Political Science Commons^™

Every Child Left Behind, Sam Bremen

Whittier Scholars Program

This project provides historical context of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) which focuses on primarily literary and mathematical classes. This study will demonstrate how a traditional education curriculum through the thinking processes and projects required of the arts can foster creative thinking for preschool aged children. This study discusses the importance and impact creative classes have and also includes a lesson plan revolving around different subjects while using creative applications. This project also includes a personal journal detailing experience and goals with educating. At the end of the project are various chapters of literature supporting the arts as …

Growing Up Han: Reflections On A Xinjiang Childhood, Timothy B. Weston

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The US media rarely covers the regular people who are living in the areas of China with large ethnic minorities. In chatting with a Han Chinese student (Han Chinese are by far the largest ethnic group in China) at the University of Colorado named Leong, I was struck by his nuanced perspective on his experiences growing up in Xinjiang, a province in western China with large populations of Hui (ethnically Chinese Muslims), Uighers (Turkic Muslims), and other ethnic minorities. Given the recent discussions in the Western media—in light of the situation in Tibet—of Chinese policies toward ethnic minorities, I thought …

Follow The Bouncing Torch

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

It can become numbing to try to keep up with all the stories about the torch and keep track of where exactly it has been and is going next. Still, it remains fascinating to see how the response to it have varied from place to place. Plus there are some intriguing locales such as Pyongyang are on the horizon. Fortunately, for those who want a quick visual reminder of what’s happened so far, as well as a guide to where the flame is headed, there’s a handy interactive map in the Financial Times.

With a name like the FT’s, clever …

Five Sites For Lesson Plans And Teaching Materials On China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Many of us who write for China Beat are also teachers. There are multiple web resources that we use, recommend, and, in some cases, have even contributed to. If you teach about China, or are interested in learning more about how Chinese history is being taught in the United States, take a look at these innovative websites and programs.

1. Asia for Educators: Based at Columbia University, this website provides a variety of background information for educators on Asia history topics like the Song Dynasty, China and Europe comparisons, Chinese religion, and the Mongols. The website includes images, literature selections, …

National Geographic On China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The current issue of National Geographic focuses on China. The photos, in the magazine’s style, are stunning, but the magazine also features pieces by a noted batch of China writers, including two pieces by Peter Hessler (on migration and economic change), Leslie Chang (on the lives of the children of China’s growing middle class), Amy Tan (on village life and traditional singing in Dimen, Guizhou), Ted Fishman (on Beijing’s Olympic construction), and Brook Larmer (on Yellow River pollution). See more at the National Geographic website.

Vicente Fox's Inaugural Address: A Comparative Analysis Between The Generic Characteristics Of The United States And Mexico, David Tarvin

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by David Tarvin on April 1, 2008.

Meeting Agenda, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Agenda for April 22, 2008 meeting.

Seconds, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Seconds newsletter.

A Weekend Chockfull Of Interesting China Events, Jeff Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Seeking enlightenment on China’s increasing enmeshment in the wider world, trends in Chinese media, human right issues, Chinese films, or the complexities of defining the “Han” ethnicity? If you are, and you happen to be in New York City, Los Angeles, Stanford, or Irvine, California, between April 24 and 27 and have some time to kill, you are in luck. There’ll be an event going on that can answer your questions—or at least give you novel food for thought. And some will include presentations by people who’ve either posted to this blog in the past (yours truly, Tom Mullaney, and …

It’S Not Just 8/8/08: A Year Of Chinese Anniversaries, Kenneth Pomeranz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One thousand years ago (1008 C.E.) The Song Emperor, the goddess of Mt. Tai, and transformations of Chinese religion:

I’ve been waiting awhile to post another “round number anniversary” piece, figuring I’d let discussions of Tibet take precedence while it remains in the news – but it looks like that could be a long while. Meanwhile, choosing this anniversary may be a bit self-indulgent, since I’ve been writing about this goddess off and on for years – but bear with me.

The story starts when Song Zhenzong, the not-very-successful emperor (r. 998-1023), claimed that he had received a Heavenly Letter, …

More Tibet Reading

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

It has been a few weeks since we last posted an installment of recommended reading on the situation in Tibet and neighboring provinces. Here are a few of the interesting or informative things we’ve run across in that time:

1. Historian James Millward’s piece at openDemocracy on how China could right its worldwide public image is insightful–we urge you to read it.

2. A recent (often heated) discussion on the Asian history listserv, H-asia, centered around China’s historical role in Tibet–reflecting questions that have been important in the popular discussions of Tibet as well. For example, Tibet specialist Elliott Sperling …

Frivolous Friday: Remembering The Tokyo Olympics

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This video of the opening ceremony for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games (mislabelled as the winter Olympics at Youtube) seems like an example of how China would like this summer’s games to be remembered.

Branding Through The Romantic Rural

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The following ad for GE, featuring a short love story set in rural China, has been running in the United States. The ad’s soundtrack is the song “In Summer” by Cao Fang (you can hear the complete song here).

