Dunn, Marika-Eugenia. Alternative analyses of political representation in urban Congressional districts. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3319V78
DescriptionThis dissertation critically examines the processes and outcomes of the representative constituency
relationship within urban congressional districts in the United States. In each of the dissertation’s three essays, the project addresses the following claims: 1)
studies of representation within a political jurisdiction may be more robustly addressed through analyses of a variety of tools that members use to foster relationships with their constituencies; 2) members who represent racial and ethnic minorities and other politically marginalized or vulnerable constituencies utilize a number of these tools of representation to develop and maintain relationships with their constituencies; and 3) the study of representation in the U.S. is intrinsically linked to conceptual and physical spatial elements that define the parameters of political behavior toward particular constituents or communities. The project incorporates data from a variety of sources
including participant observation and interviews of congressional staff as well as congressional hearings, appropriations earmarks, and census data to substantiate both the overall claims as well as specific conclusions posed within each essay.