Political Science Commons^™

This American Suburb: Fossil Fuels, Personal Misconceptions, And Loss Of Community, Stephan Mirando

Global Studies Student Scholarship

How did we come to live this way? The modern suburb has become synonymous with the American dream and yet its inception is still rather new. This work examines the creation of this way of life thanks to the ready availability of cheap fuels and questionable modes of thinking. In light of the energy crisis these vast expanses of homes may not be able to sustain themselves after the peak consumption of oil. In light of this possibility, the author questions what these people will be missing since the sense of community has all but been lost in these areas …

The Ngo Sector In Community Development: Emerging Roles, Strategies And Identities, Victoria Neff

Global Studies Student Scholarship

This community engaged thesis will articulate some of the identities, patterns, and dominant practices of NGOs related to community development in the hope of uncovering emerging trends. The literature review of this thesis will have a slight focus on NGO’s working in direct conjunction with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, it will manifest the promise of social capital as necessary to an organization’s success. Civic participation remains critical in enabling an NGO to be politically active, to continue building networks, and instilling positive social attitudes. After expounding on these issues, this thesis will then propose a solution- …

Commemoration In 2009

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Readers may be interested to know that the new issue of China Heritage Quarterlyis out, and it examines the issue of commemoration (a relevant issue at the moment as, having just passed one sensitive set of dates, we are now into the spring–months strewn with anniversaries). As Editor Geremie Barmé writes in theMarch issue’s editorial:

The year 2009 also marks other significant anniversaries. Some of these will be commemorated with due pomp and circumstance in the official media and dissected at length by learned gatherings. Others—those events best thought of as ‘dark anniversaries’—will pass by in an atmosphere of heightened …

A Reader On Tibet

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Tibet has been much in the news the past few weeks, as China attempted to divert attention from the anniversary of last year’s riots and protests and reports leaked out of arrests and crackdowns in Tibet. Here are a few of the pieces from this week that we recommend.

In the current issue of The New York Review of Books, Pico Iyer writes about the Dalai Lama’s sinking faith in the Chinese leadership’s desire to resolve the situation in Tibet. Iyer points to the current situation in Tibet as the reason why—the title of his piece is “A Hell on …

China’S Way Forward?, Mark Selden

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

2008—Annus Horribilis for the world economy—produced successive food, energy and financial crises, initially devastating particularly the global poor, but quickly extending to the commanding heights of the US and core economies and ushering in the sharpest downturn since the 1930s depression.

As all nations strive to respond to the financial gridlock that began in the United States and quickly sent world industrial production and trade plummeting, there has been much discussion of the ability of the high-flying Chinese economy to weather the storm, of the prospects for the intertwined US and Chinese economies, even of the potential for China to …

The Dalai Lama And The Nobel Prize: Correcting A Misunderstanding, A. Tom Grunfeld

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As many readers of this blog doubtless realize, everything having to do with Tibet is subject to mythologizing. That the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of Tibetan independence is one of these myths. This notion gets mentioned in the Western press routinely, and it sometimes even shows up in comments by academic specialists. In fact, the prize was awarded to him more because of the events in Tiananmen Square that had happened just a few months before the award than for anything related to the Tibet struggle per se.

Indeed, it appears …

Interview With Basil Clunie, Juston Ori

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 73 minutes

Oral history interview of Basil Clunie by Juston Ori

Basil Clunie recalls growing up in New York, attending cricket games, and following the Dodgers baseball team, especially Jackie Robinson. Education was an important part of his family, as his parents came to New York to for education, with his mother earning a degree in math and his father a pharmacy degree. He mentions describes about the organizations he worked with during his time in the anti-apartheid movement and recalls the sparked his activism in 1961. He discusses the 1964 race riots in Harlem, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, …

Interview With Carol Thompson, Marcia Monaco

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 91 minutes

Oral history interview of Carol Thompson by Marcia Monaco

In this interview, Carol Thompson recalls her involvement and work in the anti-apartheid movement. She explains that her awareness of the anti-Apartheid movement began while at Northern Illinois University, but she first became involved after she moved to Chicago, when she met South African author, Donald Woods, which led to her involvement in the Dennis Brutus’ defense committee. She recalls that she initially worked with Clergy and Laity Concerned and later, alongside Prexy Nesbitt, became a founding member of CIDSA, which was committed to passing legislation in Chicago …

Obama To Visit China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

After meeting today with Hu Jintao in advance of the G20 in London, Obama accepted an invitation to visit China later this year:

The leaders agreed to “strengthen ties at all levels” ranging from the economy to fighting terrorism, and would expand consultations on “non-proliferation and other international security topics,” the White House said.

