Sunil Sahu Named to Succeed Bruce Stinebrickner as
Department Chair 

The Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science, Sunil Sahu, has been appointed to succeed Bruce Stinebrickner as chair of the Department of Political Science.   Professor Stinebrickner will complete his fourteenth year as department chair at DePauw in June 2007, and Professor Sahu will begin serving as chair on 1 July 2007.   Sahu will be only the third person to serve as department chair since 1989.  Emeritus Professor Nafhat Nasr, who retired in June 2006, served as department chair for five years, from 1997 to 2002. 

Professor Stinebrickner said that he and his colleagues expect the department to be in good hands under Professor Sahu’s leadership.   Professor Stinebrickner came to DePauw in spring semester, 1987, and the next academic year served on the search committee that recommended Professor Sahu’s appointment to DePauw beginning in fall 1988.    “Sunil and I have been friends and worked together for nearly twenty years, and we have gotten to know each other well.    I think it’s long overdue that the Department of Political Science have a new chair and I am confident that Sunil will quickly learn the ropes of doing the job.  As for me, I’m very much looking forward to going on sabbatical in 07/08 and getting out of Sunil’s way!”

New Tenure-Track Colleague to Teach International Politics at DePauw

Assistant Professor Olya Gayazova of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, has accepted an appointment to join the department beginning in the fall semester of 2007.   Professor Gayazova was one of one-hundred-eighteen candidates who applied for the department’s tenure-track vacancy in international politics.  The new appointee earned her Ph.D. at Rutgers University in 2005 and did her undergraduate work at St. Petersburg State University in her home city of St. Petersburg, Russia.  She also earned masters degrees from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, in 1999 and from Rutgers in 2002. She has been teaching at Bates College since fall semester, 2005.

 Department of Political Science chair Bruce Stinebrickner said that Professor Gayazova will regularly teach POLS 270, the department’s introductory course in international politics, and advanced courses in areas such as international political economy, international security, international law, foreign policy of great powers, and Russian politics.  According to Stinebrickner, “my colleagues and I are very pleased that we were able to attract a candidate with Olya’s outstanding combination of intellectual wherewithal, strong academic training and noteworthy teaching ability and potential.   We expect that she will bring new intellectual energy to the department.   We were all impressed with her on both academic and interpersonal levels when she came for a two-day campus visit in December, and we are very happy that she accepted our invitation to join the department.  We look forward to working with her, and we are confident that students will find her an engaging, challenging, and thoughtful addition to the department.”

 On behalf of his departmental colleagues, Stinebrickner expressed his thanks to History Professor Mac Dixon-Fyle and Philosophy Professor Marthe Chandler, both of whom served on the search committee who recommended Dr. Gayazova’s appointment, and to the dozen or so Political Science students who attended and provided feedback on the teaching presentations of candidates who came for on-campus interviews.  Stinebrickner said that “we are extremely grateful to the Political Science students who made the effort to attend the candidates’ presentations and to provide thoughtful and insightful evaluations thereafter.   The search committee weighed students’ input carefully in arriving at its recommendation to appoint Dr. Gayazova.”

Prof. Bruce Stinebrickner Named to Georgetown U's 'All-Century' Basketball Team

January 30, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - "Few students in Georgetown's 100 years of intercollegiate basketball embodied the concept of 'student-athlete' as Bruce Stinebrickner did," notes the Washington, D.C.-based university. Stinebrickner, professor and chair of political science at DePauw University, is among the top 100 basketball players in Georgetown's hoops history, which began exactly a century ago. Stinebrickner and the other members of the "All-Century team" will be feted at a gala tribute in the nation's capital February 9-10.

"A leader on the court and in the classroom, Stinebrickner set a high standard for those who followed him in both pursuits," continues the citation from his alma mater. "An all-athletic and academic selection, Stinebrickner chose Georgetown over offers from Duke, Harvard, and 20 other schools." The 6' 1" 180 pound forward played guard and forward for the Hoyas from 1965-68, and was the team captain in 1968, when he received the Robert A. Duffey Award. He ranks 16th all-time at Georgetown with a 51.7% field goal percentage.

