NEWS

>> April 7, 2008
Two Macalester Political Science majors won Top Paper Awards in the University of St. Thomas Undergraduate Research Conference, to be held April 11th. Only three awards were given and two went to Macalester students. Thomas Boik won for his paper "Countering the Counterculture: A Dialectical Interpretation of Thomas Frank’s 'Why Johnny Can’t Dissent,'" and Jessica Hawkinson won for her paper "Addressing the Courtroom of World Opinion:  A Critical Analysis of Selections from Adlai Stevenson’s 1952 Statements to the United Nations." Congratulations to them both.

Eight Macalester students in total submitted papers to the conference. Their papers are as follows:

Will Howell, “And That Brings Us to Tonight’s Word:  The Effects of ‘The Colbert Report’ on College Students”
Thom Boik, “Countering the Counterculture:  A Dialectical Interpretation of Thomas Frank’s ‘Why Johnny Can’t Dissent’”
David Klock, “Converting Corruption Into Celebrity:  An Analysis of Nixon’s ‘Checkers’ Using the Apologetic Frame”
Jessica Hawkinson, “Addressing the Courtroom of World Opinion:  A Critical Analysis of Selections from Adlai Stevenson’s 1952 Statements to the United Nations”
Ahna Minge, “Creating Her Own Space for Action:  Benazir Bhutto’s Utilization of Social Norms to Achieve Political Success”
Michael Juhasz, “Golda Meir and the Story of Modern Israel”
Brian Stephenson, “Reaching Past an Audience:  Identification, Christianity, and Audience in Malcolm X’s ‘The Black Revolution’”
Cory Turner, “Expanding Symbols of Identity:  A Rhetorical Analysis of President Mary Robinson’s Inaugural Address”

In addition, Dr. Adrienne Christensen will be the chair for the panel "Engaging an Audience: Public Speaking and Preaching."

The Conference will be held April 11th at the University of St. Thomas. The event is free and open to the public.

>> April 3, 2008
Macalester Political Science alumni Danny Schwartzman '04, was recently featured in the Southwest Journal for the success of his bagel boutique, the Common Roots Cafe, in South Minneapolis. Check out Danny's story here, and head to the Common Roots Cafe yourself at 2558 Lyndale Ave. S. Congratulations on your success Danny!

Political Science majors Clare Ryan '08, and Ahna Minge '08, will be presenting their honors research in the poster sessions at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago on April 5-6.

Professor Paru Shah is featured in an article in the Star Tribune for her work with progressive think tank MN 2020 on No Child Left Behind. Shah surveyed educators in the Carver County school district, asking them what they thought of the program. Read about her results and the future of No Child Left Behind here.

The Watson Foundation has awarded political science major Zach Devlin-Foltz '08 one of the 2008-2009 Watson Fellowships, granting him a $25,000 stipend for a one-year independent project conducted outside of the United States. Congratulations Zach! Read more in the Mac Weekly.

>> March 25, 2008
Two Political Science majors will give speeches this Friday, March 28, for the Macalester Civic Forum. This year's forum focuses on the concepts of citizenship and the environment. Clare Ryan will give a lecture titled "Growing Environmental Citizens: Education for the Green State" from 10:10-10:40 a.m. Momchil Jelev will give a lecture titled "Competing Visions of a Green World Order: Transatlantic Tensions over Environmental Governance" from 2:10-2:40 p.m.

For more information, visit the Civic Forum website.

>> March 25, 2008
Alexander Wendt will give a lecture titled "Why a World State is Inevitable" on Wednesday, April 2 at 8 p.m. in the Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel.

Wendt is Mershon Professor of International Security at The Ohio State University. He has previously held appointments at Yale University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Chicago. His research interests at the intersection of social and political theory and international relations. His 1999 book, Social Theory of International Politics, recently won the "Best Book of the Decade Award" from the International Studies Association. He has also published widely in leading journals of international relations.

He is currently working on three projects: "The Inevitability of a World State" draws on self-organization theory to develop a teleological characterization of the international system as a process of state formation; "Quantum Mind and Social Science" is a long-term book project exploring the implications for social science of the hypothesis that consciousness is a macroscopic quantum mechanical phenomenon; and "Sovereignty and the UFO" takes up the challenge that the UFO poses to modern sovereignty.

There is no admission charge for the event.

>> February 8, 2008
Junior Tommy Kim's essay, titled "Anti-Americanism as an Expression and Evidence of Democratization," has been accepted for publication in the Summer 2008 issue of the Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs. The paper, written for Professor J. D. Bowen's Challenges to Democratization class, argues that South Korea's anti-Americanism can be explained by its democratization process. Kim explains: "In the 1980s, anti-Americanism directly overlapped with civil society's activism against the authoritarian regime. In the 2000s, however, a new form of anti-Americanism shows how South Korea's democracy has matured."

Kim's paper will also be presented in the 2nd annual Pi Sigma Alpha Conference on Wednesday, February 27th. Congratulations Tommy!

