Dissertation
My dissertation examines how group-specific media environments shape public awareness and evaluations of the U.S. Supreme Court. Across three related studies, I investigate how mainstream and identity-centered media differ in their coverage of the Court and how these differences influence political knowledge, perceived relevance, and institutional legitimacy. The project considers both what information reaches different communities and what happens when citizens encounter that information.
The project develops an original database mapping Supreme Court coverage across U.S. Latino news outlets. Rather than identifying cases assumed to be relevant to Latino communities in advance, the project begins with the universe of orally argued Supreme Court cases and allows patterns of attention and group-specific case salience to emerge from the media environment itself. It then extends the group-specific approach to the Black press, examining which Supreme Court decisions receive attention across Black news outlets and how these patterns compare with mainstream and Latino media coverage.
Finally, using a survey experiment, this project examines how mainstream and identity-centered coverage of Supreme Court decisions affects political knowledge, perceived relevance, and evaluations of the Court. It also considers whether these effects vary according to respondents' social identities.
Publications
Carolina Bermejo Goodwin and Jessica A. Schoenherr. Forthcoming. “U.S. Gender Composition of Judges” in Sage Encyclopedia of Crime and Gender, ed. Janet P. Stamatel. Sage Publications.
Articles in Progress
Carolina Bermejo Goodwin. “Blind Spots: Race, Migration, and Gender Violence in Spain’s Legal Framework.”
Carolina Bermejo Goodwin and Abigail V. Hassett. “Latino Knowledge of the Supreme Court: The Influence of Supreme Court Cases on Latino Knowledge.”
Carolina Bermejo Goodwin and Edwina Chen. “From Selection to Integration: The Experi ence of International PhD Students in U.S. Political Science Programs.