Change They Can’t Believe In

A political expert will discuss the Tea Party and reactionary politics on the heels of a highly charged and historic election season.

Chris Parker, associate professor and Stuart A. Scheingold professor of social justice and political science at the University of Washington, Seattle, will give the talk “Change They Can’t Believe In: The Tea Party and Reactionary Politics in America.”

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will start at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the Alumni Recitation Hall, Room 302.

“The political science department is thrilled that Chris is returning to Grinnell for this lecture,” says Barbara Trish, political science professor. “He taught at Grinnell about fifteen years ago, and was a popular faculty member whose courses tackled important ideas, drawing into the mix lively contemporary politics.”  

The lecture bears the same title as the book Parker wrote with Matt A. Barreto. Published by Princeton University Press, it won the 2014 Best Book Award from the Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Parker analyzes the party’s motivations and the political implications. Parker and Barreto contend that the Tea Party is driven by the reemergence of a reactionary movement in American politics that is fueled by a fear that America has changed for the worse.

Providing a range of original evidence and rich portraits of party sympathizers as well as activists, the book shows that what actually motivates Tea Party supporters is not simple ideology or racism, but fear that the country is in danger because it’s being stolen from "real Americans" — a belief triggered by President Barack Obama’s election.

The event is part of the College’s Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights.