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StocktonAfterClass — Science
StocktonAfterClass

Ron Stockton was a professor of political science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn for 48 years. His specialty was non-western politics and political change. He taught classes on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Religion and Politics, the Politics of Revolution, Non-Western politics, and American politics. He also taught in the Honors Program, focusing upon foundational readings from the 18th and 19th centuries. He has an interest in religion and politics and in the role of religio-ethnic groups in the political system. The listener can anticipate talks on Arab-Americans, Jews, African-Americans, the Scots-Irish, and Evangelicals. He has lectured and written on American politics, public opinion, and voting behavior and on the role of religious organizations and ideologies in the political system. There will be occasional discussions of books and films that address serious issues. And he has lectured and published and even taught a class on gravestones, especially those of different ethnic and religious groups such as Muslims, African-Americans, Jews, and Native Americans. The goal of the podcast series is to provide analysis and commentary by a political scientist to explain and make accessible political, historical, and cultural developments in the United States and around the world, and to give the listener analytical tools to understand those developments. It is also to entertain the listener.

Copyright: © 2021 StocktonAfterClass

Latest Episodes:

Is Whoopi Goldberg Black? Are Jews White? What do we mean by Race? And why did Whoopi get Suspended from The View? Feb 11, 2022

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On February 1, 2022 Whoopi Goldberg got a two week suspension from The View, the early morning women’s talk show that she hosts. It occurred because of things she said about the Holocaust, race, and Jews as a category.

This is a really complex issue. Anything in America involving “race” gets hot very quickly. We can’t even agree upon what the word “race” means. And when we move on to "racism" it becomes an explosive quagmire very quickly.

This is my effort to discuss the complexities of this topic.

I discussed some definitions of race. In case those zipped past, I include them here.

International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, 1969:

“any distinction, exclusion restriction of preference based o race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.”

UNESCO definition of racism, 1978

1. Any theory which involves the claim that racial or ethnic groups are inherently superior or inferior, thus implying that some would be entitled to dominate or eliminate others, presumed to be inferior, or which bases value judgements on racial differentiation, has no scientific foundation and is contrary to the moral and ethical principles of humanity.

2. Racism includes racist ideologies, prejudiced attitudes, discriminatory behaviour, structural arrangements and institutionalized practices resulting in racial inequality as well as the fallacious notion that discriminatory relations between groups are morally and scientifically justifiable; it is reflected in discriminatory provisions in legislation or regulations and discriminatory practices as well as in anti-social beliefs and acts; it hinders the development of its victims, perverts those who practise it, divides nations internally, impedes international co-operation and gives rise to political tensions between peoples; it is contrary to the fundamental principles of international law and, consequently, seriously disturbs international peace and security. 3. Racial prejudice, historically linked with inequalities in power, reinforced by economic and social differences between individuals and groups, and still seeking today to justify such inequalities, is totally without justification.

ADL: Three definitions over time.

Before July 2020,’the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics…the hatred of one person by another — or the belief that another person is less than human — because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person.”

July, 2020: “the marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges white people”

Post-Whoopi definition: “Racism occurs when individuals or institutions show more favorable evaluation or treatment of an individual or group based on race or ethnicity.”

And the Kenya word for a white person is Mzungu.

A Year of Podcasting. First Anniversary Report to Listeners. Feb 06, 2022

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On February 6,2021 I posted my first podcast. As of the morning of February 6, 2022) I have 26,001 downloads in 106 countries and 1,982 different locations around the country and around the world .

This is a short report on what has happened over the last year. I discuss the origin of the podcast, what I hoped to achieve, where the listeners live, the types of topics covered in the podcasts, some of the most popular podcasts, and some feedback.

That first podcast was a introduction to what listeners could expect. I did not anticipate that many people would listen to it, but I was wrong. There were over 300 downloads in 32 countries and 34 different locations. People in that initial download group were from UK, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand, Romania, Italy Canada, Australia, Finland, Malaysia Israel, Netherlands, Oman Sweden, Brazil, Thailand, Spain, South Africa, Lebanon, Greece, Qatar, Bahrain, Norway, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Kenya, Palestine, Switzerland, Australia, and Iceland.

When you create a new podcast site, you enter certain subject words. Those are searchable. I guess that may have been the appeal.
Thanks to those of you who have been following these podcasts.

I hope you find this one of interest.
ps. I could be making money off of your interest by allowing commercials but I have decided not to monetize this podcast. It is my gift to you.

RIP F. W. De Klerk, the Last White President of South Africa. And the Logic of Apartheid. Jan 23, 2022

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F. W. DeKlerk, the last White President of South Africa.

