Coming out of the presidential elections and series of political events, including an unprecedented insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, UC Davis historians, political scientists, economists and constitutional law professors, and researchers from other fields are contributing their academic expertise to media. Faculty are quoted in this story covering a recent School of Law panel discussion. That webinar is also covered here.
This source list will be updated regularly in the early days of the new presidential administration as events and policies unfold. This list was updated March 17.
Historic presidencies, electoral college, transitions
The transition of power between one U.S. president and the next typically goes off without a hitch — full of decorum, tradition and stability. The 2021 transition between President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden, however, has been anything but typical.
, distinguished professor of history, on this month’s edition of the UC Davis podcast The Backdrop discusses how history can help inform this turbulent presidential transition, including parallels with the transfer of power from Herbert Hoover to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Rauchway also offers perspectives on the consequences of chaotic transitions and the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol by a violent pro-Trump mob. That podcast information is here. Listen
He is also quoted on the difficult transition, thus far, in this
Rauchway, a leading scholar of FDR, has expertise in U.S. policy, social and economic history from the Civil War through the Second World War. He is the author of several books, including, most recently, Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt and the First Clash Over the New Deal.
Rauchway has contributed to The New York Times and The Washington Post and appeared on BBC Radio 4 and NPR, among others. Contact: 530-754-1646, earauchway@ucdavis.edu
Constitutional law, treason, impeachment, sedition
, professor of law, is a scholar of American constitutional law and Anglo-American legal history. His scholarship addresses a wide range of issues, including enemy combatant detentions, legacy preferences in public universities, the historical basis of Second Amendment rights, and parents’ rights to name their children.
Larson is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the law of treason and is the author of the book (Oxford University Press). He talks about his book in this .
His scholarship has been cited by numerous federal and state courts and has been profiled in The New York Times, The Economist, TIME, and many other publications. He is a frequent commentator for the national media on constitutional law issues. He appeared on the PBS series Open Mind in December. His recent op-ed on sedition is . He was part of a law school discussion on the attack on the U.S. Capitol. A story about that webinar is here. Contact: 530-754-5731, clarson@ucdavis.edu
Conspiracy theories; roots of modern conservatism
Professor of history has long investigated conspiracy theories, from the Kennedy assassination to 9/11, and many that have cropped up since, even during the primary and general elections. She authored Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11 (2009); it was reissued this year with a on the Trump era. She has also written op-eds comparing Watergate and the Trump impeachment inquiry in and .
Kathryn Olmsted
Professor of History
Expert on conspiracy theories
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