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Marx, Tocqueville, & American Idol
My paper proposal for the APSA Teaching & Learning Conference in Baltimore was accepted. The paper (which I?ll work on over the holiday break) is based on a series of in-class discussions I?ve had in ....... read more
19 days ago
Does democracy need religion?
On Monday evening, I participated in a panel discussion at Mount St. Mary?s University on the question: ?Does the democratic form of government need to be anchored in religious values?? The participan ....... read more
Tue,
04 Nov 2008
Does Javi like rational choice?
As Javi becomes (much!) more mobile, he gets into various corners of the apartment. Recently, he?s discovered bookshelves.
He loves to be read to, of course (a well-established bedtime routine). A ....... read more
Mon,
13 Oct 2008
The Big Mac peace theory
This Friday my research methods class hands in a brief (1½-2 page) assignment based on Thomas Friedman?s 1996 column, ?Foreign Affairs Big Mac I.? Based on Friedman?s whimsical observation, they?re ex ....... read more
Tue,
07 Oct 2008
APSA teaching conference in Baltimore
The upcoming APSA Teaching & Learning conference is scheduled for Baltimore (February 6-9, 2009). The deadline for proposals is September 30. I don?t normally get to attend such a niche conference; bu ....... read more
Fri,
19 Sep 2008
Spring 2009 Latin American politics textbooks
Next semester I?m teaching two sections of Latin American politics. I like to regularly switch up my readings, assigning 2-3 ?country study? texts (and spend 2-3 weeks on each) in addition to a more g ....... read more
Thu,
18 Sep 2008
April Latin American Studies speakers
The spring speaker series I put together at Dickinson is winding down, w/ two final speakers who will focus on the Andes.
On April 9th, Cynthia McClintock will speak on ?US-Peru Relations: Free Tra ....... read more
Thu,
27 Mar 2008
Bolivia?s political parties
My proposal for the 2008 MPSA (Midwest Political Science Association) conference has just been accepted. Time for my research assistant & I to get cracking on our database project. Here?s the proposal ....... read more
Mon,
12 Nov 2007
Constitutional Engineering 101
Last semester I designed a little ?constitutional engineering? exercise for comparative politics. It?s probably better for a special topics course. Fortunately, I?m teaching just such a course this se ....... read more
Sun,
21 Oct 2007
Research methods
I?ve just finished the syllabus for my spring 2008 research methods course. Here?s the syllabus. ....... read more
Tue,
16 Oct 2007
US civics quiz
A recent study by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) shows that most American college students can?t pass a test on political institutions & history. I know standardized tests aren?t de rigue ....... read more
Thu,
20 Sep 2007
YouTube in the classroom
YouTube recently launched a University Channel, and Dickinson is participating in the project. Our first video is a 40-minute panel discussion preceding a screening of The Situation, a film about cont ....... read more
Wed,
05 Sep 2007
9/11 & democracy
It?s perhaps fitting that today?on the anniversary of ?9/11??my Democracy & Democratization class is reading the first chapter of Samuel Huntington?s The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twenti ....... read more
Tue,
11 Sep 2007