Library News
Path to 2020: Social Media & Politics Lecture Wednesday
Join us for the first part of our Path to the 2020 Election Series with a lecture on, "Can Social Media Help Us Explain Different Political Events" lecture on Wednesday, September 9th at 7:00pm More Info
Path to 2020 Election Series
With the general elections approaching, everyone is preparing to vote. This fall, the East Brunswick Public Library is hosting the Path to 2020 Elections program series to explore the election process.
Carlos L. Yordan presents Can Social Media Help Us Explain Different Political Events? on Wednesday, September 9 at 7:00 pm. In this talk, Yordan explores how social media postings on different platforms to get a better sense of people's reactions to various political events.
Examples in this program include how Facebook engagement data explains BREXIT and the 2016 presidential election; Twitter data that explores people's sentiments in regards to terrorist attacks; and how political candidates' social media activity impacts their popularity and the relevance of their ideas.
Yordan is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Drew University, where he directs their semester on the United Nations program. He completed his Ph.D. in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has also taught and researched at several prestigious institutions, including the University of Maine, Hamilton College, Cornell University's Peace Studies Program, the University of Alabama Birmingham, and Rutgers-Newark's Division of Global Affairs.
The library celebrates National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 22 from 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm. At the library (2 Jean Walling Civic Center, East Brunswick) 's outdoor "Library In The Park Tent, visitors can register to vote by paper or view the New Jesey Department of Elections website, find information about in-person voting places and secure drop boxes, and additional voter resources.
Frank Argote-Freyere explains the Electoral College in the lecture Who Really Elects the President: the Workings of the Electoral College on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:00 pm. His presentation explores how the Electoral College was created by the founding fathers as a way to manage an unruly public and, if needed, overturn the election results.
Argote-Freyre has a deep understanding of the Electoral College; he was an elector for President Obama in 2012. An Associate Professor at Kean University, he earned his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Latin American History and received a NJCH Honor Book designation in 2007.
Both lectures are presented on the Zoom platform. These programs are all sponsored by the Friends of the East Brunswick Public Library.
