Political Science Commons^™

Prize Winning Essays - 2010, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

To promote The Season of Nonviolence, Citizens for Peace once again sponsored an essay contest for Michigan high school and college students. Their essays had to address the topic "Peaceful Relationships through Active Nonviolence." Each winner was given the opportunity to read their essay at The Season for Nonviolence celebration on April 13, 2010. Both high school and college awards were $250, $100, and $50 each for first, second and third place.

The Season for Nonviolence began in 1998 when it was inaugurated at the United Nations. It was co-founded by the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence and The Association …

A Tale Told By A President, Mark A. Graber

Faculty Scholarship

Part I of this essay makes the case for symbolic politics. Presidents often have political reasons for subjecting courts to mere words. Part II makes the case for constitutional hardball.

Bootstrapping A Terrorist Network, Kyle Christensen

Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Are They Ready For Their Close-Up? Civil Servants And Their Portrayal In Contemporary American Cinema, Michelle C. Pautz, Laura Roselle

Political Science Faculty Publications

Norma Desmond famously says in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd. (1950), “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup.”1 Since then, this phrase has been uttered countless times to ensure the camera does not start rolling until everyone is ready. But all are not afforded the opportunity to get ready and civil servants fall squarely into this category. We know that government bureaucrats are among those individuals that Americans love to hate and attacks on the civil service come from a plethora of sources.2 And because of the ability of film (as well as other narrative forms) to influence perceptions …

Multiplexing Racial And Ethnic Planes: Chinese American Politics In Globalized Immigrant Suburbs, James Lai

Ethnic Studies

Contemporary American suburbs offer critical insights into the multiple planes of racial and ethnic consciousness and community formations that shape new Chinese American political agendas. In a 2009 Amerasia Journal article entitled "A New Gateway: Asian American Political Power in the 21st Century," I examined the importance of location for understanding the ability of Asian American communities to attain and sustain elected representation. Like real estate, location matters in explaining the political question of "where" Asian Americans are winning elected representation in American politics. That article's thesis was that, rather than focusing solely on metropolitan gateways that had been central …

Celebrating Title Ix As God’S Good Gift, Melanie Springer Mock

Faculty Publications - Department of English

Excerpt: "This October, in Oregon’s chilly pre-dawn, I will line up with nearly 10,000 other runners for the start of the Portland Marathon. Over half of the participants will be women, reflecting a trend occurring nationwide: more and more women have taken up long-distance running, with entries for the marathon—the marquee event in running —across the country drawing almost as many women as men.

A little over forty years ago, Katherine Switzer faced a far different running landscape. Entering the lauded Boston Marathon under the name K.V. Switzer, she was famously tackled by race director Jock Semple four miles into …

Hardball, Paul Katz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This year’s holiday cheer has been dampened by a series of events that have shaken Taiwan’s sporting world – the abrupt release by the Sinon Bulls (興農牛) baseball team of All-Star catcher Yeh Chun-chang葉君璋, as well as the fishy circumstances surrounding his aborted attempt to resume his career with the Brother Elephants (兄弟象).

Reminder: China Beat At Aha

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A reminder that China Beat editors, contributors, and readers will be gathering for an informal get-together on Saturday, January 9 at the Marriott Starbucks at 7:30 a.m.

While We Were Away…

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The most distressing news from China over the holidays was the severe sentence (11 years in prison) handed to dissident Liu Xiaobo for his involvement in the writing and organization of Charter ’08 in December 2008. For those who are catching up on this story, a brief set of readings to bring you up to speed on the situation.

Upcoming Events

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A few upcoming events that we think will be of interest to China Beat readers:

The China Beat: Lost In Translation Edition

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. A trackback on Peter Hessler’s recent China Beat photo essay, “Behind the Wheel, About to Snap” led us to this Spanish-language review of his latest book,Country Driving. If you don’t read Spanish, there’s a button on the page that takes you to a Google translation of the review; while the translation hits a few potholes along the way, it’s a generally good rendition of a perceptive and well-written overview of Hessler’s book.

“An Oasis Of Peace And Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’S Fair China Pavilion, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

My grandfather took his job as family photographer seriously, and over the course of four decades he produced several huge boxes of slides that my mother has recently begun scanning and digitizing. Mixed in with the usual snapshots of weddings, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings are photos he took during a family trip to the 1964/’65 World’s Fair in New York.

Blogging Aas 2010 (4), Graham Sanders

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This panel attempted to think through a number of issues related to gossip and rumor in traditional China. Paola Zamperini of Amhest College presided over the affair in truly breathtaking Edwardian piratical style. Incisive comments were provided by Robert Hymes of Columbia University. Hymes asked the question of whether or not gossip was normative or subversive, suggesting that there was very little in any of the papers that could be taken as a subversive reading of gossip. Rather, gossip in each case tended to affirm or reaffirm normative social hierarchies and values.

