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It is important for me to understand Philadelphia doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

It is no secret that since the 1960s, when the Democratic Party became the benefactors of black voting loyalty, as many urban centers have seen white flight, large cities haven’t been particularly kind to Republicans.

So, while Philadelphia hasn’t seen a Republican mayor since 1952, other cities have gone longer. Though I’ve had some difficulty – as you’ll see – last week it seemed to me that the last Republican mayor of New Orleans was Benjamin Flanders who was last elected in 1870!

That is why right now my research doesn’t have a lick to do with Philly. Instead, I am creating a better understanding – however basic and marginal – of the city-wide, particularly mayoral, politics of the largest cities in the United States.

I emailed and called a dozen journalists and academics and got my first response back today, from Ray S. Mikell, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Orleans.

Continue reading Benjamin Flanders: last Republican mayor of New Orleans

I synthesized this very rough timeline for this thesis project. I am meeting with my adviser Joe Mclaughlin tomorrow to discuss it.

Thursday, May 24, 2007: Planning Meeting – Meet with Professor Mclaughlin to have timeline approved and seek further suggestions.

Friday, June 1: Define Thesis – Distill project to one clear purpose. Formulate a one-page proposal that clarifies the project’s thesis and includes potential sources, expectations and project goals.

Monday, June 4: Begin Research – Establish a timeline for readings, begin review of literature and other pertinent source material, including news articles, studies, opinion polls, etc.

Tuesday, June 5: Meet with Mclaughlin – Develop an enlarged list of literature and desired interview subjects

Monday, June 11: Interview Search – Send initial request for interviews, knowing some delay is inevitable.

Friday, June 22: Paper Outline – Write an outline for the project

Monday, July 2: Literature Development – Have finished a foundation of suggested readings

Friday, July 6: Interview Process – Have begun conducting interviews and correlate to readings

Friday, July 13: Have an introduction and some foundation written, totaling to at least 8-10 pages

Monday, July 23: Meet with Mclaughlin – Bring the paper’s progress and report on readings and the development of interviews.

Friday, August 31: More Research – Reflect on the paper’s progress, and determine more literature and interviews that might enhance the project.

Monday, September 10: Have completed at least 20-25 pages

Friday, September 14: Meet with Mclaughlin – Bring the paper’s progress and a more detailed timeline for the project’s completion

Monday, September 24: Have completed at least 40 pages

Monday, October 1: Complete Primary Research – All readings and interviews should be completed to concentrate on the paper’s completion

Monday, November 5: Complete First Draft – The project should be in rough form, 50-60 pages. Forward to Mclaughlin to read, request suggestions and corrections.

Wednesday, November 21: Complete Final Draft – Before Thanksgiving Recess have the paper in a final form, 60 pages or more. Forward to Mclaughlin with his changes. Because he will be correcting finals from other classes he is teaching, the project should be largely completed now. Perhaps also forward to Dr. Robin Kolodny to read.

Wednesday, December 5: Completed Project – Present Mclaughlin the paper’s final form, including any last changes he suggested from the final draft. Forward a copy to Honors Director Dr. Ruth Ost.

Thursday, December 6: Present Project – If requested, present project to Honors department

February 2008: TURF CreWS – Enter project in competition, to be awarded in April

April 2008: Temple Library Award – Enter project in the competition, citing use of Paley Library

This thesis project is going to be on Philadelphia politics, that much is for sure.

I am too interested in this city’s government, local politics and all the excitement that comes with it all.

Image courtesy of the Pride of Philadelphia.

I had listed a handful of proposals for my honors thesis a few weeks ago. After meeting with Dr. Robin Kolodny, a professor of political science at Temple and a mentor of mine, I have decided to focus on the nearly nonexistent Republican Party in Philadelphia, a good fit considering my interest in this city’s political climate. As suggested by Kolodny, I have signed Joe Mclaughlin, an associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, on to be my adviser. He is remarkably knowledgeable and well-connected in both city and state politics. Check out the initial proposal I wrote out earlier this month.

Philadelphia, one of the largest and most historic cities in the United States, hasn’t had a Republican mayor in 55 years. Arlen Spector gave James Tate a race in 1967, former-Mayor Frank Rizzo ran in the 1991 Republican primary, and Sam Katz led two particularly spirited campaigns in 1999 and 2003, but, otherwise, most elections since Bernard Samuel last nabbed the city’s chief executive office for the GOP in 1948 haven’t even been close. Is Philadelphia’s Republican Party inept, or would nearly four out of five Philadelphians register Democrat regardless of opposition? Interestingly, Samuel was the final chapter in what was an almost entirely uninterrupted succession of Republican mayors for nearly a century, when the city became coterminous with Philadelphia County in 1854. Is Philadelphia simply prone to party loyalty or is there something deeper? What happened during Bernard Samuel’s term, which was the longest continual span in city history?

I have to now expound a bit on that proposal, while I immediately begin trying to develop a comparative understanding of other urban Republican Parties.

Contain your excitement. This blog and Web site will chronicle the honors thesis I am currently writing. I am backdating the work I have done so the entire year can be accurately depicted. That’s a lot of work. Give me a minute, alright? I’ll get this thing a cooking real soon.

Image courtesy of Image Engineering.

It is my hope that I begin research for this honors thesis over the coming semester, so that I might be able to accomplish as much as I can efficiently next year, sure to be a hectic one, considering its my last at Temple University. So, I’ve formulated a handful of short proposals of what I might want to research. I want to develop a focus before the end of May.

I also have to choose an academic adviser for the project, though that largely depends on what I choose to research. Still, I have been blessed with a handful of bright, challenging and caring academic mentors, like Political Science Professor Dr. Robin Kolodny, Associate Dean of College Liberal Arts Dr. Joseph Mclaughlin, Filmmaker and Broadcasting and Telecommunications Professor Eugene Martin, and Honors Director Dr. Ruth Ost.

First, I have to choose an academic pursuit, though. Here they are, as follows:

Continue reading Honors thesis: a proposal or several

Here begins a year-long investment in an undergraduate thesis. The details are a bit hairy, but let’s see if I can’t flush this out.

I came to Temple University in August 2004 as a political science major after an average high school academic career. I wasn’t honors department material. In the past that meant that I was unable to graduate with honors.

Things have changed.

Continue reading An honors thesis proposal