Betina Cutaia Wilkinson is an assistant professor of political science at Wake Forest University.  She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and immigrated to the United States at the age of six.  Her research interests include race and ethnicity, Latino politics, public opinion and political behavior.  She has two forthcoming articles, one titled “Latinos in the U.S.” in The Oxford Companion to American Politics and another in the Social Science Quarterly titled “Rebuilding or Intruding? Media Coverage and Public Opinion on Latino Immigration in Post-Katrina Louisiana” along with Johanna Dunaway, Kirby Goidel and Ashley Kirzinger.  Besides having an active research agenda, Wilkinson has participated in numerous community service activities in the United States and Latin America.  Wilkinson has been awarded several travel and research awards, among others being named a 2007-2008 American Political Science Association Minority Fellow.   

Education
B.A.    2004, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans
M.A.    2007, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Ph.D.   2010, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

Academic Appointments
2010-present   Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Wake Forest University

Click here for CV.

Publications:

Wilkinson, Betina Cutaia. “Latinos in the U.S.” The Oxford Companion to American Politics. Edited by David Coates and Kathy Smith. Oxford University Press. Forthcoming July 2012.

Dunaway, Johanna, Kirby Goidel, Ashley Kirzinger and Betina Cutaia Wilkinson. “Rebuilding or Intruding? Media Coverage and Public Opinion on Latino Immigration in Post-Katrina Louisiana.” Forthcoming in Social Science Quarterly, December 2011.

Rouse, Stella, Betina Wilkinson, and Jim Garand. “Divided Loyalties? Understanding Variation in Latino Attitudes toward Immigration.” Social Science Quarterly 91 (2010):856-882.

Pol 113  American Government and Politics

This course explores the nature of politics, political principles, and the political institutions in the United States.  The guiding questions in this course revolve around the impact and responsiveness of government.  The major questions addressed in this course include: Do the Constitution, federalism, interest groups, political parties, and elections make government more responsive?  Is government responsive to public opinion?  Are Congress, the Presidency, the courts, the bureaucracy, and the media responsive?  Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on the significance of the ethnic diversity in the past, present and future development of the U.S. government. 

POL 210 Latino Political Behavior and Public Opinion

This course explores the contemporary role of Latinos as a minority group in the U.S. taking into account the history of immigration from Latin America and Latinos’ struggle for civil rights in the 20th century and today.  The major topics covered in this course include: the history of Latino immigration and migration to the U.S., Latinos in North Carolina, interracial attitudes toward immigration from Latin America, Latino representation and their role in state and local politics, Latino political identity and partisanship, Latino political participation and the likelihood of coalition formations among Whites, Blacks and Latinos.  Some of the key questions that this course covers are: Who are Latinos? Why do we care about pan-ethnic identity? What does it mean to be an American and how do Latinos fit into this definition?  Why is immigration so important to Latinos? Why is identifying Latinos’ partisan identification so critical?  How does Latino political behavior compare to Blacks, Whites and other minority groups? To encourage a strong, comprehensive understanding of the social, economic and political struggles and experiences that Latinos have in the U.S., students are required to provide 20 hours of service throughout the semester to a community agency affiliated with the Latino population or one that target Latino issues.

POL 224 Racial and Ethnic Politics

This course explores racial and ethnic politics in the U.S. particularly focusing on African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Anglos.  Although racial and ethnic politics can cover an extensive number of topics, the course specifically explores issues regarding identity development, minority descriptive and substantive representation and interracial public opinion.  The main guiding questions of this course include:  Why do we have to have a racial and ethnic politics course?  Are Latinos and Asian Americans the new European immigrants of today?  How does a government system that professes in its Constitution and rhetoric to be democratic and egalitarian handle inequality and racism and protect the rights of people of color?  Given the political realities of today, what strategy (coalition or conflict) should minority groups take when dealing with other minority groups and the majority group?

POL 292 Quantitative Methods

In this course, we will explore the ways in which political scientists and pollsters collect and analyze quantitative data.  The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a range of basic statistical and data analytical techniques necessary to understand and conduct quantitative social, political and policy research.  Since statistics can be used poorly and well, the development of these methodological skills is critical for social scientists.  Several topics will be discussed in this course.  First, we will examine the role of quantitative methods in conducting research in the social sciences. Second, we will explore the ways in which political scientists and pollsters collect survey data.  Third, we will analyze descriptive statistics and bivariate relationships.  Fourth, various bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques will be examined.  Lastly, we will discuss dummy variables and interaction effects.  At the end of this course, students will be able to differentiate strong and weak arguments made with statistics; identify, describe and demonstrate the basic statistical techniques necessary to conduct quantitative research; and identify, describe and demonstrate the analytical techniques to examine the validity of inferences drawn from statistical results.