Arthur Beckman | Political Science | artbco@gmail.com
I specialize in public-opinion and political-communications research and have taught at The George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs and in the political science departments of Hunter College and CCNY.
I am also an advertising copywriter and have held senior positions at small, mid-size, and large New York ad agencies working on brands such as AT&T, SmartMoney, Discovery Networks, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, and A&P Supermarkets – and on public-service accounts such as Save the Children and TransitCenter. My research and writing bring an adman's perspective to politics that I hope will produce some valuable insights into public opinion, voter behavior, and the nature of democracy in America.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center
M.A., CUNY Graduate Center
B.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design• Doctoral dissertation: “The Volatile American Voter: Inconsistent Voting Behavior in the United States, 1948-2004;” Advisor: John Mollenkopf; Readers: Charles Tien, Frances Fox Piven
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Electoral politics and political marketing, including the use of demographic and psychographic targeting in political campaigns, the use of negative advertising, and patterns in swing voting
• American political development, including the historical role of scientific marketing techniques in American electoral politics
• Political theory, including the effect of administrative rationality upon democratic processesACADEMIC WORK EXPERIENCE
The George Washington University
• Professorial Lecturer, 2016-2017, School of Media & Public Affairs; Visiting Assistant Professor, 2015-2016; Courses: “Strategic Political Communication;” "Research Methods;" “Media Effects, Public Opinion, and Persuasion"Hunter College/CUNY
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, 2013-15; Courses: “Voting and Elections;” “Public Opinion and Political Participation;” "Art and Politics," “American Government: A Historical Introduction”New York University - School of Professional Studies
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations, 2012; Adjunct Instructor, 2003-2012; Courses: “Strategy: Behind the Words and Images; “Advertising: How It Works”
The City College of New York/CUNY
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, 2012; Adjunct Lecturer, 2007-2011; Courses: “Public Opinion;” “The Presidency;” “Congress;” “Introduction to American Politics”
New York City College of Technology/CUNY
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Art and Advertising Department, 2012-2014; Adjunct Lecturer, 2002-2011; Courses: “Topics in Advertising” and “Topics in Graphic Design”
• Workshop Instructor, CUNY Proficiency Exam preparation, 2003-2006
• English 101 Faculty Writing Advisor, 2003
• eTutor Faculty Writing Advisor, 2005Polity, Journal of the Northeastern Political Science Association
• Managing Editor, 2009-2010John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY
• Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Political Science, 2003, 2007, 2010; Course: “American Government and Politics”
York College/CUNY
• Adjunct Lecturer, Political Science Program, Department of Behavioral Sciences, 2010; Course: "American Capitalism: Political and Social Aspects”
CUNY/Fulbright American Studies Institute
• Program Coordinator, 2003; Responsible for the institute's website content, conducting tours of New York City and Washington, DC for foreign scholars, and for general program logisticsJOURNAL ARTICLES – PEER REVIEWED
• Beckman, Arthur. 2018. “Political Marketing and Intellectual Autonomy." The Journal of Political Philosophy, 26(1):24-46. DOI: 10.1111/jopp.12126
BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS
• Beckman, Arthur. 2019. "Political Marketing and Unfair Competition in Politics," in Jennifer
Lees-Marshment, Brian Conley, Edward Elder et al., Political Marketing: Principles and
Applications, 3rd edition (New York: Routledge).MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS
• Data & Democracy – a book comprising a study of the origins and development of demographic science in the United States and its application in political campaigns
• "Antidemocratic Data"
• “Is Appeal to Emotion a Form of Manipulation?”
CONFERENCE PAPERS AND INVITED LECTURES
"Does Misinformation Persist Over Time?" Paper presented at the 113th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, CA, September 1, 2017.
“The Effect of Political Advertising and Mobilization Tactics on the Turnout Likelihood of Emergent Peripheral Voters.” Paper presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, LA, January 14, 2017.
“The Paradoxical Effect of Media upon Peripheral Voters in American Presidential Elections.” Paper presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 9, 2016.
“Education is Not a Good Proxy for Political Sophistication.” Paper presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 16, 2015.
“Programmable Democracy?” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association, Seattle, WA, April 17, 2014.
“The Shift to Ideological Homogeneity in the United States, 1948-2004.” Paper presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 11, 2013.
“A Typology of Political Targeting." Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association, Hollywood, CA, March 28, 2013.“Sophisticated Volatility: Demographics and Attitudes of Inconsistent Voters Who Are Politically Engaged and Informed." Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, LA, January 7, 2011.
“Ideological Eclecticism as Political Sophistication.” Paper presented at the New York State Political Science Association 64th Annual Conference at Empire State College, Saratoga Springs, NY, April 16, 2010.
“The Inconstant American Voter: Non-Party-Loyal Voting Behavior in American Presidential Elections, 1948-2004.” Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON, September 5, 2009.