Stinebrickner "earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship award, the only Georgetown basketball player ever so honored. Off the court, he graduated magna cum laude, was a Phi Beta Kappa, a member of 'Who's Who of American Colleges and Universities,' and the recipient of eight postgraduate fellowships, including the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, presented for students identified for a career in teaching."

The text continues, "After Georgetown, Bruce Stinebrickner earned a Ph.D. at Yale and has taught at the university level for more than three decades and on four different continents. He is the longtime editor of one of the most widely used college textbooks on American government, and is currently the chairman of the government department at DePauw University. In a note to his athletic skills, his DePauw bio reads that 'He has played organized basketball on four continents and coached at middle school, high school, and semi-professional levels. He... continues to play regularly himself, holding his own, he claims, against players half (and even one-third) his age.'" 

Read more about Dr. Stinebrickner at Georgetown's site. Details on the Hoya Hoops 100 celebration can be found here.

(From the Indianapolis Star)

Indiana Court of Appeals Verdict:

Prof. Sunil Sahu Discusses 'Holocaust Denial' Conference With Newspaper

December 12, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - A conference being held by Iran to examine whether the Holocaust really occurred -- a theory embraced by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- is being condemned by the United States, Germany and Israel, along with people throughout the world. "Ahmadinejad hopes to shed light on Israel's actions toward Palestinians by staging this conference, said Sunil Sahu, a political science professor at DePauw University in Greencastle," notes a story in today's Terre Haute Tribune-Star.

Dr. Sahu tells the newspaper, "That is the main focus, and actually, there are very few people who subscribe to the notion that the Holocaust did not happen."

Austin Arceo of the Tribune-Star, a 2006 DePauw graduate, writes, "Sahu added that North America and Europe has paid more attention to the conference than Iranians. He believes that Ahmadinejad is an extremist who is using a diversionary tactic with the conference. 'In fact, there are some moderate Iranians who don't like Ahmadinejad's viewpoint,' Sahu said, 'but by doing this kind of thing, he's kind of a rabble-rouser.'"

Read the complete article at the newspaper's Web site.

Sunil K. Sahu, Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science at DePauw, was recently appointed by the College Board to a three-year term on the Advanced Placement Comparative Government and Politics Development Committee.  In 2003, the professor met with president of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Indiana Court of Appeals Holds Oral Arguments Here in High Profile Case

November 28, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - The Indiana Court of Appeals  came to campus on Tuesday, November 28 to consider an appeal by a man convicted of murder for fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy who threw eggs at him. Members of the DePauw University and Putnam County communities were invited to attend the oral arguments in the case of Donald E. Ware, which began at 10 a.m. in Walden Inn Social Center. Normal courtroom rules of decorum applied.

The department of political science at DePauw University  hosted  the event, which represents the third time in as many years the Court of Appeals has heard oral arguments here.

Donald Ware, then 37 years old, was charged with murder, battery, two counts of criminal recklessness, and possession of marijuana in the July 24, 2005 killing of 15-year-old Brandon Dunson-Taylor and the wounding of a 17-year-old. They were among a group of young men who were throwing eggs at random vehicles on the west side of Indianapolis that night and hit Ware as he drove by in his truck. In December 2005, a Marion Superior Court jury found Ware guilty of all charges. He was sentenced to 70 years in prison in a case that received significant attention from the news media.

A summary of the case states, "[Ware] appeals, alleging that physical evidence obtained via a search warrant and evidence of statements he made after his warrantless arrest should be suppressed because the police lacked probable cause to support the search and arrest. Ware also alleges that there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions, that the trial court's admission of certain evidence not disclosed during discovery denied him a fair trial, and that his sentence of seventy years is inappropriate."

