Alshanteer Studies Politics Through American Identity

Junior Mousa Alshanteer is a political science and history double major from Jamestown, N.C. The Doris Stroupe Slane Trinity Scholar said he loves studying the role of identity in politics throughout history.

Alshanteer is focusing his major studies on political institutions, law and governance. He said he has always been interested in how different laws and policies of government institutions are a reflection and byproduct of modern societal values.

“Laws and policies, such as the national origins, may be examined as a byproduct of a society undergoing a post-World War I recession and unfortunate attempts to craft an American identity which excluded southern Europeans, eastern Europeans, Jews, Arabs, east Asians and Indians,” he said.

Alshanteer’s favorite history class at Duke has been “The Origins of Modern America” taught by Director of Undergraduate Studies Adriane Lentz-Smith. In the class, Alshanteer learned about the underrepresented role of minority groups, which he said gave him the opportunity to reframe his traditional understanding of modern American history.

“Campaigns and Elections,” taught by political science Ph.D. candidate Mark Dudley, is another of Alshanteer’s favorite classes. The class taught Alshanteer about various facets of the American electoral system, allowing him to develop a firm understanding of how laws and policies concerning campaigns and elections have developed over time.

“I even used all that I had learned in the class to analyze and correctly predict the results of the primary campaign for North Carolina’s sixth congressional district,” he said.

The junior currently conducts research with Nicholas Carnes, assistant professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy, on the effect of political polarization on history and contemporary efforts to address campaign finance reform. He said he may use this research to pursue a joint political science and history thesis, or instead study the role of identity in politics or North Carolina history.

Beyond his academic endeavors, Alshanteer has been involved in Duke Student Government, campus political groups and journalism.

He currently is the managing editor of The Chronicle, serves as the North Carolina Politics Editor of the Duke Political Review, writes about North Carolina politics for The Huffington Post and The High Point Enterprise and has ran guest columns in several other publications. He was also director of media relations for The Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council and Major Speakers Committee Chairman of the Duke Political Union.

“The Chronicle has not only allowed me to hone in on my skills as a writer and editor, but has provided me the opportunity to work for an organization which aims not only to present news and other content for its readers, but which aims to provide them a voice on campus,” he said. “Working with The Chronicle has allowed me to constantly view this University, and all of its people and influences, through a constructively critical lens.”

In five years, Alshanteer said he will hopefully be working toward a law degree or a master’s degree in history, political science or public policy. In the future he wants to be a civil rights attorney and maybe run for office in North Carolina.