Book Talk w/ AU Alumna Dr. Melissa Deckman: The Politics of Gen Z

Join AU’s Women & Politics Institute and Department of Philosophy and Religion for a book talk with AU Alumna Dr. Melissa Deckman, SPA/Ph.D. ‘00, author of the new book, , which explores the world of youth-led progressive organizing, highlighting the crucial importance of gender and sexuality. Dr. Nicholas Buck, Director of AU’s Undergraduate Studies in Religion Philosophy and Religion will moderate the conversation. Introductions by WPI Executive Director Betsy Fischer Martin.

The Politics of Gen Z reveals why women and LGBTQ Zoomers are participating in politics at higher levels than their straight male peers, creating a historic “reverse gender gap.” Deckman takes readers inside Gen Z’s fight for a more inclusive and just future, sharing stories of their efforts to defend reproductive rights, prevent gun violence, stem climate change, and win political office. A deep dive into the politics of Gen Z, this book sheds new light on how young voters view politics and why their commitment to progressive values may transform the country in the years ahead. Light Refreshments provided.
Purchase the book .

ABOUT MELISSA DECKMAN

Dr. Melissa Deckman is a political scientist who studies the impact of gender, religion and age on public opinion and political behavior.

She is author of (Columbia University Press), (NYU Press: 2016), which examined the role of women in conservative politics, and (Georgetown University Press: 2004), which won the American Political Science Association’s Hu Morken Award for best book on religion and politics. Along with Julie Dolan and Michele Swers, she is the author of, a top-selling textbook on gender politics in the United States, now in its updated 4th edition.

At Washington College, Melissa taught courses on American politics, women and politics, religion and politics, research methods and state and local politics. Dedicated to promoting leadership opportunities for young women, she is the co-founder of Training Ms. President, a Maryland-based, non-partisan program that encourages young women to consider running for political office. She is proud to have conducted research for IGNITE, a leading non-profit organization that builds political ambition in young women across the country.

Melissa received her Ph.D. in Political Science from American University and her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where she graduated class valedictorian.

ABOUT DR. NICHOLAS BUCK

Dr. Nicholas Buck is Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University, where he serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies in Religion. He writes and teaches at the intersections of religious studies, moral and political philosophy, and the philosophy of religion. His current research includes a project on democracy and religious patterns of imagining political community and work on moral perception and the practices and beliefs that inform it.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, his MTS from Christian Theological Seminary and BS from Indiana University.

ABOUT BETSY FISCHER MARTIN
Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs, where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. In the fall of 2023, she was a resident fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics where she conducted a weekly seminar on the presidential election. During her earlier career in television news, she spent 23 years at NBC News serving as the longtime Executive Producer of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and as the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a cum laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.

Host or Publisher Women & Politics Institute