A three-judge panel of L. Mark Bailey, Margret G. Robb and Terry A. Crone heard the case. Each side was each given twenty minutes to argue their case. Often, the judges ask questions during the presentations. The panel of judges took the arguments under advisement and issue an opinion at a later date. After the hearing, the public had an opportunity to ask questions of the judges. However, due to the Code of Judicial Conduct, the judges were not be able to answer specific questions about the case -- only general inquiries about the legal system. The judges were also available for photographs.

The Indiana Court of Appeals regularly holds oral arguments in communities across Indiana in an effort to bring the workings of the judicial system closer to the people it serves.

Prof. Sunil Sahu Appointed to College Board Advanced Placement Committee

September 8, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - Sunil K. Sahu, Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science at DePauw, has been appointed by the College Board to a three-year term on the Advanced Placement Comparative Government and Politics Development Committee. The five-member panel is responsible for designing the advanced placement course in Comparative Government and Politics and for writing and revising advanced placement examination questions. Dr. Sahu was appointed to the committee for his expertise in theory of comparative politics and in politics of the developing nations.

An important task of the newly-constituted committee was to redesign the existing advanced placement Comparative Government course in light of the recent global political and economic changes. The new course, adopted by the College Board in 2006, emphasizes fundamental concepts used by political scientists in a variety of country settings. In addition to the major concepts, the new course covers government and politics in six core countries: China, Great Britain, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and Iran. According to Professor Sahu, the cases of China, Britain, Mexico, Nigeria and Russia are regularly covered in college-level introductory comparative politics courses, but the inclusion of Iran marks the recognition of a political system from a very important region of the world and one that is subject to distinctive political and cultural dynamics.

The full text of the redesigned syllabus is available at the College Board Web site by clicking here. 

Sahu is also involved in the College Board's effort to train and re-orient advanced placement teachers in how to present the redesigned Comparative Politics course. He participated in two panels at the annual Advanced Placement Conference held in Orlando, Florida, July 12-16 (photo below). You can learn more here.

Summer 2006

Students Join Faculty Member in Africa

Political Science assistant professor Brett O’Bannon returned to Senegal this summer with two students funded by DePauw University’s Student-Faculty Collaborative Research program.

Left:  Geoff Gertz on a pirogue 500mi. up the Senegal River.                                                                                          

Right:  Dr. O'Bannon and Andrea Sutherland heading by boat to the river town of Bakel.

 Geoff Gertz (double major in Economics and French) and Andrea Sutherland (Sociology and Anthropology) joined Dr. O’Bannon in his continuing research project in the Upper Senegal River Valley. The trio spent a month in the West African country, much of it in a village near the Senegalese border with Mali and Mauritania. They continued what is now a five-year effort to stabilize and digitize a collection of anthropological records of considerable significance. The collection represents the life’s work of the late Dr. Adrian Adams, who, after having quit the West in 1975, lived and worked among the Soninke people of the Upper Valley for the rest of her life.  

During her quarter of a century on the periphery of the world, Dr. Adams was witness to extraordinary events. Her research, found in mountains of published and unpublished data, recounts the efforts of peasant farmers in their struggle for self determination and to articulate a vision of modernization they call “peasant development.” Only with this alternative approach to development will the survival of the Soninke people be ensured, says Jaabe So, leader of an organized peasant federation and widower of Dr. Adams.  

(Above:  Andrea Sutherland and Geoff Gertz capturing digital images of the Adrian Adams Collection.)

Andrea and Geoff’s interest in the project focuses on materials in the collection that will help them reconstruct a narrative of this rural people’s conception of economic development. By giving voice to the often voiceless, such a script will counter received and hegemonic views about the nature of progress, what is often called “modernization” and what it really means to suffer the government’s program of development. The two students will be presenting a poster at the Annual Poster Session of the Science Research Fellows on November 1, 2006. They are also writing an article-length manuscript about Peasant Development for Yëgóo, a magazine of cultural exchange published in Dakar, Senegal.  

For a further description of the Adrian Adams project and earlier undergraduate participation, see this story.

Andrea and Geoff with local children.

Spring 2006 

 Political Science Awards Ceremony Held

The annual Department of Political Science awards ceremony was held on Friday, 12 May 2006, with the forty-four graduating Political Science majors holding center stage.     

