Political Science Departments Came Up Short After George Floyd

📌 What Was Reviewed:

Political science departments issued public statements in the summer of 2020 following the brutal murder of George Floyd and the longer history of deadly violence against Black people by law enforcement. These departmental statements are treated as windows into how a discipline focused on power publicly responds to racial violence and inequality.

🛠️ How the Statements Were Examined:

• A descriptive review of public departmental statements issued during summer 2020.
• Analysis focused on the themes raised and the types of commitments to action offered.
• Attention paid to rhetorical responses as sites where discursive power is deployed and meanings about racism are produced.

🔎 Key Findings:

• Statements frequently articulated a structural understanding of racism and acknowledged systemic harms.
• Proposed solutions and concrete commitments to action were limited and often did not match the structural framing presented.
• This mismatch suggests that, even within a discipline that studies power, the status quo largely prevailed in institutional responses.
• Overall, departmental rhetoric fell short of translating structural critique into substantive institutional change.

⚖️ Why It Matters:

Public departmental statements shape disciplinary norms, signal institutional priorities, and influence broader public discourse. The observed gap between diagnosing structural racism and offering commensurate remedies highlights a missed opportunity for political science departments to align discourse with meaningful commitments to address racism.