Natalie Robichaud ’14
Olivia DrakeJohn Finn, professor of government, is the author of Peopling the Constitution (Constitutional Thinking), published by the University Press of Kansas on Feb. 24. According to the University Press of Kansas, Peopling the Constitution outlines a very different view of the Constitution as a moral and philosophical statement about who we are as a nation. This "Civic Constitution" constitutes us as a civic body politic, transforming "the people" into a singular political entity. Juxtaposing this view with the legal model, the "Juridic Constitution," Finn offers a comprehensive account of the Civic Constitution as a public affirmation of the shared principles of…
Logan Dancey, assistant professor of government, is the co-author of "Heuristics Behaving Badly: Party Cues and Voter Knowledge," published in American Journal of Political Science 57 No. 2, 312-325, April 2013. Erika Franklin Fowler, assistant professor of government, is the co-author of "Political and News Media Factors Shaping Public Awareness of the HPV Vaccine," published in Women's Health Issues 23 No. 3, e143-e151, 2013. Giulio Gallarotti, professor of government, professor of environmental studies, tutor in the College of Social Studies, is the author of "The Enduring Importance of Hobbes in the Study of IR," published in e-International Relations, Jan. 10, 2013. Elvin Lim, associate professor of…
David LowMarc Eisner, the Henry Merritt Wriston Chair in Public Policy, professor of government, professor of environmental studies, is the author of The American Political Economy: Institutional Evolution of Market and State, published by Routledge in 2014. Policy debates are often grounded within the conceptual confines of a state-market dichotomy, as though the two existed in complete isolation. In this innovative text, Eisner portrays the state and the market as inextricably linked, exploring the variety of institutions subsumed by the market and the role that the state plays in creating the institutional foundations of economic activity. Through a historical approach, Eisner situates the study of…
Lauren RubensteinElvin Lim, associate professor of government, presented the following remarks during the "Senior Voices" baccalaureate address on May 25: As we gather today to commemorate the last four years of our seniors’ career at Wesleyan, perhaps some of you are feeling some trepidation about your futures outside of this ivory tower. So I have decided to direct my remarks today on the subject of contingency, and the human reaction to it, uncertainty, which is the source of all our hopes and fears. Plato had said that in order to understand the nature of justice, we must first observe its incarnations…
James McGuire, professor and chair of government, professor of Latin American studies, tutor in the College of Social Studies, recently had a book chapter and an article published. The chapter, titled, "Social Policies in Latin America: Causes, Characteristics, and Consequences," appeared in Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics, edited by Peter Kingstone and Deborah J. Yashar and published March 8 by Routledge. The chapter classifies the main social policies enacted in Latin America from 1920 through 2010, explores the effects of those policies on the well-being of the poor, and outlines some of the forces and circumstances that led to…
In an op-ed published Jan. 15 in The New York Times/ International Herald Tribune, Peter Rutland, Colin and Nancy Cambell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, professor of government and professor of Russian and Eastern European studies, contradicts the popular narrative that the current conflict in Mali is caused by militant Islam. Rather, he writes, “the core of the conflict is the nationalist secession movement of the Tuareg people — one that in recent months has been hijacked by Islamist radicals.” Rutland reminds readers: “In the Cold War, the West had a hard time separating out communism from nationalism. That failure…
John Finn, professor of government, recently finished recording a 12 lecture audio series on the First Amendment for “The Great Courses,” which offers college courses by engaging professors. Finn’s course on “The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know,” is a practical guide to understanding the protections and limitations implied by this fundamental constitutional provision. Finn, an internationally-recognized expert on constitutional law and theory, helps listeners grasp why we have a First Amendment, what and whom it protects, and why it matters. Finn is also an internationally-recognized expert on constitutional law and political violence. His public lectures include testimony…
On Nov. 11, The Hartford Courant published an op-ed by Assistant Professor of Government Logan Dancey about Republican Linda McMahon's second unsuccessful bid for Connecticut's U.S. Senate Seat, despite spending more than $40 million in her campaign against Democrat Chris Murphy. Dancey writes that McMahon’s loss is reflective of a larger, nationwide decline in split-ticket voting. That is, voters now are much more loyal to one party, and less likely to choose candidates for President and Congress that belong to different political parties.
Assistant Professor of Government Logan Dancey started teaching at Wesleyan this semester—the perfect time, he says, to be teaching a course on Campaigns and Elections. “The unfolding presidential and congressional elections continually give us new events to think about as we read and discuss broader theories about the importance and meaning of campaigns and elections,” Dancey says. And though Congress has mostly ground to a halt this election season—meaning a dearth of current events to discuss in his Congressional Policymaking class—the increasing polarization in Congress has led to many interesting and important discussions in that course nevertheless. Dancey describes the…
On Oct. 17, Peter Rutland, Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, professor of government, professor of Russian and Eastern European studies, had an op-ed published in The Moscow Times exploring whether the European Union deserves the recently awarded Nobel Peace Prize. "Europe is certainly a more peaceful place today than at any time in its past, but does the E.U. deserve all the credit for this? Defenders of the committee's decision argue that the E.U. has ended the centuries-old proclivity of European states to invade each other. It's true that most of Europe has enjoyed six decades…
Erika Franklin Fowler, assistant professor of government, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, will be a panelist at a roundtable discussion at Yale University on Monday, Oct. 29. The subject is China and the American Election. Fowler will be joined by James Fallows of The Atlantic, Stephen Roach of the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs and the Yale University School of Management, and Jeremy Wu of the Committee of 100, and former senior advisor to the U.S. Census Bureau. As China's rapid development, and Sino-American relations continue to be featured in the media during the current U.S. election season, the panelists will…