Department chair Bruce Stinebrickner praised both the quality and the quantity of the graduating group of senior Political Science majors.  He observed that the Class of 2006 included the biggest group of senior Political Science majors in recent memory and that their noteworthy abilities were reflected by the variety of honors that they had earned.   Among graduating seniors in the department were six Phi Beta Kappa members (Caleb Beasley, Allison Clem, Jon Coffin, Christina Guzik, Wrede Smith, and Brian Winstead), three students accepted into the Teach for America corps (Beasley, Smith, and Charles Carpenter), one Fulbright scholar (Guzik), and the Class of 2006 Walker Cup winner (Matt Ehinger).    Also included were three Honor Scholars (Beasley, Smith, and K.T. LaBeau), one Management Fellow (Clem), and one Media Fellow (Coffin).   For most of these honors, Stinebrickner noted, POLS graduating seniors were significantly over-represented and that fact clearly reflected the overall quality of the graduating group of seniors.   

Also honored were all members of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society.    Besides the students mentioned in the preceding paragraph, all of whom are Pi Sigma Alpha members, DePauw’s Pi Sigma Alpha chapter includes CLICK HERE Robert White, winner of the 2006 Richard Watson Bunch Award (outstanding junior in political science), and Brian Winstead, winner of the 2006 Stephen Charles Sellett Award (outstanding senior in political science), were both congratulated at the departmental awards ceremony.    Their names had already been inscribed on the Bunch and Sellett Award plaques displayed in the department office.

  The 2005-2006 academic year marked a particularly high number of transitions for the department.    Besides the unusually large group of graduating seniors, no fewer than six faculty members will be leaving the department at the end of the academic year.   Retirees Bob Calvert, Nafhat Nasr, and Ralph Raymond taught, all told, for 93 years in the department.   Term appointees Ted Rueter and James Strickler will both be leaving, with Strickler taking up a tenure-track appointment at Utah State University and Rueter moving to Madison, Wisconsin, to work full-time as executive director of Noise Free America.    Lee G. Hall Distinguishing Visiting Professor Ted Jelen will return to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.    In addition, Stinebrickner observed, Clarissa Peterson had been promoted to Associate Professor of Political Science since last year’s awards ceremony, Brett O’Bannon had gotten married and had accepted a tenure-track appointment after several term appointments in the department, and Sunil Sahu had recently been named the next Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science.    Professor Sahu will begin his five-year term as Hall Professor in July 2006, succeeding Bruce Stinebrickner, who is completing his five-year term as Hall Professor. 

Finally, Professor Lars Tønder has accepted a tenure-track appointment and will join the department in August 2006.

Amidst all the transitions was the continuing steady hand of Krista Dahlstrom, departmental secretary.   Speaking on behalf of both himself and the department as a whole, Department chair Stinebrickner thanked Mrs. Dahlstrom for all her hard work during the past year.

Senior Political Science major, Matt Ehinger Receives Walker Cup at Academic Awards Convocation

May 1, 2006, Matthew J. Ehinger, a DePauw University senior from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was presented with the Walker Cup at DePauw's academic awards convocation tonight. The Walker Cup recognizes the senior student judged to have contributed the most to the University during his or her four-year college career.

A double major in political science and conflict studies, Ehinger has interned with U.S. Senator Richard Lugar and at the international headquarters of Kiwanis.  "Anyone who knows him realizes how active he's been in student government," said DePauw University President Robert G. Bottoms, and "how wet he was this weekend as co-chair of Relay For Life."  A Bonner Scholar, Matt Ehinger has also coordinated the Indiana Reading Corps, chaired Student Congress, and led a Winter Term in Service team of 25 students last year to Costa Rica, where they refurbished a dilapidated high school and built a community center.  Ehinger will attend law school next year and will focus on non-profit law. 

