The University of Texas at Austin

Event: The Honky Tonk Gap

Speaker(s): David Firestein, LBJ School Graduate and Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State

Date: March 19, 2007

Length: 97 minutes

Event Series: LBJ School Alumni Association Speaker Series

Description: On March 19, 2007, the LBJ School and its alumni association welcomed Mr. David Firestein, a Foreign Service officer at the U.S. Department of State and a graduate of the LBJ School, as the second guest of the new lunchtime speaker series. Mr. Firestein gave an interactive presentation discussing the political communication effect of contemporary country music in which he argued that country music radio reinforces a specific sense of social and political identity. In his presentation, Mr. Firestein played a number of country music hits, including the official theme songs of the 2000 and 2004 Bush/Cheney campaigns, which played on the radio during the last two presidential campaigns and explains their connection to voter choice.

Mr. Firestein currently manages Asia-focused regional outreach programs for the State Department Bureau's Office of Public Diplomacy. Mr. Firestein is also the author of "The Honky Tonk Gap: Country Music, Red State Identity, and the Election of 2004" (2005), and he frequently speaks on contemporary country music and the American idea, addressing representatives of more than 60 nations on these topics in recent months.

A native of Austin, Texas, David J. Firestein studied international relations at Georgetown University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (1990). He then studied public affairs and Asian studies at the University of Texas, earning master's degrees in both fields (1992).

Related:

• The Honky Tonk Gap: Country Music, Red State Identity, and the Election of 2004

Share

Facebook	DiggIt!
Del.icio.us	Yahoo