The Logic of Apartheid, and how De Klerk’s perspective evolved

F. W. De Klerk died in November of 2021. He came out of the very heart of the Afrikaaner establishment, and was firmly entrenched in the secret society known as the Broederbund (brotherhood). Whites were about 15% of the South African population and the Afrikaaners (of Dutch heritage) were about 60% of the white population. They controlled all the major positions of power in the Republic. And yet by the 1980s many Afrikaaners could see that the reality was changing, and they would have to change with it, or be swept away. F. W. De Klerk became the instrument of that change.

This may well be the only place where you will ever hear a sympathetic discussion of the logic of apartheid, which was widely condemned in America, especially among those of us who had studied the South African political system.

Remember that there are other podcasts on Archbishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela.
And one called Thoughts of a Former Terrorist, discussing my activism on this issue.

Names: Botha, Mulder,

Terms used: apartheid, Stellenbosch, verligte, verkrampte, Xhosa, Zulu, Tswana, Ndebele, Swazi. Transkei, Zululand, Professor Jeppe,

John Paul II. A Legendary Pope Jan 14, 2022

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John Paul II

John Paul II was one of the great popes. He is now a saint. As a saint, that means he has intercessory power. Individuals can pray to him and he will take their concerns directly to God. Someone becomes a saint by performing three miracles. We will discuss what those miracles were, at least one of them.

John Paul became pope during a time of significant stress. There was stress within the Church regarding what constitutes official teaching. There was also stress regarding corruption within the church, and corruption and crime outside of the church.

John Paul decided that the church had committed numerous sins over the centuries and it had to clear its soul by acknowledging those sins. He also decided that the church was internally divided by teachings and the lack of obedience among the hierarchy. He became a tough pope. This left the church organizationally disciplined but also divided in a way that caused many Catholics, especially younger Catholics, to walk away.

This was a class zoom lecture in which students could actually see me as I waved my arms around and snapped my fingers and raised an umbrella for them to see. Fortunately, it was far enough into the semester that I had figured out the art of lecturing to a machine so this is relatively smooth.

Glitches: However, I made two verbal glitches during the lecture. I spoke of Saint Patrick’s Square in Rome when I obviously meant St. Peter’s Square. I also referred to the earlier pope as Pius when I obviously meant Paul. (This pope was not called John Pius, as you may have noted). Sorry for those fumbles.

Some names mentioned: John XXIII, Lech Walesa, Hans Kung, Cardinal John O’Connor, Cardinal Dearden, Cardinal Szoka, Father Robert Drinan, Zbigniev Brzezinski, President Brezhnev of the USSR, and General Jaruzelski of Poland.

Terms mentioned: Vatican Bank, Gambino Family, Warsaw Pact, Schism, Orthodoxy, Orthopraxis, mea culpa.

Note two earlier podcasts relevant to this one.

How a Pope is Elected,

Vatican II.

How Democracies Die. Understanding the Insurrection of January 6, 2021 Jan 06, 2022

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The Insurrection of 2021, An Anniversary Podcast

On January 6, 2021 there was an attempt by an insurrectionist mob to block the certification of the 2020 Presidential Election. This uprising came within the context of an American political system that had become seriously weakened over the past decades. This weakened political system made it possible for an authoritarian leader to step into the breach. Shockingly, this pattern of the elected autocrat has been seen in other countries.

The book How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (2019) discusses the phenomenon. In this discussion I use this book as a jumping off point for an analysis of some of the causes and patterns of this frightening new development.

There is also an excellent book by Anne Applebaum, The Twilight of Democracy, 2020, that addresses some of the same issues. This book is interesting because Applebaum is an American with a close connection to Poland, which has its own problems with democratic authoritarianism. I do not discuss this book but you might find it interesting.

I make reference to two previous podcasts which listeners might find of interest , one on Impeachment and one on The Replacement Wars: The Ideology of Radical White Nationalism

At the time of this podcast, I was sniffling so my voice fades at time. Drat!

Also, there were two glitches. The 2020 German state election when Merkel challenged her own party leader was in Thuringia. Sorry about that. And, also, Madison wrote Federalist Ten. Oh, my. Generations of students would turn on me if I did not acknowledge this error.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu. the Moral Giant, who created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Dec 27, 2021

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Archbishop Desmond Tutu was one of the three indispensable people whose actions saved South Africa from a violent transition when that country went to majority rule. He created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as an alternative to prosecutions and vengeance. He also believed that the Black struggle in South Africa and the Palestinians struggle were very parallel. He once said, we cannot be free if they are not free.
I hope you will find this podcast to be morally challenging and rewarding.
Note: I have a previous podcast on Nelson Mandela and am working on a podcast on F. W. De Klerk. I also have a podcast entitled Confessions of a Former Terrorist, mentioned during the current podcast.

