Theme Panel: Author Meets Critics: Maneesh Arora’s “Parties and Prejudice”

July 7, 2025 APSA Annual Meeting, Theme Panels Comments Off on Theme Panel: Author Meets Critics: Maneesh Arora’s “Parties and Prejudice”

In-Person Author Meets Critics

Participants:

  • (Chair) Michael Tesler, UC Irvine
  • (Presenter) Vincent L. Hutchings, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • (Presenter) Ashley E. Jardina, The University of Virginia
  • (Presenter) Antoine J. Banks, University of Maryland
  • (Presenter) Maneesh Arora, Wellesley College

Session Description:

Anti-minority rhetoric in American politics has grown more overt. What were once fringe comments on Stormfront have now become typical campaign appeals from many mainstream political elites. If there was ever a doubt, this is a poignant reminder that the boundaries of what is “acceptable” and “unacceptable” to say and do are fluid and socially enforced. In “Parties and Prejudice”, Arora argues that the interaction between social norms and party politics determines whether overt prejudice is accepted by the public and what the political consequence of such speech will be. Moreover, identifiable historical and contemporary factors have led anti-minority messages against certain groups to be more socially acceptable, and more electorally advantageous, than others. Using a case study approach that incorporates dozens of experiments, survey data, T.V. news coverage, and real-world examples, “Parties and Prejudice” shows that norms of acceptable political rhetoric have developed in distinct ways for Black, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ Americans. Inegalitarian norms are also more strongly engrained in the Republican Party than in the Democratic Party. This panel brings together distinguished scholars of race, public opinion, and political psychology to critically evaluate this book and discuss directions for future research.