Christopher J. Clark (Last updated May 2018) Department of Political Science Phone: (919) 843-3454 University North Carolina at Chapel Hill Email: chriclar@unc.edu 361 Hamilton Hall CB #3265 Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Education University of Iowa Ph.D., Political Science, May 2010 M.A., Political Science, May 2006 Saint Louis University B.A., Political Science (summa cum laude), May 2005 Professional Experience Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 7/1/12-present Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1/3/11-6/30/12 Mentor: Tom Carsey Bibliography Refereed Publications Harden, Jeffrey J., and Christopher J. Clark. A Legislature Like Me or a Legislator Like Me? Citizen Demand for Collective and Dyadic Political Representation. 2016. American Politics Research 44(2): 247-271. Bowen, Daniel C., and Christopher J. Clark. Revisiting Descriptive Representation in Congress: Assessing the Effect of Race on the Constituent-Legislator Relationship. 2014. Political Research Quarterly 67(3): 695-707. Clark, Christopher J. Collective Descriptive Representation and Black Voter Mobilization in 2008. 2014. Political Behavior 36(2): 315-333. Rocha, Rene R., Caroline J. Tolbert, Daniel C. Bowen, and Christopher J. Clark. Revisiting the Empowerment Hypothesis: Does State-Wide Descriptive Representation Increase Minority Turnout? 2010. Political Research Quarterly 63(4): 890-907. 1
Book Manuscript in Preparation Gaining Voice: Causes and Consequences of Black Representation in the American States. (*Accepted by Oxford University Press in May 2018; final manuscript to be submitted by July 1, 2018. Expected to be in press Spring 2019) This book project examines black representation in state legislatures, recognizing the multiple forms it takes. The main focus of the book is on the black seat share, a form of black representation that considers the overall presence of African Americans in state legislatures. The black representation ratio is also studied, and it is measured as the black seat share relative to the black population share in a state. Black caucuses are examined as well, as they indicate the institutionalization of black state legislators. Chapter 2 shows that the black seat share is greater in states with larger black populations, a finding consistent with previous studies. Unlike other studies, the relationship between black population and the black representation ratio is shown to be curvilinear. As the black state population increases, the black representation ratio increases, but at a certain point an increased black population depresses the black representation ratio. When examining the conditions under which state legislative black caucuses are created, it is shown that when around 17 blacks are present that these organizations are likelier to exist than not (Chapter 3). This finding emerges independent of the Democratic seat share of the legislature or the presence of black caucuses in neighboring states. The second half of the book examines how black representation in states affects policies, political behavior, and public opinion. An increased black seat share is associated with less liberal welfare policies, most notably less generous monthly TANF cash benefits (Chapter 4); this finding holds even in states where Democrats hold the majority of seats in the legislature. However, an increased black seat share is linked with increased per-pupil spending on public education. The finding for education points to positive policy benefit derived from blacks serving in state government, while the finding for welfare indicates that increasing black representation in government may engender backlash. Using data from the 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, Chapter 5 shows that in states with a larger black seat share, blacks are likelier to vote and likelier to express a high interest in politics, and blacks in states with a greater representation ratio are likelier to have tried to persuade others to vote. All told, this chapter provides evidence that black descriptive representation in state legislatures empowers African Americans. Chapter 6 reveals that an increased black seat share is associated with blacks being less likely to support requiring voters read from the U.S. Constitution and photo id laws, yet it is associated with blacks being likelier to support election-day registration and automatic voter registration. In other words, an increased black seat share tends liberalizes black public opinion towards electoral reforms governing access to the franchise, a fact that may have implications for black political protest involvement. The concluding chapter discusses the implications of this research on studies of black politics, state politics, and the descriptive representation of other underrepresented groups. 2
Manuscripts in Preparation Mitchell, Anna Mahoney, and Christopher J. Clark. When and Where Do Women s Legislative Caucuses Emerge? Under review as of September 2017. Lappie, John, and Christopher J. Clark. Race, Roll-Off, and Vote Choice: An Analysis of Black Judicial Candidates in the United States. Expected to be under review by June 2018. Clark, Christopher J., J Ehlinger, Jeffrey J. Harden, and Hailey A. Sherman. The Multiple Dimensions of Descriptive Representation. Expected to be under review by September 2018. Craig, Alison, Bruce A. Desmarais, Skyler J. Cranmer, Vincent G. Moscardelli, and Christopher J. Clark. The Role of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Congressional Cosponsorship Network. Dataset Collection in Progress Along with Eric Hansen (Loyola University, Chicago), I am compiling a dataset on underrepresented groups in state legislatures, namely African Americans, Latinos, women, and blue-collar workers. We refer to our efforts as the Descriptive Representation in State Legislatures (DRSL) dataset. Our goal is to understand the political processes that undergird whether these underrepresented actors acquire leadership positions in state legislatures such as committee chairpersons and Speakers of the House. We are also interested in whether having more leadership positions leads to policy representation that better reflects the interests of these groups. We currently have data on about 30 states for a twenty-year period that begins in the early 1990s. Our goal is to collect data on all 50 states for this period, and we eventually want to add other types of diversity (e.g. sexual orientation) to the dataset. Using this dataset, we are writing a paper for the 2018 State Politics and Policy Conference, and a paper for the 2018 American Political Science Association meeting. Invited Presentations University of Kansas: Descriptive Representation and Black Public Opinion Towards Electoral Reforms. 3/21/16 Saint Louis University: Descriptive Representation and Black Political Involvement. 5/1/15. Grants University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Junior Faculty Development Award. 3
