CLA: Political Science News

Elizabeth Troolin Wins 2012 John Turner Award

2013-05-14T17:50:59Z

The winner of the John Turner Award for the outstanding Honors thesis in the College of Liberal Arts for the 2012 calendar year is Elizabeth Troolin, a major in Political Science. Her thesis, "Party System Transformation in Brazil: Evidence from Textual Analysis of Manifestos, 1988-2012," was completed under the supervision of Professor David Samuels. Elizabeth is currently on a Fulbright Fellowship and woking at La Universidad de Cartagena in Colombia.

Political science professor Emeritus John E. Turner, a globally recognized leader in social sciences, received his master's degree (1949) and his Ph.D. (1950) from the University of Minnesota. His distinguished career at the University of Minnesota spanned nearly four decades. His outstanding scholarship was underscored in 1974 when he was made a Regents' Professor. During his tenure he was also awarded the Morse-Alumni Award for Undergraduate Teaching. He authored, co-authored, and edited approximately thirty publications during the course of his career. He was instrumental in the creation of the International Studies Association, the premier scholarly association for the study of international relations. In his numerous leadership roles he served as an influential public figure who contributed to the world of social science in countless ways.

Professor Freeman Wins Wallerstein Award

2013-04-30T13:32:18Z

Professor John Freeman of the Political Science Department has won a major award from the American Political Science Association. It has been announced that Professor Freeman, and his coauthor Dennis Quinn (Georgetown University), have received the Wallerstein Award from APSA's Political Economy Section. The Wallerstein Award is for the best article in political economy published the previous calendar year. Their article, "The Economic Origins of Democracy Reconsidered," was published in the American Political Science Review in February 2012. This is a major honor and a terrific tribute to John's outstanding work in political economy.

Political Science Student Receives Talle Scholarship

2013-04-29T13:21:21Z

Jonathan Walker, an undergraduate student in the Political Science Department, has been selected to receive a Talle Family Scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic year. The purpose of the scholarship is to inspire, reward, and support academic excellence by awarding full tuition scholarships to exceptional students during their senior year in CLA. This prestigious award to outstanding undergraduate students is made possible through the generosity of Kenneth Talle. Margaret and Kenneth Talle graduated in 1966 from the University of Minnesota in the College of Liberal Arts. Jonathan is one of ten students across the entire University to receive this award. Jonathan will be recognized for his outstanding work by Dean James Parente at a reception at Coffman Union on Thursday, May 2nd.

Congratulations to Political Science Majors on the U of M Debate Team: Cody Crunkilton, Miranda Ehrlich, & Courtney Schauer

2013-04-25T13:41:59Z

The U of M Debate Team, coached by David Cram Helwich (communication studies) just wrapped up their most successful season yet. Both teams (Cody Crunkilton & Miranda Ehrlich / Rohan Sadagopal & Courtney Schauer) won eight of their five preliminary debates at the National Debate Tournament and advanced to the elimination rounds, where they were eventually knocked out by teams from Wake Forest and Harvard. This is the first time that any Gopher debate team has advanced at this tournament since the 1981. The U was one of only eight universities (Emory Harvard, Michigan, Minnesota, North Texas, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Wake Forest) to advance two teams.

Assistant Professor Jane Gingirch Wins Award

2013-04-22T14:02:14Z

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Jane Gingrich, has just been honored with the 2013 Council of Graduate Students Outstanding Faculty Award. The COGS Award was created four years ago to recognize faculty who "do an outstanding job working with, advocating for, and advising graduate students." This award is wonderful testimony to the great impact Jane has on the political science graduate program and the excellent guidance she provides for political science graduate students.

Professor Lavine's New Book Wins Award

2013-04-17T15:05:43Z

Please join the Political Science Department in congratulating Professor Howard Lavine on winning the David O. Sears Award from the International Society of Political Psychology for the best book on the political psychology of mass behavior. His book, The Ambivalent Partisan, offers a novel approach to the two overarching questions that have dominated the study of mass political behavior over the past half century: How do ordinary citizens form their political judgments, and how good are those judgments from a normative perspective? Taking aim at decades of received wisdom, the central claim of this book is that high-quality political judgment hinges less on citizens' cognitive ability than on their willingness to temporarily suspend partisan habits and follow the "evidence" wherever it leads. The award will be presented at the annual meetings of ISPP at Herzliya, Israel, in July, 2013.

Professor August Nimtz to Discuss New Book

2013-04-02T13:54:26Z

On Thursday, April 4th at 4pm, Professor of Political Science and African American and African Studies August Nimtz will be discussing the new book he co-edited, Race in Cuba: Essays on the Revolution and Racial Inequality, at the University of Minnesota Bookstore at Coffman Union. The book is written by one of Cuba's most prominent Afro-Cuban intellectuals and an active participant in the Cuban Revolutionary process for the last fifty years, Esteban Morales Dominquez. Presented as a collection of essays, Race in Cuba describes the problem of racial inequality in Cuba, provides evidence of its existence, constructively criticizes efforts by the Cuban political leadership to end discrimination, and points to a possible way forward. This work calls for conscious social science research and special policy attention to renovate and advance Cuban socialism as a full participatory democratic project with equitable development for all citizens. Professor Nimtz will sign copies of the book following the discussion. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, or to order a signed copy visit www.bookstore.umn.edu/genref/authors.html.

