- Between weeks 8 and 12, each student should provide a weekly reflection (500 words) on the data you have collected to date.
- What data did you collect?
- What is your initial impression of the data?
- How have the data you have collected this week changed/progressed your thinking about your research project?
- What challenges did you encounter while collecting the data?
- What are your next steps?
This week I found the website votesmart.org in which there is a page that serves as a database for family values related lobbying/political groups. They have listed FRC under the category of “Marriage, Family, and Children” and endorsed them in 2018. In the same section is PFLAG, who have not received an endorsement. There are eight groups in this category who have received endorsements from the website, including American Family Association Action, Eagle Forum, Campaign for Working Families, and Raising Our Future PAC. I am looking into all of these organizations, and I feel good about the potential to expand my research frame beyond just looking at the FRC.
The AFAA and the Eagle Forum in particular, so far, have had the most potential information to analyze. To varying degrees, they put their gender ideology in conversation with their economic ideology. I’m beginning to feel as though I am getting/will get to a point where I have more data than I can actually work well with, and will have to narrow my theoretical focus to be more organized. That is a good feeling to have. The Melinda Cooper side of things provides more of a sociological framework, and I can use the list of conservative action groups to gain more information. I am conscious of trying to make my information as current as possible, and I want to try to find groups in multiple ways to make sure that the data I am gathering is coming from the best intersection of having a lot of theoretical meat to work with and actually representing politically and socially relevant institutions. I do not think looking at one database website’s endorsement patterns and their own websites is enough.
Perhaps it is because I have zoomed in already, but I am beginning to feel as though neoliberalism and family values are already everything that matters to conservatives, and I might as well just be looking at conservatism in general. I do not think this is actually the case though.
I want to meet with Beth Hoppe to go over how best to cite websites, so I will do that next week. I don’t have new articles to add to my bibliography this week, but I have added several websites.
American Family Association Action. 2018. “Walgreens’ New Policy Welcomes Men into Women’s Restrooms”. AFAAction.org. afaaction.net/take-action/2018/walgreens-new-policy-welcomes-men-into-womens-restrooms/
This is honestly hardly an article, just an explanation and a call to protest. I find it interesting because this was a corporate choice, and not one mandated by the state. The AFAA frames it as having come after pressure from the California ACLU, but it is still a choice made at the corporate level, which eliminates the possibility of the neoliberal argument against government regulation.
Comments:
This is very interesting, Jackie. I think you are on the right track with your research especially since you are now broadening your research material beyond the FRC.
Yet, you need to find more academic sources in order to better frame your research questions. Could you get a hold of Cooper’s book? if so, then please include it to your next annotated bibliography. Also, make sure to look at its bibliography section and see if Cooper is citing any sources that would be useful for you.
You can of course also talk to Beth about finding more sources. She is awesome.