About Me
Maneesh is the Jane Bishop '51 Associate Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College. He is also a visiting fellow in the Reimagining Democracy program at the Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center. He recieved his PhD in political science from UC Irvine in 2019.
His research agenda lies at the intersection of racial and ethnic politics and political behavior, and is highlighted by his new book, Parties and Prejudice: The Normalization of Antiminority Rhetoric in U.S. Politics.
His work has been published in a variety of scholarly journals including Political Communication, Perspectives on Politics, Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy, Journal of Asian American Studies, Political Research Quarterly, and Politics, Groups, and Identities. His manuscript, "Unaligned Activists: How Digital Technologies, Decentralized Leadership, Post-Materialism, and Self-Identification Facilitate Unaligned Participation in Contemporary Social Movements" (co-authored with LaGina Gause) recieved the 2024 WPSA Blacks and Politics Best Paper Award. He has also published in popular outlets including the Washington Post, Public Seminar, and LSE United States Politics and Policy blog. His Google Scholar page can be found here.
His courses include American Politics, Campaigns and Elections, Immigration Policy and Politics, Asian American Politics, and Research Methods.
Curriculum Vitae
You can download Maneesh's full CV here: CV.pdf
Book
Parties and Prejudice: The Normalization of Antiminority Rhetoric in U.S. Politics
August 2025
University of Chicago Press
Antiminority rhetoric in American politics has grown more overt. What were once fringe comments on Stormfront have now become typical campaign appeals from many mainstream politicians. If there was ever a doubt, this is a poignant reminder that the boundaries of what is “acceptable” and “unacceptable” to say and do are fluid and socially enforced.
In Parties and Prejudice, Maneesh Arora offers a broad framework for understanding this new political terrain. Arora argues that the interaction between social norms and party politics determines what the political consequence of prejudicial speech will be. He illuminates this nuanced relationship by showing that norms vary based on the targeted minority group and the intended audience.
Drawing on experiments, survey data, news coverage, and real-world examples, Parties and Prejudice examines the distinctive ways that egalitarian/inegalitarian norms have developed—within each party—for Black, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ Americans. It is essential reading for understanding Donald Trump’s rise to power, the modern conservative agenda (including opposition to critical race theory and transgender rights), and threats to the development of a multiracial democracy.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Theory of Differential Norms
Chapter 3. The Social Norms Index
Chapter 4. Anti-Black Messaging and Political Evaluations
Chapter 5. Anti-Muslim Messaging and Political Evaluations
Chapter 6. Anti-LGBTQ+ Messaging and Political Evaluations
Chapter 7. Countering Explicit Prejudicial Political Messaging
Chapter 8. Implications of the Normalization of Prejudice
Contact Information
Office Address
Wellesley College
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481
Contact Details
Email: ma100@wellesley.edu
Google Scholar: My Profile
Department website: My Profile