“The two sides agreed to resume the human rights dialogue as soon as possible,” the statement said.

In January and February, China Beat ran a series of reading (and sometimes viewing) recommendations for the new president. [See installments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.] Now …

John W. Dean Iii And The Watergate Cover-Up, Revisited, Luke A. Nichter

Presidential Studies Faculty Articles and Research

"At the heart of the latest installment of a decade-old debate is the work most often cited on the Watergate portion of the Nixon tapes, Kutler's Abuse of Power. Working in the pre-digital era with difficult analog cassette audiotapes, Kutler set the standard for Nixon tape transcription. His permanent loss of hearing is the price he paid so that generations could leam from his groundbreaking work. Numerous critics have raised objections - not all of them legitimate - to Abuse of Power and to Kutler's earlier book TheWars of Watergate, bu Klingman's article, which was submitted for publication …

New Quiz Winner

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Several weeks ago, we announced a brand new quiz for readers to name “The Prettiest” (photo of China), “The Wittiest” (title of a China-related piece of writing), and “The Grittiest” (best muckraking journalist to work the China beat). The award: A copy of China in 2008, signed by as many authors as we could get hold of (which, as one of us went to AAS, turned out to be a lot).

Our winner is Charles Hayford who, in typically fine style, gave us not just answers but a lot of good solid prose to back it up (and added three …

Getting Off The Victim's Back: A Critical Look At Modern Liberalism, Joe Drexler-Dreis

XULAneXUS

In this paper, I investigate modern liberalism by using radical expressions of protest against the position of blacks in American society as a paradigm. As examples of radical protest, I primarily use Nat Turner‟s vision, but also incorporate the ideas of John Brown, Malcolm X, and Black Power, while I use the modern civil rights movement as an example of modern liberalism. Using these examples, I make the argument that unlike modern liberalism, which justifies an oppressive global political and economic system, radical protest movements epitomized by Nat Turner‟s revolt refused to settle for material concessions at the expense of …

Interview With Michael Elliott, Brian Gibson

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 56 minutes

Oral history interview of Mike Siviwe Elliott by Brian Gibson.

Mr. Elliott begins by recounting his childhood in Detroit, raised in a working-class union neighborhood on the west side of the city. He talks about his early challenges in school, attending an alternative school where he received his GED, then attending Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan where he studied political science for three years. He explains how he first became involved in activism, working for the Black Panthers when he was young and serving as chair of the Association of Black Students in college. He recalls how …

Interview With Anne Evens, Beth Thenhaus

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 84 minutes

Oral history interview of Anne Evens by Beth Thenhaus

Ms. Evens begins by recalling her childhood memories, growing up in Evanston with two academic parents. She began her work in activism during high school, demonstrating for stricter gun control laws and against racism. She explains how she first learned about Apartheid South Africa as she learned about the struggle of Palestinian people in Israel and the economic ties between the two countries. She explains how she became involved in anti-Apartheid efforts on her first day of college when she was introduced to the South African Divestment Coalition, …

Interview With Prexy Nesbitt, Erin Mccarthy

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 350 minutes

Oral history interview of Rozell 'Prexy' Nesbitt by Erin McCarthy, PhD in 2009. Transcript created by Katherine Philipson, summer 2017

Prexy Nesbitt recounts his childhood in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, living in the family-owned apartment building with eleven flats and multi-racial family and friends. He speaks about his education at Francis Parker school and his first trip to African while a student at Antioch in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he began his anti-apartheid work in the early 1960s,He recalls his years of activism with governments, organizations, and political groups, including the the six liberation …

The Samurai's Rebirth - Japan's Increasing "Offensive" Security Capabilities, Patrick Bright

