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Platforms of Division: The Role of Social Media in Shaping Electoral Polarization
No full textOver recent years, social media platforms have continued to grow and evolve, providing new avenues for political messaging and participation among the electorate. As social media platforms become more prevalent in daily life, the debate over the extent to which social media plays in exacerbating polarization continues to be unsettled. Research spanning the past two decades have argued for different levels of the influence of social media, ranging from ideas of social media as a direct tool for exacerbating polarization to social media having little to no influence on polarization. Although scholarship on this debate continues to expand, little has been done to examine whether social media can be classified as having an independent influence on polarization. I propose that social media does act as an independent influencer on polarization among the electorate, rather than just as a reflection of polarization caused by institutional factors. In order to test and analyze this proposition, I utilize data from the 2020 Time Series Study produced by the American National Election Studies, focusing on questions dealing with social media usage, political affiliation, and partisan hostility. Using this data, I conduct a multinominal logistic regression to highlight the independent effect of different potential driving forces behind polarization
How Political Polarization Affects our Closest Relationships
No full textDespite having a wide-variety of theories and perspectives, political polarization is one of the central issues in the field of research political science today. While experts take differing views on how exactly polarization is affecting our political and cultural landscapes, it is well agreed upon that polarization has become an issue in elections across the country that affects the ability of our elected leaders to perform their jobs. On an individual level, political polarization manifests itself as of lack trust in government, the opposite party, and even fellow Americans to do what is right and move the nation in the right direction on issues ranging from economic policy to more moral or normative cultural issues. Experts leading the literature in the study of political polarization have looked at how this divide affects government efficiency and some aspects of social life like political unrest, hate crimes, and trends in online behavior - ultimately how we treat strangers or those opposing our beliefs and identities - but the question remains on how polarization affects our closest relationships. In this study I seek to address this question by comparing 10 years of surveys regarding trust in government and the opposite party in America with data on reported incidents of domestic violence. I expect that rising tension and trends of increased polarization are connected to increase in the incidence of domestic violence across the country due to broader cultural disagreements and lack of individual agency on issues
Documenta11: Art and Anti-Hegemonic Politics in the Globalized World
No full textThe 2002 exhibition Documenta11, organized by Okwui Enwezor, through its decentering of the West by use of its five Platforms, worked to call into question both supposed Western hegemony as well as bring about new ways of understanding the postcolonial world. The thematic decentering and spatial deterritorialization of the exhibition, while still presenting crucial and significant works of art, proved that an exhibition could employ critical theories and ideas without comprising the historic integrity of Documenta. The entanglements of the postcolonial world were illuminated by Enwezor’s Platforms in discursive and heterogenous ways, countering the seemingly unstoppable homogenizing forces of globalization. By decentering what Western colonial forces had pushed to the center, Documenta11 expanded the current discourse on global issues and successfully presented a truly global exhibition of art. Through a radical temporal and spatial expansion of the exhibition format, Documenta11 delegitimized the then-accepted logic and model of many Western exhibitions. Enwezor subverted all expectations of what Documenta was through the presentation of alternative narratives that demonstrated the radical possibilities of art and exhibitions. This was a shift that continues to be of critical significance, particularly if art is to serve any role in resisting globalization and colonization in the contemporary period
More Than Meets the Scope: A Case of Metastatic Leiomyosarcoma Diagnosed During Colonoscopy
No full textIntroduction:
Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare and aggressive malignancy arising from smooth muscle, most commonly originating in the uterus or retroperitoneum. Colonic involvement is uncommon and typically presents as a solitary, symptomatic mass. Multifocal, polypoid colonic lesions are exceptionally rare and not well described. We present a case of metastatic LMS of unknown primary origin, first identified during routine colonoscopy as three small, benign-appearing polyps. Their visual similarity to tubular adenomas contributed to atypical presentation and highlights the importance of considering rare malignancies in patients with suspected metastatic disease.
Case Description:
A 59-year-old woman presented with intermittent right-sided abdominal pain and uterine prolapse. Contrast-enhanced CT imaging revealed multiple hepatic lesions concerning for metastases, scattered pulmonary nodules, and cholelithiasis with no evidence of cholecystitis. Colonoscopy performed to evaluate for a gastrointestinal primary source revealed three broad-based, sessile polyps (~6 mm each) in the distal transverse colon, splenic flexure, and descending colon. These polyps appeared endoscopically similar to tubular adenomas. All were removed via cold snare polypectomy.
Histologic analysis showed pleomorphic spindle cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, severe nuclear atypia, and 22 mitoses per 10 high-power fields. Immunohistochemistry was positive for desmin and smooth muscle actin and negative for CD117, CD34, and S100, consistent with high-grade LMS. EBER in situ hybridization was negative. No definitive primary tumor was identified. The polyps represented metastatic LMS with concurrent liver and lung involvement. The patient declined systemic therapy and transitioned to palliative care.
Discussion:
This case illustrates a rare presentation of metastatic LMS involving the colon as multiple small polyps that closely resembled benign tubular adenomas. Although metastatic disease was suspected based on imaging, the endoscopic visualization was not typical of this malignancy. Multifocal polypoid colonic involvement is exceedingly rare in LMS and is not well characterized in the literature. This case emphasizes the importance of considering uncommon metastatic patterns in patients with suspected disseminated disease. Recognition of such presentations can help guide appropriate diagnostic workup, inform clinical decision-making, and support timely discussions regarding prognosis and treatment goal