Examining the Agendas of State Legislative Black Caucuses. Awarded 12/10/2014, Principal Investigator. Amount: 7,500. Duration: 1/01/2015-12/31/2015. Conference Presentations 2014. Fertile Ground: When and Where do Women s Legislative Caucuses Emerge? (with Anna Mahoney Mitchell). Presented at the Northeastern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November 13-15. 2013. A Legislature Like Me or a Legislator Like Me? Citizen Demand for Collective and Dyadic Political Representation. (with Jeff Harden). Presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 29-September 1. 2012. An Institutional Explanation of State Legislative Black Caucus Formation, 1971 to 1989. Presented at the State Politics and Policy Conference, Houston, TX, February 16-18. 2011. Setting the Black Agenda? Black State Legislators as Diffusers of the NBCSL s Policy Resolutions. Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 31-April 3. 2011. Revisiting Descriptive Representation (with Daniel C. Bowen and Caroline J. Tolbert). Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 31-April 3. 2010. Obama, Collective Descriptive Representation, and Unlikely Black Voters in 2008. Presented at the Hendricks Symposium: Inequality in the Age of Obama, Lincoln, NE, November 3-5. 2010. Obama, Collective Representation, and Unlikely Black Voters in 2008. Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 22-25. 2009. Is It Majority Black Districts Alone? Accounting for the Presence of Black State Legislators, 1992-2004 (Poster). Presented at the State Politics and Policy Conference, Chapel Hill, NC, May 22-23. 2009. Collective versus Dyadic Descriptive Representation: The Impact of Minority Descriptive Representation on Political Engagement. Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 2-6. 2008. Race and Gender in 2008 YouTube Presidential Campaign. Presented at the Exploring New Media Worlds Conference: Changing Technologies, Industries, Cultures, and Audiences in Global and Historical Context, College Station, TX, February 29- March 2. 4
2007. Racial Parity Representation for Blacks in State Legislatures, 1992-2004 (Poster). Presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 30-September 2. 2007. Shirley Chisholm and the 1972 Presidential Election (Poster). Presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 12-15. Teaching Experience (all undergraduate courses at UNC) POLI 422: Minority Representation in the American States Fall 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2013 POLI 220: Race, Ethnicity, and Electoral Representation in the United States Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 POLI 204: Introduction to Southern Politics Fall 2017, Spring 2016 POLI 101: Introduction to State and Local Governments in the United States Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 Honors Dean s Achievement Award, University of Iowa, May 2010 -One of two awards given to a graduate student for service to the university. Dean s Graduate Dissertation Fellowship, University of Iowa, August 2009-May 2010 Graduate College Diversity Scholarship, University of Iowa, August 2008-May 2009 Dean s Graduate Fellow, University of Iowa, August 2005-May 2010 Professional Service Department Dissertation Committees Kevin Roach, Member, UNC (PhD Expected 2020) Serge Severenchuk, Member, UNC (PhD Expected 2019) Stephen Sparks, Member, UNC (PhD Expected 2019) Jacob Smith, Member, UNC (PhD Expected 2018) Eric Hansen, Member, UNC (2017 PhD) Josh Jansa, Member, UNC (2016 PhD) Derek Epp, Member, UNC (2015 PhD) John Lappie, Member, UNC (2015 PhD) Master Thesis Committees Leah Christiani, Member, UNC (2017 MA) Eroll Kuhn, Member, UNC (2017 MA) 5
Kevin Roach, Member, UNC (2017 MA) Apurba Chakraborty, Member, UNC (2016 MA) Serge Severenchuk, Member, UNC (2016 MA) Undergraduate Honors Thesis Committees Grace Garner, Member, UNC (2018) Brenee Goforth, Member, UNC (2018) Matt Mengert*, Chair, UNC (2018) Tisha Martin, Member, UNC (2018) Logan Judy, Member, UNC (2016) Noah Lieberman, Member, UNC (2016) Chelsea Barnes, Member, UNC (2015) Anna Dietrich, Member, UNC (2014) Mariah Street, Member, UNC (2013) * Named the best senior honors thesis in the department Undergraduate Internships Advised Timothy Kelly, UNC (2019), Fall 2017 Taylor Emory, UNC (2017), Spring 2016 Jasmine Jennings, UNC (2016), Fall 2015 Stephanie Mahaboob, UNC (2013), Fall 2012 Working Groups Member of State Politics Dissertation Working Group, UNC, January 2011-Present Search Committees Member of Committee in Search for Candidates for the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity, UNC, January 2012-2015 Student Representative on Political Behavior Search Committee, University of Iowa, September-November 2008 Discipline I have reviewed for the following journals: American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Political Behavior, Legislative Studies Quarterly, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, American Politics Research, Politics, Groups and Identities, Congress & the Presidency, AIDS Care- Psychology, Health, and Medicine I served as a discussant at the Comparative Approaches to the Study of Immigration, Ethnicity, and Religion that was held in Chapel Hill, NC April 24-25, 2015. I also served as a discussant and judge of graduate student posters at the State Politics and Policy Conference held in Iowa City, IA May 23-25, 2013. 6