A Christmas Gift For You. The Story of The Rudolph Song. With Commentary Dec 23, 2021

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This is the story of the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and how it came to be, with some commentary along the way by me. I hope you do not find that distracting.
I forgot to mention that when this came out, we kids were a bit upset that the other reindeer were so mean to Rudolph. We expected better of them. But it turns out ok in the end.
In case you don't remember all the words, here they are.
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history"
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history"
ps. I found this story on the internet. I am hoping it is not one of those fake stories that people make up to fool the gullible.

Christmas Songs: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Dec 20, 2021

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Christmas Songs: Who? What? When? Where?

This is a discussion of the fifty-one most popular Christmas songs, when they were written, what themes they contain, and how the patterns of favorite Christmas songs changed over the centuries.

This is short, but you might find it an interesting approach to Christmas songs. Please remember I am a social scientist. I count things for a living.

I hope you enjoy this.

And don’t forget, “melekelekemaka is the island way . . . “

(And I hope you will forgive my inept efforts to sing a couple of those songs).
Question: Do you wonder what would emerge is someone did this analysis is another country: England, Spain, Brazil, Palestine, Lebanon, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Albania, Nigeria. Hmm.
ps. Someone pointed out that this list skips Carley Simon's song, All I want for Christmas is You. That certainly makes the point, that there are demographic factors at work in this list.

Vatican II: The Catholic Church Transformed Dec 16, 2021

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When John XXIII became pope in 1958, he was a compromise choice. The powerful cardinals who wanted the job figured they could choose the elderly and sickly Cardinal Roncalli of Venice. They suspected he would not last long and then they could step in. Little did they know that he would become one of the most significant popes.
John decided that the church had become stuffy and the windows needed to be opened to let in some fresh air. He convened all the bishops to Rome to began a process of deliberation that would lead to the transformation of the church. He died before that process was finished but his right-hand man, Cardinal Montini, soon to be Pope Paul VI, carried the task to its finish.
This is the story of what happened and what changes were made.
The right wing elements of the hierarchy decided to bite their tongues and bide their time until they could undo what they saw as serious errors. They are the bishops and cardinals who are fighting Pope Francis today.
Curious factoid: The body of John XXIII is on display in the Vatican. It is sitting out where tourists such as myself can take photos. I was a bit shocked at this display until I read the explanation. Because John became a saint, he is now a "relic" so that body on display is not his body but the equivalent of the piece of the cross that I saw in Vienna. (Note: The sign with that piece of wood said that the Church had never been able to verify the authenticity of the splinter but that it has given encouragement to believers over the ages and for that reason the Church is pleased to keep it on display)
Note: You do not have to be a Catholic to find this a fascinating topic.
Note II. This was a zoom lecture in the fall of 2020.

Roe v Wade. The Mississippi Challenge Now Before the Supreme Court Dec 06, 2021

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On December 1, 2021 the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Mississippi law that would effectively gut Roe vs Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion.

This podcast discusses those arguments and some of the issues surrounding that case. There is a discussion of Roe and also of Casey, the Supreme Court case that allowed modifications of Roe. There is a discussion of some constitutional principles, of data on abortion, and of public opinion on the issues. There is also a summary of the arguments by the two sides and of the political implications of whatever comes next.

Let me say this is the most difficult podcast I have ever prepared. I was very determined to give you an accurate summary of the issues, including the legal terms, the medical terms, and the political arguments. I had read Roe v Wade at least three times in the past (and had made notes in the margins) and had read quite a bit about the broader issues when I had lectured on the topic. I started with a body of knowledge that made me feel confident. But issues kept coming up, and I wanted to get everything right.
I am grateful to my wife Jane for her help with medical terminology, and for her remarkable editing skills. Often the difference between an acceptable talk and a good talk is how carefully words are used. I hope you find this to be a good talk that is informative.
The longer commentary was by Jacob Kahn.

The court will probably hand down its decision in the spring, maybe around June of 2022.

Just as we are gearing up for the 2022 mid-term elections.

Strap on your seat belts.
(Oops. A glitch. I repeated a comment about the derogatory comparison of Roe v Wade with Plessey v Ferguson, the infamous pro-segregation ruling in 1896. Well, the argument is so offensive, and irritated me enough that saying it twice is not really that bad. Anyway, it's only two sentences so it won't slow you down much).

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