Political Science Undergrad Wins National Scholarship

2013-03-29T18:25:41Z

The prestigious Udall Scholarship is a congressionally funded scholarship that honors exceptional students who are committed to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy or Native American health care. Udall Scholars receive up to $5000 for their undergraduate education and participate in Udall Foundation-sponsored leadership and networking activities. Marissa plans to work in environmental policy with a focus on reducing the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on low-income and minority communities. She has interned in Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz's office where she developed highly successful workshops for constituents on how to apply for federal grants. She has been active in the Campus Beyond Coal initiative and recently testified, alongside President Eric Kaler, at Minnesota Senate and House hearings on the need for funds to renovate the university's power plant so that it can better support renewable energy. Marissa is a co-founder of the Minnesota Youth Environmental Network and directs the Minnesota Student Association's Committee on University Policies and Student Concerns.
"I'm incredibly honored to be named a Udall scholar," said Kramer. "I plan to study abroad this coming fall in Hungary to see what European countries spend on environmental protection and how they protect citizens from environmental degradation, and this Udall scholarship will allow me to take this project even further."

U of MN Ph.D. Named Canada Research Chair

2013-03-20T13:36:11Z

Professor Sheryl Lightfoot of British Columbia University was recently named a Canada Research Chair, one of the most distinguished awards given to distinguished Professors at Canadian Universities. Professor Lightfoot was a 2009 graduate of the Ph.D. program in Political Science at the University of Minnesota. Professor Lightfoot's research program features four interconnected projects which will shed light on how Indigenous political actors are negotiating rights claims with and within individual states and navigating the international system itself. Find more information here.

Professor Joan Tronto: Scholar of the College

2013-02-19T19:37:01Z

The Department of Political Science is excited to announce that Professor Joan Tronto has been honored as a Scholar of the College for 2013. Professor Tronto is being recognized for her scholarship in political theory. Within that field she is perhaps the world's most respected political theorist of the politics and ethic of care. Caring Democracy: Markets, Equality, and Justice, Professor Tronto's most recent work, has been described as a "paradigm-shifting book." In addition to her immense accomplishments in research and publishing, Professor Tronto maintains a robust teaching load and is a favorite of both undergraduate and graduate students. Please join our department in congratulating Professor Tronto for becoming a Scholar of the College.

Judges, Lawyers, & Law School

2013-02-01T16:42:26Z

The Political Science Department is hosting three events in February on judges, lawyers, and law school. On Thursday, February 14th from 3:30-5pm Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras will give a talk on the Minnesota Supreme Court and the legal system. On Monday, February 18th from 3:30-5pm there will be a panel discussion of practicing lawyers who graduated from the University of Minnesota, William Mitchell, and Harvard. Finally, on Thursday, February 28th from 4-5pm a panel of first, second, and third year law students will have a discussion and answer questions on attending law school. All events will be in the West Bank Auditorium, Room 20. If you have any questions please contact the Department of Political Science's Undergraduate Advisor Rose Miskowiec at 612-624-8517 or r-misk@umn.edu.

Ogi Zugic Wins Swedish Award

2012-12-03T21:43:03Z

Political science major, Ognjen Zugic, is the winner of Challenge Your Perspectives, a Swedish scholarship competition open to U.S. university graduates. Nine highly qualified students gathered at the Swedish Embassy in Washington for the Challenge Your Perspectives finals and awards ceremony. The winner of Stockholm University's scholarship for a master's in political science, Ognjen Zugic, and the other finalists met with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and the 2012 US Nobel laureates. In cooperation with the Swedish Institute, three Swedish universities - Stockholm University, Lund University and Uppsala University - offer full scholarships for three popular English-taught Master's programs. Ognjen was selected from a pool of hundreds of U.S. graduates to receive the scholarship for Stockholm University's International Master's Programme in Political Science.

International Human Rights Treaties

2012-08-09T13:44:11Z

International law is often framed in terms of human rights. Yet if one follows global news, one might ask: Does the project of human rights law actually make things worse? For the last two years Political Science graduate student Geoff Dancy has conducted research on human rights, and he's struggled to rigorously quantify the information. Dancy says international human rights treaties in states increase the information that we have on abusive practices. And that actually makes it seem as if things are getting worse. In fact, he says, such treaties destabilize repressive autocratic regimes, strengthen new democracies, and help temper the extremity of violence in civil wars. For more information, read "Why speak of human rights?"

Student Wins Icelandic Scholarship

2012-07-13T16:14:49Z

Political science major, Damien Schuster, is a recipient of the Val Björnson Iceland Scholarship Exchange. This full scholarship offers undergraduates the chance to study in the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik. Congratulations, Damien, on winning this prestigious scholarship award!

Kathryn Sikkink Receives Robert F. Kennedy Book Award

2012-05-11T19:55:15Z

Kathryn Sikkink, University of Minnesota Regents Professor and Human Rights Program Advisory Board Chair, has been named winner of the 2012 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions Changed World Politics.

Offered by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, the award recognizes a book which "most faithfully and forcefully reflects Robert Kennedy's purposes - his concern for the poor and the powerless, his struggle for honest and even-handed justice, his conviction that a decent society must assure all young people a fair chance, and his faith that a free democracy can act to remedy disparities of power and opportunity."

Having chosen Sikkink's book top among more than 90 nominations, Selection Panel Chair John Seigenthaler said, "Sikkink...has provided readers with compelling evidence that the cause of human rights finally is taking hold in the international community. She documents a trend clearly demonstrating that tyrannical dictators who, in the past, murdered, brutalized, and imprisoned citizen-dissidents and political opponents with impunity, now more frequently face criminal prosecutions and punishment. The result: Justice, once routinely vagrant and still often delayed now finds both traction and viability."

Professor Sikkink is slated to receive the award from Ethel Kennedy at a ceremony on Thursday, May 24, at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC.

We celebrate with Kathryn as she joins the ranks of previous award winners and distinguished authors, Vice President Al Gore, Congressman John Lewis, Taylor Branch, Toni Morrison, Jonathon Kozol, and Michael Lewis.