Political Science Theses and Capstones

This thesis studies the increasing "offensive" nature of Japanese security capabilities in nation which has major restrictions on military capability. There are regional tensions in East Asia that have the potential to escalate to armed conflict. Other countries in the region have increased their levels of armament but how has Japan reacted? I look at three major acquisitions by Japan that have created controversy, then examine the role public opinion has towards issues of defense, including external and domestic considerations. Two major data sets on public opinion, the Global Attitudes Project and the Asia Barometer, are used. I find that …

Volume 02, Joseph A. Mann, Kathryn J. Greenly, Scott E. Jenkins, Andrew E. Puckette, Daniel M. Honey, Jeffery P. Ravenhorst, Jamie Elizabeth Mesrobian, Thomas Scott, Jay Crowell, Sarah Spangenberg, Amy S. Eason, Kenny Wolfe, Liz Hale, Rachel Bouchard, Will Semonco, Carley York, Ryan Higgenbothom, Adrienne Heinbaugh, Melissa Dorton, Madeline Hunter, June Ashmore, Clark Barkley, Jay Haley

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross

Mike's Nite: New Jazz for an Old Instrument by Joseph A. Mann

Investigation of the use of Cucumis Sativus for Remediation Of Chromium from Contaminated Environmental Matrices: An Interdisciplinary Instrumental Analysis Project by Kathryn J. Greenly, Scott E. Jenkins, and Andrew E. Puckette

Development of GC-MS and Chemometric Methods for the Analysis of Accelerants in Arson Cases by Scott Jenkins

Building and Measuring Scalable Computing Systems by Daniel M. Honey and Jeffery P. Ravenhorst

Nomini Hall: A Case Study in the Use of Archival Resources as Guides for Excavation at An Archaeological Site by …

A Man Bites Dog Story: Picky Academic Praises Journalist

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Well, I don’t think I’m actually quite as bad when it comes to giving reporters their due as the title I’ve selected for this post suggests, as I have recently gone on record praising a variety of journalists based in China. Still, the ones I typically say the best things about are people who have a long-term commitment to the country (though I’ve been critical of some of these, of course), while the ones I most often pick on for things like missing important aspects of a story or failing to go to the best possible specialists for quotes are …

Five Quirky Blogs To Check Out

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A few blogs we’ve stumbled across in recent weeks that, depending on your interests, may merit your further attention:

1. “China Book Reviews” runs (as you might expect) reviews of an unusual selection of China books, including a few we’ve mentioned or reviewed ourselves, like Jeff Wasserstrom’s Brave New World and Mobo Gao’s The Battle for China’s Past (which Kate Merkel-Hess reviewed for TLS last spring).

2. Anna Greenspan wrote a piece for China in 2008 about the tainted milk scandal in China last fall. Now she is keeping her own blog about her experiment with placing her three-year old …

Living The Game: Wow-China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Last fall, we ran an interview with UCI Professor of Informatics Bonnie Nardi, who was conducting research on the different ways World of Warcraft (an MMO-RPG, Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) was used in China and the US.

Recently, a reader drew our attention to interesting images where Chinese players envisioned themselves in the game (often quite playfully). In honor of Chinese New Year (a game players celebrate in-game as “Lunar Festival”), WoW-China invited players to submit photos of themselves “blending their Lunar New Year celebration with their enthusiasm for World of Warcraft.” The contest received more than eight thousand …

Aas Blogging

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Jeff Wasserstrom (3/28/09, 7:41 a.m.):

This is, of course, the first AAS meeting at which a book associated with the China Beat has been displayed. And nicely displayed it definitely is, as the accompanying photo illustrates (and note that it is shown in the company of books like Voices Carry, China Ink and The Subject of Gender, which have been discussed on our site before). More than that, though, this is also a conference that, overall, has some features that run in tandem with some of the goals of China Beat. For example, just as we’ve tried to encourage more …

Conference Report: Asia And The Environment, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I began reading Pallavi Aiyar’s Smoke and Mirrors on my flight to Philadelphia last week to get me into a China-India frame of mind before I attended the “Asia and the Environment” conference held at Saint Joseph’s University on March 20-21. Although Friday’s sessions (which I unfortunately missed) were devoted to India, and Saturday’s topic was China, the goal of the conference organizers was to encourage some comparative discussion of the environmental problems—and possible solutions—shared by the two countries. Readers interested in specific presentations should watch the above SJU website, where podcasts of the talks will be available in the …

