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Halloween Candy: A "Rich, Dark" History, Kim Hill
Halloween Candy: A "Rich, Dark" History, Kim Hill
News and Events
No abstract provided.
Political Science Alumni Panel, Tia Patsavas
Climate Geoengineering And Iwu's Ethics Bowl, Jake K. Bates
Climate Geoengineering And Iwu's Ethics Bowl, Jake K. Bates
The Intellectual Standard
In its sophomore season of competition, Illinois Wesleyan's Ethics Bowl team qualified for the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl hosted in San Antonio, Texas on February 28. In spite of technical difficulties and flight delays, the team returned to campus having won the first annual Spirit of the Ethics Bowl award, an honor recognizing sportsmanship which was voted on by opposing teams. Ethics bowl competition centers around a set of cases featuring ethical dilemmas and quandaries published by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. It is structured so that a presenting team has ten minutes to answer a question regarding anyone …
Lessons In Injustice: Privilege Walks, Karen Silverman
Lessons In Injustice: Privilege Walks, Karen Silverman
The Intellectual Standard
If you are a white male take one step forward. If your parents did not grow up in the United States take a step back. If you were born in the United States take a step forward. These are some of the questions one might hear at a Privilege Walk, which is an activity held at many universities in order to "provide participants with an opportunity to understand the intricacies of privilege" (Young, 2006). Questions such as these are asked to participating students who stand shoulder to shoulder in a straight line. Students take steps forward when their answers to …
In Defense Of Technology, Mike Kelly
In Defense Of Technology, Mike Kelly
The Intellectual Standard
During the Middle Ages, i.e. the "Dark" Ages, man's worldview was largely dominated by mysticism, irrationality, and collectivism. The universe was widely perceived as epistemologically unknowable and metaphysically malevolent, dooming man to suffering and tragedy. Given the widespread political and social instability, as well as the ravages of unstoppable plagues and warmongering nations, such conclusions were not totally unreasonable. The Enlightenment and its corollary, the Scientific Revolution, delivered western civilization from the Dark Ages into an age of reason, science, and individualism. What was once perceived as unknowable, uncertain, and malevolent, became knowable, certain, and benevolent. The universe became a …
A Step Toward Understanding Trust In The Government, Ted Delicath '13
A Step Toward Understanding Trust In The Government, Ted Delicath '13
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
Over the last fifty years, trust in government has declined. This paper seeks to further the understanding of trust in government. Using ordinal level survey data from 1998-2012, a crosstabular analysis is used to test governmental trust with broad and specific policy areas. This research challenges part ofPopkin and Dimock’s (2000) research, which asserts that citizens use trust as a heuristic for both broad and specific questions about the government. The empirical findings suggest that citizens distrust the government broadly but trust a wide range of programs implemented by the very government they distrust.
Promoting Democracy In Ethnically Divided Societies: The Benefits Of Combining Partition And Power-Sharing, Abigail Carter '13
Promoting Democracy In Ethnically Divided Societies: The Benefits Of Combining Partition And Power-Sharing, Abigail Carter '13
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
Recent conflict resolutions have attempted to explain the best route ofresolving ethnic conflicts within divided societies. This research attempts to engage in the recent debate surrounding conflict resolution which highlights the effects of partition and power-sharing programs upon democratic consolidation. By using a focused-structured comparison of three cases, partition is found to be insufficient in attaining democracy. A combination of partition and power-sharing leads to more democratic consolidation within divided societies. Further, a society which is affluent and gender equal, neighbors other liberal democracies, and fully develops power-sharing institutions will enjoy significant advantages in securing stable and lasting democratic outcomes.