>> February 1, 2008
The Macalester Political Science Department will sponsor the wildly successful Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Research Conference in Political Science on February 27th in the Weyerhauser Board Room. Everyone is welcome to attend and ask questions of the panelists. Exemplary research papers were submitted and competitively selected for presentation by Macalester students. Student papers will be available at this website following the conference. Please come for as much or as little of the conference as you like.

The schedule is as follows:

Rhetoric and Politics with Adrienne Christiansen – 9:40-10:40am
            And that Brings Us to Tonight’s Word: The Effects of “The Colbert Report” on College Students – Will Howell
            Rhetoric of the Black Revolution – Brian Stephenson
            Ideological Hegemony: The Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal – Priyanka Mahadevia

Politics in a Global Context with Wendy Weber – 10:50-11:50am
            U.S. Counter Terrorism and Islamic Groups – Zach Devlin-Foltz
            Korean Anti-Americanism as an Expression and a Consequence of Democratization – Jung Yul Kim
            Human Rights in Foreign Policy: Case Studies of the Sino-American and Sino-Canadian Relationships – Josh Jorgenson

American Institutions with Julie Dolan – 1:10-2:10pm
            Financing Politics – Laura Bova
            The Electoral College – Kyle Archer
            2002 F.B.I. Guidelines and the First Amendment – Thomas Ingalls

Questions of Democracy with David Blaney – 2:20-3:20pm
            The End of Turkish Democracy – Dan McGovern
            Jamaican General Election 2007: The Electoral Process and Strengthening of Democracy in Jamaica – Danielle Turnquest
            Personalizing the Political: The Influence of Cultural Values on Neoliberal Reform Efforts in Ecuador – Nick Christensen

Social Movements in Global and Historical Perspectives with J. D. Bowen – 3:30-4:30pm
            How much did Anti-Semitism Matter? A Closer Look at the German Catholic Church’s Reaction to Nazi Euthanasia – Laura Conway
            Reach Out and Touch Faith: The Influence of Religion on Latino Partisanship in the United States – Robyn Schindeldecker
            Choosing Truth: A Study of Functional, Institutional, and Global CultureExplanations for Why Countries Establish TRC’s – Claire Posner

>> January 31, 2008
New and old Chuck Green Fellows met for dinner during their annual spring retreat.

>> December 4 , 2007
The Political Science Department will be sponsoring Cookie Day on Wednesday, December 12th. Come to the second floor of Carnegie to enjoy free cookies and refreshments with PoliSci faculty and students.

>> November 19, 2007
The Pi Sigma Alpha Faculty Lecture series presents a talk by professor J. D. Bowen next Tuesday titled "Democracy and Exclusion: Elite Responses to Indigenous Mobilization in Ecuador, 1964-2007." Bowen will discuss how Ecuadorian political and economic elites have resisted the demands made by the country's large and well-organized indigenous peoples' movement. The lecture will focus on how elites use the discourse and institutions of liberal democracy to continue to marginalize the country's indigenous population. Bowen's primary conclusion is that political democracy can actually serve to reinforce existing patterns of domination and exclusion by providing elites with a new vocabulary for legitimizing their hegemonic role in society.

When: Tuesday, November 27, 11:50 - 12:50
Where: Carnegie 305
Light refreshments will be provided

>> November 1, 2007
Ann Coulter shocks the Political Science department with a surprise visit!

>> October 25, 2007
Please come join us to debate about the future of the American presidency at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in Kagin Ballroom. Moderator Adrienne Christiansen will be kicking off the Oxford-style debate by having each speaker address the following question: "Will electing a Democratic presidential candidate restore American prestige around the world?" This is only a guiding question to spark further exploration about 2008 candidates and a variety of important policy issues, including race and gender.

Through this event the Program Board hopes to spark a campus-wide dialogue about the 2008 election, its candidates and its key policy issues. By featuring both Democratic and Republican viewpoints, we hope to enrich the conversation of American politics by allowing students the opportunity to be exposed to other viewpoints.

Donna Brazile, author of Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, is a well-versed Democratic political strategist. She made history as the first African American woman to lead a major presidential campaign when she served as Campaign Manager for Gore-Lieberman 2000. Brazile is also the Chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute.

Ron Christie, author of Black in the White House, began service at the White House in 2001 as deputy assistant to Vice President Cheney for domestic policy, advising the Vice President on policy initiatives in health care, budget, tax, and other policy areas. From 2002 to 2004, he was a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush.

The event is free and open to the public.

>> October 14, 2007
Assistant professor Paru Shaw received the Best Dissertation Award from the Urban Politics Section of the American Political Science Association at their annual meeting this September. Her dissertation, entitled "The Politics and Policy Implications of Latino Representation in Education," was completed in 2006 at Rice University and examines the multifaceted nature of mechanisms that lead to increased minority representation and the policy outcomes that follow.

>> October 2, 2007
Roxanne Fisher, Political Science department coordinator, received the 2007 Staff Outstanding Service Award, presented by President Rosenberg at the Staff Appreciation Lunch on Thursday, April 26. She was nominated by the department’s faculty and her student employees. READ MORE