Pryor Center Presents 'From Blue to Red: The Rise of the GOP in Arkansas' Tonight at 6 p.m.

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John C. Davis

John C. Davis, associate professor of political science and director of governmental relations at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, will present 'From Blue to Red: The Rise of the GOP in Arkansas" tonight at 6 p.m. at the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Davis' lecture is the first event in the 2021-22 season of Pryor Center Presents, and reserved seating is available. This series is part of the Pryor Center's expanded mission of education, research and outreach. 

In V. O. Key's seminal work on Southern politics, he wrote this about the Democratic Party in Arkansas: "Perhaps in Arkansas we have the one-party in its most undefiled and undiluted form." Since that time, the state has been a fascination to state politics scholars and for those who study Southern politics, in particular. Up until very recently, the peculiar situation of Arkansas politics had been that it remained, for the most part, a rather solid, one-party Democratic state even as other Southern states had begun the transition from Democratic Party control to reliably Republican. However, once the political landscape of Arkansas began to shift from Democratic to Republican Party dominance, the political balance of power in the Natural State changed in a dramatic way. In coordination with The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, Davis's study builds off decades of insightful academic research on the state's politics and dives deeper into the dynamics of the modern Republican Party in Arkansas, the changing political behavior of the state's voters and how this sudden partisan shift has impacted policy-making.

Davis completed his B.A. and M.A. in political science at the U of A and his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Missouri in Columbia. His research interests include political parties, public policy, Southern politics and Arkansas politics. 

Masks are required and vaccinations are strongly encouraged at all Pryor Center events.

Upcoming Pryor Center Presents

Oct. 14 - 'Abstract Unions' presented by Marlon Blackwell at 6 p.m.

Nov. 4 - 'City in the Woods: John Cooper, Sr., Cherokee Village, Arkansas, and the Founding of the American Retirement Community' presented by Stephen Luoni at 6 p.m.

Dec. 2 - 'Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Epidemic: The Effects by Race, Ethnicity, and Class' presented by Brittany N. Hearne at 6 p.m.

The Pryor Center is located at 1 East Center Street, Suite 120, and parking is available on the Fayetteville Square. 

About The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History: The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History is an oral history program with the mission to document the history of Arkansas through the collection of spoken memories and visual records, preserve the collection in perpetuity, and connect Arkansans and the world to the collection through the Internet, TV broadcasts, educational programs, and other means. The Pryor Center records audio and video interviews about Arkansas history and culture, collects other organizations' recordings, organizes these recordings into an archive, and provides public access to the archive, primarily through the website at pryorcenter.uark.edu. The Pryor Center is the state's only oral and visual history program with a statewide, seventy-five county mission to collect, preserve, and share audio and moving image recordings of Arkansas history.

About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with three schools, 16 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the majority of the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 3 percent of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.