It's My Party And I'Ll Institutionalize If I Want To: Party System Institutionalization In Young Democracies, Zoe Gross '13
It's My Party And I'Ll Institutionalize If I Want To: Party System Institutionalization In Young Democracies, Zoe Gross '13
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
Scholars today mostly agree that party system institutionalization (PSI) is a key ingredient in the transition to a functioning democracy. The question of whether PSI matters is more or less resolved. What is less clear is a general theory of what can help new democracies reach a high level of PSI. The aim of this research is to discover the pre-conditions and elite choices that enhance the level of PSI in new democracies. This research uses two Most Different System designs to explore the results of ten hypotheses that test the relationship between the level of PSI and an array …
Bubble Pop: An Analysis Of Asian Pop Culture And Soft Power Potential, Nick Desideri '13
Bubble Pop: An Analysis Of Asian Pop Culture And Soft Power Potential, Nick Desideri '13
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
Despite scholarly work on Northeast Asia’s growing economic influence, few authors have adequately addressed the region’s increasing cultural clout as well. This paper aims to address this cultural impact in a specific diplomatic context in regards to the South Korea and Japan, and whether their respective pop cultures can be viewed as a source of soft power. An analysis of various academic works and media stories concludes that 1) neither country has been able to turn their soft power resources into actual political leverage, though 2) Japan’s mishandling of its national branding puts South Korea in a much more advantageous …
Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong '13
Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong '13
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
Most theories ofnationalism focus on majority nationalism and do not provide an adequate explanation of the inaction of most ethnic minorities. This paper adopts the political process model from social movement theory to study the factors that prompt linguistic minorities to mobilization on ethno-national grounds. Using a large-N statistical model with data drawn from the Minority at Risk database, the results indicate that the higher capacity, the more opportunity for action, and the better the issue is framed, the more likely linguistic minorities would mobilize.
Power And Fear: Explaining The Authoritarian Personality, Ryan Winter '13
Power And Fear: Explaining The Authoritarian Personality, Ryan Winter '13
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
As the ghost of Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And also me.” Truer words were never spoken. Actually, these words were never spoken, but were lifted from an article in The Onion, in which the deceased Roosevelt advises Americans to lay aside all other fears and come together in mutual terror of his haunting specter. Sadly, many Americans pay no heed to this sage advice, and continue to be scared stiff by gays, foreigners, taxes, global climate change, and anything else that threatens to interrupt the flow of their life. Bob …
Authors' Biographies
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
No abstract provided.
Editors' Introduction, Zoe Gross '13, Yelei Kong '13
Editors' Introduction, Zoe Gross '13, Yelei Kong '13
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
No abstract provided.
Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone
Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
No abstract provided.
Table Of Contents
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
No abstract provided.
Res Publica Xviii
Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research
Complete copy of the 2013 volume of Res Publica.
Four Named To Endowed Professorships, Kim Hill
Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong
Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong
Honors Projects
Most theories of nationalism focus on majority nationalism and do not provide an adequate explanation of the inaction of most ethnic minorities. The first part of this paper adopts the political process model from social movement theory to study the factors that prompt linguistic minorities to mobilize on ethno-national grounds. Using a large-N statistical model with data drawn from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) database, the results indicate that group capacity, a favorable opportunity structure, and strong issue framing facilitate ethno-national mobilization. The second part of the paper employs a most similar system design to compare Uzbek language minorities in …
Carlson '15 To Study At Oxford, Kim Hill
The Scorpion And The Frog: A False Narrative Of Human Nature, Karen Silverman, Jaret Kanarek
The Scorpion And The Frog: A False Narrative Of Human Nature, Karen Silverman, Jaret Kanarek
The Intellectual Standard
The Scorpion and the Frog is an age-old fable, having taken various forms over the past centuries.1 In the story, a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is hesitant to agree because the scorpion might sting him on the trip. The scorpion assures the frog that he would not do that because it would cause himself to drown. The frog agrees, yet midway through the trip, the scorpion stings the frog anyway. When the frog asks the scorpion why, he replies that it is in his nature.
Beyond Fear And Loathing: Tea Party Organizers' Continuum Of Knowledge In A Racialized Social System, Meghan Burke
Beyond Fear And Loathing: Tea Party Organizers' Continuum Of Knowledge In A Racialized Social System, Meghan Burke
Scholarship
Making use of fieldwork and 25 open-ended interviews with Tea Party organizers in the state of Illinois, I argue that Tea Party organizers draw from a continuum of knowledge, combining personal knowledge and experience with a conservative corporate media and Tea Party network frame. I draw upon the work of Weber to show how this continuum connects to various types of rational social action. Widening this scope of analysis allows not only for a more complex analysis of how corporate interests are connected to the grass roots movement, but also how the core frames of the movement are located throughout …
Critiquing Cultural Relativism, Jaret Kanarek
Critiquing Cultural Relativism, Jaret Kanarek
The Intellectual Standard
Cultural relativism is the ever-popular theory claiming that, “any set of customs and institutions, or way of life, is as valid as any other” (Hartung,1954). In its appeal to tolerance—the seemingly incontrovertible “virtue” of the modern era—it has gained wide appeal amongst myriad disciplines, most notably in the social sciences (UNESCO, 1995). However, the theory is destructive in both theory and practice. In theory, cultural relativism emphatically denies reason and objective reality (Zechenter, 1997). In practice, it sanctions the worst manifestations of violence and oppression.