Overview of Research Agenda
My research focuses on the interplay of race in American politics. Most of my scholarly work is situated at the intersection of two areas of study that rarely speak to one another: judicial politics and race and ethnic politics. My current research illuminates the lives, identities, and behaviors of black state court judges, but I am also interested in the legitimacy of the courts and the extent to which judges’ identities influence how they are perceived by elites and the mass public. My scholarship combines quantitative and qualitative analysis and utilizes multiple methodologies, such as surveys, interviews, textual analyses, and experiments to arrive at nuanced conclusions and understandings about identity politics.
Research Interests
American Politics: Identity Politics; Media; Political Attitudes and Behavior; Representation
Racial and Ethnic Politics: Black Politics; Group Identity and Consciousness; Racial Representation
Judicial Politics: Decision-Making and Behavior; Legitimacy; Public Opinion; Selection Methods
Representation and Justice in State Courts
My current book project, which is an expanded version of my dissertation, focuses on the nature and significance of representation in the judiciary by addressing the primary questions that have been raised following the substantial increase in the number of black judges in the post-Civil Rights Era: have American courts and justice been transformed purely by this racial diversity? Are black people represented more effectively in these political institutions because of this diversity? Given the broadly interesting nature of the topic, this book should appeal to a substantial audience, including sociologists, historians, cultural and ethnic studies scholars and students, political scientists, policymakers connected to and involved in the judicial selection process at the state and national level, judges, law students and legal scholars, and advocates pushing for, and individuals interested in, increased judicial diversity.
In the book, I advance a theory of representation that is meant to help us understand why and how black judges might represent black people and black interests. I test the theory by drawing on diverse materials, such as biographies, in-depth interviews, and judges’ scholarly and personal writings and initiatives. My book engages with scholarship on representation, racial identity and group consciousness, judicial behavior and political sociology, and offers new insights into the lives, identity politics, and behaviors of black state court judges.
Judicial Diversity in State Courts
Currently, I am the principal investigator on a Law and Social Sciences Research Grant #1825102, National Science Foundation (start date: August 1, 2018).
Political representation is a critical issue in American politics, and this includes the judicial branch of government. This project will study political representation in America’s state courts by examining the lives, identities, and behaviors of U.S. state trial court judges. In doing so, this project will analyze who judges are, the influences on their legal decision making, and the consequence and importance of political representation in state trial courts.
The project will employ a mixed-methods approach that includes surveys and interviews of sitting state trial court judges from across the country, in order to understand the backgrounds, group identities, role orientations, and behavior of state trial court judges. Findings from this research will provide an understanding of political representation in state courts, and how that representation influences judges and their behavior.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Publications (names underlined reflect student/mentee contributions)
Refereed Articles and Book Chapters
Ayee, Gloria Y.A., Jessica D. Johnson Carew, Taneisha N. Means, Alicia M. Reyes-Barrientez, and Nura A. Sediqe. (Accepted 02/2019; Forthcoming in Politics & Gender). “White House, Black Mother: Michelle Obama and the Politics of Black Motherhood.”
Means, Taneisha N., Kaitlin Prado, and Andrew Eslich. (Accepted 02/2019; Forthcoming). “Judicial Diversity and Lawmaking in the Federal Judiciary.” In Lee D. Walker and Susan Sterett (Eds.), Law and Courts. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Cramer, Renee Ann, Nikol G. Alexander Floyd, and Taneisha N. Means. (2019). “Balance is a Fallacy: Striving for and Supporting a Life with Integrity.” PS: Political Science & Politics.
McClain, Paula D., Gloria Y. Ayee, Taneisha N. Means, Alicia M. Reyes-Barrientez, and Nura A. Sediqe. (2016). “Race, Power, and Knowledge: Tracing the Roots of Exclusion in the Development of Political Science in the United States.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 4(3): 467-482.
Non-refereed Book Chapters
Means, Taneisha N. (2018). “Race, Gender, and the Battle to Confirm Judge Constance Baker Motley, the first Black Woman Federal Judge, to the Bench.” In Sharon Navarro and Samantha Hernandez (Eds.), Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of the American Judiciary. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Means, Taneisha N. and Katha Sikka. (2019). “Not Just Entertainment: Court Shows and Public Opinion on the Judicial System” In Rebecca A. Lind (Ed.), Race/Gender/Class/Media 4.0: Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content, and Producers. New York, NY: Routledge.
Means, Taneisha N. and Alexandra Hatch. (Accepted; Forthcoming). “The Politics of Restoring Voting Rights After Incarceration in the U.S.” In Keesha Middlemass and Calvin John Smiley (Eds.), Prisoner Reentry in the 21st Century: Critical Perspectives of Returning Home. New York, NY: Routledge.
Means, Taneisha N. (Accepted; Forthcoming). “Falling as I Climb: Race, Education, and Post-Graduation Loan Debt.” In Rebecca G. Goldsten, Edina Renfro-Michel, Laura M. Nicosia, and Evan Dickerson (Eds.), Dear Secretary Devos: What We Want You to Know About Education. PA Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
Other Published Work
Ayee, Gloria Y.A., Jessica D. Johnson Carew, Niambi M. Carter, Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto, Monique L. Lyle, Taneisha N. Means, Shayla C. Nunnally, Efren Perez, and Candis Watts Smith. (Forthcoming 2019). “Can We All Get Along?: The Arc of Paula D. McClain’s Career Shows That We Can.” PS: Political Science & Politics.
Sterett, Susan M., and Taneisha N. Means. (2019). “Showing Up for Each Other: Workshopping Thriving.” The New West Blog, the Official Blog of the Western Political Science Association. Available here: https://thewpsa.wordpress.com/2019/06/11/showing-up-for-each-other-workshopping-thriving/.
Means, Taneisha N. (2018). “Fair and Clean Elections (FACE).” In David A. Schultz (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Money in American Politics. Brighton, MI: ABC-CLIO.
Means, Taneisha N. (2018). “Alicia Dickerson Montemayor.” In Jessica Lavariega-Monforti (Ed.), Latinos in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Latinos as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders. Brighton, MI: ABC-CLIO.
Means, Taneisha N. (2018). “[U.S. Supreme Court Justice] Benjamin Nathan Cardozo.” In Jessica Lavariega-Monforti (Ed.), Latinos in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Latinos as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders. Brighton, MI: ABC-CLIO.
Means, Taneisha N. (Accepted; Forthcoming). “Constance Baker Motley.” In Valeria Sinclair Chapman, Tyson King-Meadows, and Keesha Middlemass (Eds.), African Americans in the American Political System. Brighton, MI: ABC-CLIO.
Means, Taneisha N. (Accepted; Forthcoming). Review of African Americans in White Suburbia: Social Networks and Political Behavior, by Ernest McGowen III. American Review of Politics.
Book in Progress
Representation and Justice in State Courts (Expected completion: Spring 2020).