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News and Events
Indiana Court of Appeals Session Held Here October 13
The Indiana Court of Appeals came to DePauw University on Tuesday, October 13, to hear oral arguments in the case of George A. Scott v. Malissa Elizabeth Retz, R.N., and Indiana University. The presentations, which were open to the public, began at 10 a.m. in Walden Inn Social Center before a three-judge Court of Appeals panel. Normal courtroom rules of decorum applied.
The department of political science at DePauw University hosted the event, which represents the fifth time the Court of Appeals heard oral arguments here.
In the case being appealed, "George Scott, a Clarian Health Partners Safety and Security investigator, was stuck by an uncapped used syringe while investigating missing narcotics at Indiana University Hospital," notes the court's summary. "He sued Malissa Retz, R.N., for negligence and Indiana University, Retz's employer, for respondeat superior and negligent retention and supervision. Are Retz and IU entitled to summary judgment on Scott's claims? