Associate Professor
of Political Science
Office: 204A Morris Hall
Office phone: 507-389-6935
Department phone: 507-389-2721
Email: frederick.slocum@mnsu.edu
Latest web page updates:
Updated main page and vita: January 31, 2008
Click here for my curriculum vita (last updated January 31, 2008).
My current research is focusing on the nexus between history, culture, psychology, race and politics in the American South. My first research program is exploring the extent to which politically relevant psychological differences exist between Southerners and non-Southerners. Of special interest are political-psychological variables such as authoritarianism, social dominance orientation and racial resentment, and other political measures like religious beliefs and 'culture of honor' beliefs. I am studying whether Southerners, especially white Southerners, have higher levels of these variables and if so, what the political consequences are.
Another research program is examining several elements of Southern culture, namely Southern 'cultural defense,' Southern militarism, religious fundamentalism and the Southern 'culture of honor,' and relates them to the partisan realignment that has brought the Republican Party into majority status in Southern politics. One article, on the influence of religion and Southern culture on Republican realignment among white Southerners, was completed and submitted for publication as a book chapter in June 2007. A second article, on the combined influence of militarism, Southern culture, 9/11 and the Bush administration's responses on Republican realignment among white Southerners, was presented at an October 2006 workshop on the military and the American South. This article was submitted for publication as another book chapter in August 2007. A third article, "Authoritarianism and Resistance to Diversity in the American South," was presented at the Oxford Round Table workshop on "Diversity in Society" at Oxford University, UK, in March 2007, and was subsequently revised and published in the spring 2007 issue of the journal Forum on Public Policy.
I also wrote eight articles for the just-published (2008) International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, 2nd edition (Thomson Gale Publishing). My articles are: "The New Deal," "Dealignment," "Public Opinion," "Polling," "Civil Rights," "Law and Order," "The Southern Strategy" and "Southern Politics." The last of these, at 29 pages long, is virtually a book chapter on its own. I also contributed an article on "Political Participation" for Immigration in America Today: An Encyclopedia (Greenwood Publishing, 2006).
In the Mankato area: I have directed several public opinion surveys, for clients such as the City of Mankato Department of Public Safety, MSU's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and MSU's Office of Information Technology Services.
Click here for a list of my published articles and working papers.
Click on the appropriate link to view the syllabus for that particular course. Courses at the 100 and 200 levels are open to undergraduates only. Courses with dual numbers, 4XX/5XX, are open to both undergraduates (400-level courses) and graduate students (500-level courses).
POL 111, U.S. Government: Syllabus
POL 221, Introduction to Political Analysis: Syllabus
POL 423/523, Political Parties: Syllabus
POL 426/526, Racial and Ethnic Politics: Syllabus
POL 427/527, Political Psychology: Syllabus
POL 455/555, American Legal Philosophy: Syllabus
POL 461/561, Environmental Politics: Syllabus
POL 471/571, Public Opinion and Polling Methods: Syllabus
POL 473/573, The Legislative Process: Syllabus
POL 474/574, The Executive Process: Syllabus
POL 476/576, Southern Politics: Syllabus
I attend major political science or political psychology conferences two or three times each year. These have taken me to various cities, including Berlin, Germany; Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Portland, Oregon. In addition, I have been on numerous other trips, to Washington D.C. with students (October 2006) and for institutes or workshops in Columbia, SC (June-July 2005), Thomson, GA (October 2006) and at Oxford University, England (March 2007). Click here for pictures from my trips for professional meetings and other activities (some pages for 2005-2007 activities are not up yet, but they are forthcoming).
I am a member of the department's Kessel Lecture Committee, and helped bring Kessel Lecturers to MSU in 1999, 2002 and 2003. For more information go to the Kessel Lecture page. I also participate in various other activities relating to my work at MSU. Click here for pictures from the 2002 and 2003 Kessel Lectures, and other events, including meetings of the Minnesota Political Science Association and other lectures I have attended off campus.
I am chapter advisor for Pi Sigma Alpha, the national honorary society for students in political science. Undergraduate and graduate students (of any major) who have completed 10 or more semester hours of coursework in political science, including at least one course at the 300 level or higher, with a 3.0 GPA in political science, are eligible for membership in Pi Sigma Alpha. In recent years, MSU’s Upsilon Alpha chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha has participated in undergraduate political science research conferences, and hosted the 2006 undergraduate research conference, guest speakers and initiation banquets. In January 2004, Pi Sigma Alpha students traveled with me to St. Paul to meet with Justice Sam Hanson of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and to visit the Minnesota Judicial Center and state capitol. In October 2006, five Pi Sigma Alpha students and I traveled to Washington, D.C. for touring, sightseeing and learning about national government. In April 2007, I joined six Pi Sigma Alpha students in Chicago to attend the Midwest Political Science Association conference. In spring 2008, we plan a trip to the Midwest Political Science Undergraduate Research Conference (March 14-15: Wartburg College, Waverly, IA) and the Midwest Political Science Association conference (April 3-6: Chicago). For more information on and photos from these activities, and information about upcoming activities and events, click here.
I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and graduated from a public, residential high school, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, in Durham, NC. For college, I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (undergraduate) and the University of Iowa (graduate). My experiences growing up in the South have stimulated my interest in Southern politics. That has led me to write about racial conflict and other issues and conflicts in Southern politics, and also to teach a course on Southern politics, which I think is the only such course offered anywhere in the north central US.
I have been happily married to Rachel Slocum since 1996. We have two sons, Andrew (born June 2000) and Christopher (born June 2002). Click here for some family photos.
My hobbies include music (especially singing and playing the piano), wine appreciation, and running. Here are a few photos of me pursuing these interests. I have run several 10K road races. In the community, I sing in the Mankato-based chamber choir Musicorum, which presents two holiday performances each December and one or two concerts each spring. Musicorum focuses on choral chamber music from the Renaissance era to the 20th century. Musicorum's next performance will be May 3, 2008 in Mankato (place and time TBA); the program will focus on the theme "Shakespeare and friends," with choral music and dramatic readings of Shakespeare.
