On February 6th, Dr. Lauren Rowlands, a member of the political science faculty, presented at the first Inklings gathering of the spring semester. Entitled, on “Congress and Immigration: A study of the member-level motivations and agenda-setting strategies on immigration reform,” Dr. Rowlands talk discussed her research on legislative behavior and what compels House members to vote to expand immigration policy. This research focused on voting records for factors like the amount of labor-intensive farmland present in their districts. She found that the demand for labor factors (generally cheap, immigrant, migrant, labor) prominently led to legislators’ propensity to vote to expand/liberalize immigration policy.
Liam Trapane, a graduate student who attended the presentation, says “Dr. Rowland’s presentation really cast light on the factors that influence the voting behavior of members of Congress other than partisan loyalties. She provided a revealing account of their decision-making process and the cost-benefit analyses that affect it.”
The original Inklings consisted of a small group of intellectuals (whose ranks included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis) who met weekly at Oxford University to read aloud and discuss their works in a spirit of fellowship and civil conversation. In the spirit of these Inklings, the Department of Political Science at Texas State University has held similar gatherings for more than two decades.