Professor Sahu named
Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science 

Professor Sunil Sahu has been named the Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science for five years beginning with the 2006-07 academic year.   The Hall Chair of Political Science was established by DePauw’s Board of Trustees in honor of Frank L. Hall, an 1879 DePauw graduate who later served as a member of the Board of Trustees.   Professor Sahu’s term as Hall Professor succeeds that of Professor Bruce Stinebrickner, whose five-year term is scheduled to expire at the end of the 2005-06 academic year. 

Stinebrickner, chair of the Department of Political Science, congratulated his long-time colleague on his new appointment.   “Sunil’s appointment is much deserved and recognizes his first-rate performance in teaching and scholarship since coming to DePauw in 1988.   I have worked with many political scientists at three different universities during my career,” Stinebrickner continued, “and Sunil stands out for the extent to which he continues to keeps up with his fields of the discipline.  It’s a credit to him—and a great benefit to our students—that he keeps abreast of relevant professional literature to the impressive extent that he does.   We can all benefit from his example in this regard.”  

Sahu’s appointment as the new Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science was announced at DePauw’s Faculty Recognition Dinner on 21 April 2006.

Two Political Science Professors Get “Creamed” in
Relay for Life Fundraiser 

DePauw students, faculty, and staff walking across the Holton Quadrangle during lunch time on Wednesday, 26 April 2006, were treated to quite a sight—political science profs O’Bannon and Stinebrickner getting “creamed” by those making a donation to the American Cancer Society.    One dollar bought one whipped cream “pie” that could be—and indeed was—pressed into the faces of Professors O’Bannon, Stinebrickner, Sieg (Kinesiology) or any one of three DePauw students who were also volunteer targets.  
All six volunteers donated their time—and parted with some of their dignity—to further the fund-raising effort. 

Suzanne Daily, work-study student par excellence in the Department of Political Science, was the mastermind behind the event.  Daily, who serves on the committee responsible for the Greencastle/DePauw 2006 Relay for Life campaign, was pleased at the more than 100 dollars raised during the lunch-time event.    That’s a lot of whipped cream in the faces of O’Bannon and Stinebrickner and the four other volunteers.   Asked for her comments about the event, Daily said that “Relay for Life really appreciates Professors O’Bannon and Stinebrickner taking the time out of their day to help us raise money in our fight against cancer.  Their enthusiasm heightened the excitement because it’s not everyday that you can throw a pie in a professor’s face!”   

Department of Political Science Secretary Krista Dahlstrom apparently could not resist making some contributions and—ahem!—putting some whipped cream in the two profs’ faces (and hair and ears and . . . ).   She also is responsible for taking the photographs that are displayed below.    Asked for her comments, Dahlstrom was her usual charming and diplomatic self:  “I really enjoy working in the Department of Political Science with Professors Stinebrickner and O’Bannon, and I consider them friends.  However, it just seemed right to join in the spirit of Suzanne’s wonderful event, make a contribution, and do what you were supposed to do with the whipped cream pies.  It sure was a lot of fun, too!”   Political Science Professor Ted Rueter happened by and also got into the act, adding significantly to the amount of whipped cream adorning the faces and heads of his two political science colleagues. 

Pictured above is (from left to right) Professor Bruce Stinebrickner, Relay for Life Event coordinator Suzanne Daily, Political Science Secretary Krista Dahlstrom, and Professor Brett O'Bannon.

Political Science Department Announces New Tenure-Track Appointment 

The Department of Political Science is pleased to announce that Lars Tønder, currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, has accepted a tenure-track appointment beginning in fall semester, 2006.   According to department chair Bruce Stinebrickner, Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science, “my political science colleagues and I are very much looking forward to having Lars join the department.   We look forward to welcoming him--and his wife Sacra--when they move here this summer.”

 Professor Tønder, a native of Denmark, holds masters degrees from the University of Essex (1999) and the University of Copenhagen (2000) and earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2005.   He specializes in political theory, but also has a secondary teaching interest in European politics.  He is the co-editor of “Radical Democracy:  Politics between Abundance and Lack” (Manchester, UK:  Manchester University Press, 2005) and the author of several pieces on the phenomenon of “tolerance.”   In fall, 2006, his first semester at DePauw, Professor Tønder will teach POLS 230, the department’s introductory theory course, and a POLS 390 Topics course entitled “Democratic Theory.”    

