The outcome of the 2004 American presidential election was based in cultural issues says Karen Larson, a professor at Gustavus Adolphus College. The 2004 election turned out a group of voters with a coherent vision of American culture, and they came out to assert it.
“The surprisingly strong performance of ‘moral-value’ issues in relation to the economy and the war in Iraq revealed an ongoing post-9/11 American wish: cultural stability,” Larson says.
The people who expressed that vision forcefully were evangelical Christians mobilized by the Bush campaign. With their clear and simplified vision of American social integrity, they made the difference in the election.
A professor of anthropology and interdisciplinary studies at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., Larson has research background and investigative experience in terrorism attacks and their impact on culture in the United States. She has taught seminars and lectured on terrorism, and serves as a consultant on terrorism for the FBI and the Rand Corporation.
To arrange an interview with Larson, or to obtain more information, contact her at 507/933-7424, klarson2@gustavus.edu.
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