What I Read On My Summer Vacation (Part Iii), Jeffrey Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I’ll get to books I actually read over the summer (or in one case, am part of the way through as I write), as opposed to simply ones I dipped into, learned about, wrote about, or thought about, in a minute. First, though, I want to mention briefly a trio of book-related summertime activities of mine that don’t quite fit into the format of this series.

201002 Obiter Dicta: Winter Break 2010, Steven Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

201023 Obiter Dicta: September Via Late August 2010, Steven Samson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Reading Round-Up: Google And China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Stories about Google’s announcement that it will no longer censor its Chinese search engine, and that the company is reevaluating its presence in China, have been showing up at a breakneck speed over the past two days. While we anticipate that much more will be written about this development, here are some of the pieces that have caught our attention so far:

Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing? The Book The Han Nationalists Love To Loath, James Leibold

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

What book could cause one Chinese netizen to “shiver with fear from head to toe” and others to suggest that the Han people might once again face genocide? Wolf Totem (狼图腾), the semi-autobiographical polemic of Han author Lü Jiamin 吕嘉民 (aka Jiang Rong 姜戎) and his confessional self-awakening about the beauty, strength and freedom of the Mongolian steppe and its lupine culture.

Penny For A Photo

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

“In the Tibetan town of Tagong, Western Sichuan, this local poses enthusiastically for my camera.

Aha Update: Conference On Asian History Luncheon

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A quick note to call your attention to a scheduling change at this week’s American Historical Association meeting in San Diego:

China Beat At Aha

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

For those attending the American Historical Association meeting in San Diego next week:

Mao Fever And The Story Of A Mao Book, Ross Terrill

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

No abstract provided.

As China Beat Heads Into Its Third Year…, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In January, we marked the end of our second year online. China Beat has changed a lot during that time, and will be changing more in the coming weeks and months as China Beat’s new editor, Maura Cunningham, takes the helm. It’s been my pleasure to have been founding editor of China Beat, and as I transition to a new role at the blog (I will now join the ranks of the blog’s consulting editors), I wanted to look back at how China Beat has developed since January 2008—for new readers and for readers who have been with us since …

A Seventh Take On Jacques, Harald Bockman

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Since Jeff Wasserstrom posted a round-up of reviews of Martin Jacques’ When China Rules the World, pieces that reference the book have continued to be published, including a column by Robert Samuelson at the Wall Street Journalthat calls Jacques’ book ”masterful.” Jacques, meanwhile, published another op-ed on China and the US last week titled ”Crouching Dragon, Weakened Eagle” in the International Herald Tribune. Below, Harald Bockman raises his concerns about the on-going attention Jacques’ book is receiving, and points out—despite that attention—the weakness in the book that most reviewers are still missing.

Reading Round-Up: Barack Obama And The Dalai Lama

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

There have been plenty of news stories recently about today’s meeting between Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama. Here are some suggestions for further reading (and viewing):

China Tweetniks

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Those who follow China Beat on Twitter might have noticed that our long-neglected feed has shown signs of awakening lately.

Another Side Of The Shanghai World Expo: Forum On Ict And Urban Development, Susan Brownell

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This posting marks my return to blogging after a break following my participation in the founding of The China Beat in 2008 with my postings from Beijing leading up to the Olympics. Contacts I made during the Olympics led to an invitation to do some informal work for the Forum Department of the Expo Organizing Bureau, and so I am now in Shanghai and blogging about China’s second mega-event.

Continuing Coverage Of Country Driving

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

We’ve reviewed Country Driving, and have been reading what others think of the book as well. Reviews are appearing in a variety of places: just a few we’ve seen are at Urbanatomy, The Boston Globe, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.

Peter Hessler At Uci

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A few images from today’s “conversation” between Peter Hessler (currently on tour to promote his newest book, Country Driving) and Ken Pomeranz at the University of California, Irvine, with almost 100 in attendance.

Rebuilding, Paul Katz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Just over five months have passed since the devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot, and the survivors of the Siaolin Village 小林村 tragedy are coping as best they can with a lot of help from their friends, charitable organizations, and the government. However, the effects of the disaster still linger. Over 400 bodies of victims buried or washed away in the mudslide that followed hours of torrential rains will never be recovered, and there is not a large enough tract of arable land in the unscathed portions of Siaolin, or even all of Chia-hsien Township 甲仙鄉, to rebuild a community sufficient …