Professor Tønder is fluent in at least four languages, and enjoys a good game of tennis.  He also claims to be a basketball fan of sorts; however, never having lived in Indiana, he realizes that he may, on that front, have more to learn.

Political Science Senior Major Christina Guzik Awarded Fulbright Grant; Will Conduct Research and Study in Argentina

April 2, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw University senior Christina E. Guzik will spend a year in Argentina studying and conducting research as a result of receiving an international graduate study and research grant through the 2006-07 Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition. The Institute of International Education (IIE), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, administers the Fulbright competition, which has provided future American leaders with an unparalleled opportunity to study, conduct research and teach in other nations for six decades.

Fulbright student grants aim to increase mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange while serving as a catalyst for long-term leadership development.

"My project examines the critical relationship between the U.S.-led War on Terror and regional security in South America's Southern Cone," Guzik, a political science major and Spanish and Latin American Studies minor, wrote in her Fulbright application. "I will use Argentina as a case study to explore, analyze and infer the implications and effects of the War on Terror for and on countries within the Southern Cone," while taking courses at the Universisas de Belgrano's Graduate School of International Relations. When she returns to the United States, Guzik intends to obtain a master's degree in international relations, with a focus on U.S.-Latin American relations.

While at DePauw, Christina Guzik has completed a research program with the International Center for Terrorism Studies in Arlington, Va., and has interned with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and U.S. Representative Howard Berman. Since March 2005, she has organized and led a service project to work with homeless youths, and has taught English as a Second Language classes at the International Language Institute. During the fall semester of her junior year, Guzik studied in Buenos Aires and lived with an Argentine family. She previously participated in an honors program in foreign language in Cuidad Read, Spain, and in a Student Partnerships International exchange program in England.

"Undoubtedly, the War on Terror has altered the lens through which the U.S. views and formulates policy toward Latin America, and many argue that the U.S. has adopted the War on Terror as its main frame for addressing this region," Guzik, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, writes. "I will investigate and analyze the ways in which the Argentine government has responded to the international pressures and demands that have originated from three specific sources -- the United States, United Nations, and Organization of American States -- in connection with the global War on Terror. After identifying the ways in which these three entities have exerted pressure on the Argentine government, I will examine the latter's responses. Upon analyzing the results obtained from the Argentine case study, I will use them to understand how countries in the Southern Cone establish a balance between national and hemispheric security priorities, generate consensus that simultaneously respects the preoccupations of each respective country, and formulate responses to the pressures of the international community. My goal is to extract the broader implications of the War on Terror for inter-American relations, foreign policies of Southern Cone countries, and the strength of democratic rule in the region," the senior states.

"It is inspiring to work with a college senior who is so focused, determined, and who exudes intellectual enthusiasm," says David Gellman, associate professor of history and Fulbright Program Adviser (seen at right). "Christina's project is incredibly timely. She leveraged her academic experiences, her junior semester abroad, and her impressive internships to make an extremely persuasive case for herself. Christina will represent the best that her college and her country has to offer through America's flagship program for international study and intellectual exchange. She is proof that DePauw students can compete with the most talented students in the country for these sorts of opportunities."

"Christina is both a strong political science major and an impressive and interesting person," says Bruce Stinebrickner, professor of political science and Guzik's academic adviser. Dr. Stinebricker, who chairs the department, continues, "Christina's curiosity about the world around her and her enthusiastic personality have made her a very special undergraduate at DePauw. I am not at all surprised that the Fulbright folks recognized her many strengths by giving her a Fulbright grant."

Christina Guzik says her project "fuses my previous and newfound passions.  I am anxious to act on my stirred intellectual curiosity and unite it with my academic training and practical work experiences to research, study and collaborate with Argentines in order to find solutions to the issues that are among the foremost threats to world peace in our time."  With aspirations of someday working for the State Department in South America, Guzik concludes, "Many Argentines call South America the forgotten continent.  I, however, have not forgotten it; on the contrary, I hope, through my work, to refute that claim." 

