Christian Hosam
Assistant Professor of Political Science
My research agenda is largely split between work related to racial and ethnic politics and the American Political Economy and the intersections between those two topics. I am currently working on my first book, which explores the relationship between the increasing centrality of Black Members of Congress to governing that institution with the racialized constraints that they face as legislators of color. At Wellesley, I teach courses that speak to the component parts of these interests, including Intro to American Politics, American Political Economy, Black Politics, and A Seat at the Table? Race and Representation in American Political Institutions.
Education
- B.A., Wesleyan University
- M.A., University of California-Berkeley
- Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley
Current and upcoming courses
American Politics
POL1200
The institutions, processes, and values that shape American politics. The origins and evolution of the U.S. Constitution and the institutions it created: Congress, the executive branch, the presidency, the federal court system, and federalism. Analysis of "intermediary" institutions including political parties, interest groups, elections, and the media. Study of enduring debates over values in American politics, with particular attention to conflicts over civil rights and civil liberties.
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Seminar: Black Politics and the Anxieties of Incorporation
POL1331
The experience of Black people in the United States has shaped, refined, and contested the very nature of concepts such as democracy, liberty, and equality. No discussion of these concepts in the context of the United States is complete without a full accounting of how Black people have dealt with them, as critics, exemplars, activists, and theorists. This course will attempt to chart the shifting contours of African American politics and activism in the post-Civil Rights era in order to think about the overlaps and distinctions between electoral politics, popular culture, and insurgent activism. Topics of focus include but are not limited to: intersectionality and Black Feminism(s), Black Capitalism, Black Conservatism, and racialized social pressures. We will read both canonical and contemporary works in Black politics to give you both a breadth and a depth of what scholars have to say about how Black people both make sense of and resist the overarching political order in the United States. (AFR 331 and POL1 331 are cross-listed courses.)