Blogging Aas

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

From Paul Katz (3/28/09, 2:27 p.m.):

Saturday morning was a disaster, or at least full of fascinating panels about disaster and resulting relief efforts. Panel #139, alluded to by Kate Edgerton-Tarpley in her earlier post, explored the sociocultural impacts of the Great Leap Famine. Relevant research has also been done by Steve A. Smith in his “Talking Toads and Chinless Ghosts” article, published in The American Historical Review in 2006, and he has also written on this topic for the China Beat. There was also Panel #167, organized largely by a group of German scholars, which builds on the pioneering …

Economic Development In Cold War South Carolina, R. Phillip Stone Ii

Faculty Scholarship

Argues that South Carolina did not benefit from Cold War-influenced economic development because of the lack of industry in the state and the lack of skilled workers. South Carolina's focus on low-wage, low-value added production continued well into the modern era.

Blogging The Aas

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The Association for Asian Studies annual meeting is taking place this weekend in Chicago. We’ll be posting occasional updates from China Beatniks who are attending the meeting and will be checking in about the sessions and meetings they’ve participated in. Below, our first two postings from the meeting.

From Jeff Wasserstrom (3/26/09, 11:53 a.m.):

As Editor of the Journal of Asian Studies, I needed to be on site a couple of days before the Association for Asian Studies panels and other main events begin, and I have been struck since arriving by how many things I’ve seen inside or near …

From The Aas

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

From Kate Edgerton-Tarpley (3/27/09, 4:03 p.m.):

Attending Panel 44, “Visualizing Order: Images and the Construction of Legal Culture in Ming and Qing China” inspired me to continue Paul Katz’s discussion of religion — as well as law and ritual — for a moment. Both Katz’s paper on representations of underworld justice in late imperial China and Yanhong Wu’s paper on legal order in Ming case stories and illustrations provided fascinating examples of ghosts, spirits, birds, and leaves entering courtrooms to either exonerate an innocent person or condemn a guilty one. Katz argued that Underworld justice was seen as less corrupt …

Coming Distraction: Shanghai Girls

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Lisa See has written seven books set in China–including novels like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, mysteries like Flower Net, and an account of her family’s immigration from China to the U.S., On Gold Mountain. Her most recent book,Shanghai Girls, will be released on May 26, 2009.

Kate Merkel-Hess: Your forthcoming book, Shanghai Girls, will be released in May. What is the book about? What inspired the novel’s subject?

Lisa See: Shanghai Girls is about two sisters who leave Shanghai in 1937 and come to Los Angeles in arranged marriages. Four things inspired me. First, I’ve been collecting Shanghai …

Huiyuan（汇源): My “Nationalistic” Juice, Yu Zhou

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

On March 18, 2009, the Chinese Commerce Ministry rejected Coca-Cola’s proposal to take over Huiyuan, the top juice maker in China. This deal was a closely watched one as an early test of China’s newly instated anti-monopoly law. The veto was greeted with dismay in the major western media and widely interpreted as a new signal of Chinese protectionism. The article in the Times and the editorial by Financial Times suggested that the Chinese government made decisions based on nationalistic considerations, rather than any sound economic or legal rationale. The rejection is thought to have far-reaching ramifications for foreign investment …

On Contemporary China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

(In 75 minutes)

It’s no small task to sum up the work of 53 separate authors but I gave it a go last Friday at the Virginia Festival of the Book when I spoke about China in 2008. I shared the stage (and live C-Span connection) with Susan Brownell (who gave a fascinating presentation on the Beijing Olympics and Olympic education in the Chinese schools) and our moderator, UVA professor of politics Brantly Womack. The session turned into a lively discussion with the audience of about 45 about how we can find ways to more accurately represent (and then hopefully …

Coming Distractions: China Events At The 2009 Aas Meeting

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

USC’s very useful US-China Institute website, which helps us keep up with relevant events taking place in Southern California and other places as well, has ahelpful guide to the upcoming Association for Asian Studies meetings, which will be held in Chicago March 26-29. Even if you won’t be anywhere close to Chicago on the relevant dates, scrolling through this list of China-related panels can be an effective form of one-stop shopping for those interested in getting a quick sense of the sorts of things that academics (mostly North American, but the meetings pull in participants from other parts of the …