DePauw's Political Science Event Spurs Discussion on "Meet the Press"

A memorable Department of Political Science event was prominently noted in “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert’s interview with Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III on 16 January 2006.  Bremer had served as the top-ranking American in Iraq for a year after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and is the author of a recently published book on his time serving in Iraq. 

Moderated by Department of Political Science chair Bruce Stinebrickner, the by-invitation-only student forum with Mr. Bremer occurred on 16 September 2004, less than two months before the November presidential election.  All Political Science majors and minors were invited to the lengthy question-and-answer session.   In response to a question, Mr. Bremer revealed publicly for the first time that he had asked for more U.S. troops in Iraq during the early days of American occupation, but that his request had been denied.  Bremer’s remark made front-page national headlines in the heat of the Bush vs. Kerry presidential election campaign and prompted responses from prominent Bush administration officials and Democratic candidate John Kerry.   When asked about the event in the aftermath of the recent “Meet the Press” interview, Professor Stinebrickner said that the Department of Political Science was pleased to have been involved in the event and that it was an example of the many opportunities available to students studying Political Science at DePauw.  To see article in its entirety click here.

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Three Political Science Professors To Retire June 2006 

Three professors in the Department of Political Science will be retiring effective 30 June 2006.    Professors Robert Calvert, Nafhat Nasr, and Ralph Raymond began teaching at DePauw in 1967, 1987, and 1971, respectively.   At retirement, their years of service at DePauw, taken together, will total 93 years. All three retiring professors shifted to half-time teaching loads several years ago and, as their schedules of leaves have worked out, none of the three will be offering courses in spring 2006.  Thus, the last day of classes in the fall semester of 2005 marked the end of an era for students taking Political Science courses at DePauw.  The process of recruiting political scientists to succeed the three retiring colleagues is underway.

Indiana Court of Appeals Hears Case at DePauw November 10, 2005

Members of the DePauw University and Putnam County communities had an opportunity to learn about the judicial system on Thursday, November 10, when the Indiana Court of Appeals came to DePauw to hear oral arguments on an appeal in an ongoing criminal prosecution. Open to the public, the hearing was set for at 10 a.m. in the Emerson Room of Walden Inn. Normal courtroom rules of decorum applied.

A three-judge panel of Edward W. Najam Jr., Nancy H. Vaidik and Margret G. Robb heard the case of "Carnell Gilbert v. State of Indiana." The matter involved an argument that the appellant's rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution were violated.

Each side was given twenty minutes to argue their case. Often, the judges asked questions during the presentations. The panel of judges took the arguments under advisement and issue an opinion at a later date. After the hearing, the public had an opportunity to ask questions of the judges. However, due to the Code of Judicial Conduct, the judges were not able to answer specific questions about the case -- only general inquiries about the legal system. The judges were also available for photographs.

The Indiana Court of Appeals regularly holds oral arguments in communities across Indiana in an effort to bring the workings of the judicial system closer to the people it serves." The Court held a session at DePauw on April 7, 2005 that was attended by approximately 75 people.

"I'm very pleased that the Court of Appeals has returned to our campus, and that the court hopes to make regular visits here," says Bruce Stinebrickner, Frank L. Hall professor of political science and chair of the department, who  coordinated the event. "It's a tremendous opportunity for anyone interested in law and government to witness the second-highest state court in Indiana in action."  

(See last years Indiana Court of Appeals story further down this page.)

Prof. Brett O'Bannon Addresses International Political Science Colloquium in France

Brett O'Bannon, assistant professor of political science at DePauw University, was among the presenters at an international colloquium in Paris. "Le 'cousin' et le politique: Alliances à plaisanteries et politique(s) en Afrique," took place October 27-28, and was sponsored by the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales, a unit of the prestigious Sciences-Po, which is France's Grande École (the top institution in producing leaders) in political science.