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 48, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. Articles:

• Siders, Neil. Student Government Association Bill Pushes for Free Music – Ruckus
• Coulter, Amber. No Horsing Around: Pre-Veterinary Students – Agriculture, Jenks Britt
• Day, Michelle. Students May Suffer from Federal Loan Cuts – Student Financial Aid
• Ryan, Eileen. Barak Obama Campaign Opens Local Office – Elections
• Powers, Mary. A Thousand Words – Ting Ting Zhao, Yu-Pin Cheng, Po-Chien Cheng, International Students
• Chester L. Davis, Former Professor Dies at 84
• Student Charged with Indecent Exposure – Marreon Allen
• Assault Reported in Cravens Library – Addison James, William Pape
• Rowell, …

Lust, Camera, Action: How Ang Lee’S Risqué Thriller Charts A Profitable New Course For Transnational Cinema, Matthew Johnson

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Was it real? While anticipation for the release of Lust, Caution built, one perennial question followed director Ang Lee’s most recent feature: were the sex acts performed by its two stars, Tony Leung and Tang Wei, simulated or full? The parties involved played coy. Lee himself spoke sparingly of the closed sets and skeleton film crew used to film these scenes. While he would later lament the ceaseless focus on his film’s erotic content, however, Lee could hardly be disappointed with the outcome. Lust, Caution reveled in its superstar cast, splashy publicity, and arresting imagery. Released in both edited and …

The Right To Learn Across The Tracks: An Analysis Of School Funding And Integration In Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago And Washington, D.C., Erin M. Pollard

Politics Honors Papers

Through examining the levels of integration in public and private schools across the United States, it is clear that the spirit of Brown v. Board of Education was never fulfilled. Students are still learning in an overwhelmingly homogeneous environment. Even in diverse neighborhoods there is a difference: the poor and minority children attend the public schools and the wealthy children attend private school. Thus, the urban public schools remain overwhelmingly minority, while private schools are overwhelmingly white. There is a clear discrepancy between black and white students in terms of size of school and quality of education.

To determine whether …

Meeting Minutes, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Meeting to discuss plus/minus grading, budget, email accounts, diplomas, recycling bins, election debates and legislation.

Meeting Agenda, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Agenda for April 15, 2008 meeting.

Seconds, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Seconds newsletter.

Report From The Road: Aas Meeting, 2008

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As our regular readers will have noticed, China Beat has been unusually quiet of late. This is mainly because we were out of range of the internet two weeks ago to attend the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (and in recovery from the conference hubbub the following week). The AAS is primarily composed of scholars but is also open to those in other fields who study and think about Asia; it has about 7,000 members, with a few thousand in attendance at this conference.

We took advantage of the largest gathering of China Beat contributors …

The Electoral College: Federalism And The Election Of The American President, Edwin C. Kisiel Iii

Senior Honors Theses

The system of the Electoral College for presidential elections should remain intact and not be replaced by national popular election. Looking back at the discourse during the ratification of the Constitution, the Framers of the Constitution chose to devise the Electoral College to ensure the president would be truly a statesman, not a politician. Additionally, the Framers recognized that the “one person, one vote” system of popular election would not be sufficient to elect the president. Furthermore, since the President is an officer of the states, the Framers created a federal electoral system whereby small states have disproportionate representation in …

Nuclear Technologies In The Great Basin Oral History Project, Danielle Endres

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Abstract:

The United States currently faces a nuclear waste crisis. According to a 2002 report by former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, “We have a staggering amount of radioactive waste in this country.”1 The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that by 2035 the U.S. will have approximately 115,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste, which exceeds the capacity of the proposed federal storage site at Yucca Mountain.2 Deciding where and how to store nuclear waste is a significant nuclear, environmental, and health policy issue. The decisions that we make about nuclear waste siting greatly impact the future of nuclear technologies …

Native American Forum On Nuclear Issues Presenter Biography, Steve Newcomb

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Biography

Tribes And Yucca Mountain: Native American Forum On Nuclear Issues, Fred Dilger

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Abstract:

-Yucca Mountain: Extensive history of social-cultural studies

-No interaction on transportation

-Unsuccessful effort began in 1993 and ended in 1995

-DOE tribal policy was a very good start

-Restarted again in 2004-DOE invites tribes to TEC meeting

-Shape future interaction between DOE and other Tribes

-Tribes identify themselves as affected by DOE differently than DOE defines affected tribes

Yucca Mountain- Could The End Be Near?, Steve Frishman

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Presentation & Biography

Native American Forum On Nuclear Issues Presenter Biography, Joe Kennedy

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Biography

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 46, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. Articles:

• Ulber, Emily. Western Wins ONE Campus Challenge – Poverty
• Siders, Neil. Elected Executives Plan Student Government Association Changes
• Wilson, Laurel. Mayoral Candidates Prepare for Primary – Brian Strow, Elaine Walker, Jerry Wells
• Morgan, Nathan. A Thousand Words – Zheng Wang, Tieda Sun, Tai Chi, International Students
• Hunton, Ryan. Gatton Academy of Math & Science Selects Students for Class of 2010
• Rowell, Larry. Family of Slain Boy to Gather at Justice Center – Eros Berisaj, Shootings, Protests
• Redmon, Austin. Barak Obama: A New Vision for America – Elections
• Erskine, …

Predictions And Timing In An Olympic Year

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Let’s pretend that, twelve months ago, someone had put me in a room with 20 or so other China specialists, handed us each four slips of paper, and asked us to write on each piece a story with a Chinese theme that we predicted would make headlines in 2008, the year when the Beijing Olympics will start on August 8. It’s quite possible that the following would have happened:

1) One or more of us would have written that a headline-grabbing protest would break out. And going into more detail, some of those who made that forecast would have added …

Transparent Politics Or Empty Legislation?, Connor Mcgee '08

Honors Projects

The Bipartisan Campaign Refonn Act (BCRA) was passed in 2003 as a way to clean up and make transparent the way in which congressional elections are funded. The legislation succeeded in banning soft money from the election process, however fell short of closing the gap between incumbents and challengers and clearing up the process. Using data from the Federal Election Commission this project analyzes the total receipts, contributions from parties and PACs, and, most importantly, the proportion of small donors for five traditionally Democratic districts, five traditionally Republican districts, and five districts that have been highly contested in recent elections. …

Meeting Minutes, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Meeting regarding plus/minus grading, elections, banquet, dormitory renovations and awards.