“Going Negative Revisited: Content- and Context- Dependence in Negative Political Advertising.” Paper presented at the Political Science Student Conference at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, May 11, 2007.
“A Crisis of Control Model of American Political Development: An Overview and an Application of the Model to the Development of the Use of Demographic Analysis in Politics.” Paper presented at the CUNY American Political Development Colloquium at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, April 25, 2007.
“Herodotus: Orientalist, Philobarbaros.” Paper presented at the New York State Political Science Association 60th Annual Conference at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, April 21, 2006.OTHER PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
Panel Participant/Judge, “Why Voting is Important.” Event sponsored by NYTV8 and the Columbia University Asia Society; Columbia University, October 3, 2009.
“Anti-PowerPoint.” PowerPoint presentation at the “Mx3: media x 3 days” film and media arts exhibition at the Martin E. Segal Theater, CUNY Graduate Center, December 20, 2007.FILM AND VIDEO
• SAGE Academic and Research Skills video segments (2018): Making Sense of Quantitative Data: Biases and Pitfalls, and Doing Effective Market Research: Key Research Skills
• Data & Democracy – a documentary film in progress that is based on the book in progress by
the same name: www.data-and-democracy.comGUEST LECTURES AND OTHER TEACHING EXPERIENCE
• Guest Lecturer, New York University/SCPS, Marketing Dept., 2002
• Guest Lecturer, Brooklyn College/CUNY, Journalism Dept., 1986
• Guest Lecturer, New School/Parsons School of Design, Illustration Dept., 1982
• Teaching Assistant, Rhode Island School of Design, Painting Dept., 1979GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
• Southern Political Science Association, Artinian Travel Award, 2017
• PSC-CUNY Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Grant, 2014
• CUNY Graduate Center Work Fellowship serving as Managing Editor of Polity, 2009-2010
• PSC-CUNY Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Grant, 2010
• CUNY Graduate Center Doctoral Research Grant, 2010
• CUNY Graduate Center Zalk Student Travel and Research Award, 2009
• CUNY Graduate Center University Fellowship, 2006-2011SERVICE - PEER REVIEW
• International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 2022
• World Medical & Health Policy, 2021
• The Journal of Political Philosophy, 2020
• Public Opinion Quarterly, 2017
• Political Research Quarterly, 2013, 2014, 2016
• American Politics Research, 2014, 2015
• Political Psychology, 2014, 2017
SERVICE - CONFERENCES AND COMMITTEES
• Chair and Discussant, “Media and Politics: Campaign Coverage” panel, 88th Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, LA, January 14, 2017
• Discussant, "Media News Usage and Consumption" panel, 74th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2016
• Chair and Discussant, “Public Opinion toward Death and Taxes (OK, Just Taxes)” panel, Public Opinion section, 73rd Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2015
• Chair and Discussant, “Political Ambivalence and Uncertainty” panel, Political Psychology section, 71st Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2013
• Member, Business Advisory Council for the Department of Business, CUNY/Queensborough Community College, 2012-2015
• Judge for The Advertising Club’s Andy Awards, 1997-1998OTHER PROFESSIONAL, RESEARCH, AND ADVISORY ACTIVITIES
• Advisor to the City Agriculture Network (CAN), an organization founded by one of my former students at CCNY; CAN promotes and facilitates the establishment of urban vegetable gardens; I named the organization and provide advice on promotion and general management
• Researcher/Writer/Advisor, Medical Mission International; aided in the promotion of a long-term project to bring surgical care to a medically underserved region of El Salvador
• Creative Director for Intelligent Television (2002-2006), a non-fiction film/video production company and consultancy specializing in projects for cultural and educational institutions that have included MIT, Columbia University, The University of Virginia, and The Library of Congress
• Creative Director for TV Books, a publishing company specializing in companion volumes to television programming, in particular, documentaries appearing on networks such as PBS, BBC, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, and A&E that resulted in books such as Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation, Behind the Mask: The IRA and Sinn Fein, Dynasty: The Gandhi-Nehru Story, Israel and the Arabs: The Fifty Years’ War, and Defending Everybody: A History of the ACLU; TV Books's titles were distributed by Penguin, and later, by HarperCollins• 25+ years as an advertising copywriter, art director, and creative supervisor on major technology, health care, media, food and beverage, and retail accounts at McCann, DDB, Stein Rogan + Partners, Harrison and Star, The Tom Attea Company, and Honey Advertising
• President, Paul Beckman Company, Inc. (1996-2009); managed a small manufacturing business that designed and fabricated unique, ultra-miniature temperature sensors; this company received numerous development and production contracts from government research organizations and universities; I received NASA’s “Access to Space” award for my role in developing and producing sensors for spacecraft thermal-protection research, and our contributions have been noted in many peer-reviewed publications, conference papers, and monographs
• President and Founder, TwoPointEnergy LLC, a sustainable energy start-up that is developing resilient, low-cost thermoelectric devices for power generation; more information at www.twopointenergy.com.