Dr. O'Bannon's October 27 presentation was titled, "Speak No More of Cousinage?: The Political Economy of Joking Relationships." The professor be discussed his research on local conflict management in West Africa, with an eye to the importance of indigenous, cultural institutions of kinship.

Last year Amos Sawyer, the former president of Liberia who was forced out of power by the rebel Charles Taylor, visited DePauw and discussed the importance of recognizing cultural institutions on the ground in any effort at peacemaking or peacekeeping. "During his talk, for example, he discussed how essential local women's groups in Liberia have been in brokering and maintaining peaceful relationships across ethnic and even national lines," O'Bannon recalls. "We've continued to collaborate on this question and my paper reflects some of that."

O'Bannon continues, "The scholars convening this colloquium were all interested in the power of a well-known cultural institution called the 'joking relationship' which binds families, clans or even whole ethnic groups into ties of imagined kinship. For example, when two people of the Ndiaye and Diop families (quite common family names in the Senegambia) meet, they are required to 'dis' each other. That is, they insult each others' family heritage, eating habits, you name it. It's pretty funny stuff, actually. The important thing is that they are not only required to engage in these insulting exchanges, but they are equally obligated not to take offense."

These interactions are interesting to political scientists for several reasons, O'Bannon states. "For one, these fictive relationships have been known to bring an end to quite serious conflicts. I document an instance in which a rebel group in southern Senegal actually released a carload of hostages because the driver successfully pleaded for their lives in the name of the Serer-Diola joking relationship. The Serer and Diola are two ethnic groups bound by a mutual pact of non-aggression, so to speak. The rebels in question are mainly from the Diola group and the terms of their joking relationship prohibit the spilling of the other's blood. The potential for these kinds of indigenous institutions of self governance is significant. Sawyer's point is that efforts such as international peacekeeping missions, multilateral peace talks or even post-conflict nation building are usually doomed if they don't appreciate the importance of cultural institutions that structure people's daily lives.” Radio France International will be hosting a program on "Joking Kinships" recorded at the conference in Paris.  It will be broadcast on Tuesday, December 20th, 2005 at 2:10am, 7:10am, 9:30am and 11:30 am.  It will also be available all that day on the internet site: www.rfi.fr.

Professor Brett O'Bannon's Summer in Senegal

Adrian Adams Project

(Pictured L to R) Ousmane Sene, Director of the WARC, Ellen Foley, Anthropologist, University of Pennsylvania, Hamidy Boucoum, Director du Patrimoine culturel du Senegal (Director of Cultural Heritage of Senegal), Brett O'Bannon, Assistant Professor of Political Science, and Allision Davis, Doctoral candidate, University of Arizona.                                            

Work on the Adrian Adams project moved into its fourth year summer, 2005 as Brett O’Bannon was joined in the effort by Ellen Foley (University of Pennsylvania) and Allison Davis, (ABD, University of Arizona). In 2002, Charles Adams (Winston & Strawn, Geneva) asked O’Bannon to investigate the possibilities for preserving, archiving and making available to a public audience the works of his late sister Adrian Adams, the noted anthropologist and 25 year resident of a small rural village in Senegal.                                            

WARC (West Africa Research Association) has been a key facilitator for this project since its inception. Three years ago WARC served as the staging ground for equipment and process testing when O’Bannon traveled with a Depauw undergraduate to begin the process of digitizing the collection estimated at some 40,000-50,000 pages.

This summer, the team of Davis, Foley and O’Bannon consulted with archivists, architects and other experts in the area of document preservation in order to draft a workable onsite archive. O’Bannon plans to return to Khoungani in January to begin the transfer of the collection to its new home.

Financial support for the project has come mainly from DePauw University, much of that through a Mellon Foundation grant. Those seeking more information about the Adrian Adams project can contact O’Bannon at bobannon@depauw.edu or through WARC. The project is also hosting a roundtable Le Long Voyage de la Femme du Fleuve: Adrian Adams and the Kungani Archive, sponsored by the West Africa Research Association, at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association (USA) in Washington in November.

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