in
American Politics Commons, Models and Methods Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Political History Commons, Social Psychology Commons
