West Virginia State University Professor’s New Book Explores the Presidency, Economy

7/8/2014

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Contact: Kimberly Osborne
(304) 766-3363
kosborne@wvstateu.edu
 
   
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) Assistant Professor of Political Science C. Damien Arthur explores the issue of whether a U.S. president has a direct impact over the nation’s economy in his upcoming book “Economic Actors, Economic Behaviors and Presidential Leadership: The Constrained Effects of Rhetoric.”

Set to be released by Lexington Books in early August, “Economic Actors, Economic Behaviors and Presidential Leadership” is now available for pre-order as both a traditional print book and as an e-book.

In his book, Arthur explores the issue of whether the U.S. president has a direct and measurable influence over the economy. Arthur’s analysis suggests that while presidents have increased their rhetoric regarding the economy, they have not had much success in shaping it. In his book, Arthur proposes this discrepancy suggests that presidential rhetoric on the economy is, at best, a tool used to appear concerned to everyone and toe the party-line to their base.

Arthur said that he began to explore the issue of the president’s role in shaping the economy while working on his doctoral dissertation at West Virginia University (WVU).

“Foremost, the inspiration for the book comes from my interest in two of the most pertinent and topical subjects in political science, the president and the economy,” Arthur said. “Secondly, it has to be WVU Political Science Professor Robert DiClerico, Ph.D., who chaired the committee for my dissertation. His passion for the presidency, his Socratic-method approach to teaching and his legendary seminar on the American presidency cultivated my interest in the president and engendered in me the desire to use my dissertation to learn more about this area of research.”

Arthur has been an Assistant Professor of Political Science at WVSU since 2012. In addition to his new book, he has been published in Presidential Studies Quarterly and Sociological Spectrum.

He completed a Ph.D. in Political Science at WVU. He has an M.A. in American Public Policy and an M.P.A. in Public Administration from WVU. He also completed an M.T.S. in Religion, Culture and Personality at Boston University’s School of Theology. He received a B.A. in Theological Studies from Gordon College.

Currently, the 180-page book is available for pre-order online at www.lexingtonbooks.com for $80 for a print copy and $79.99 as an e-book.

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West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.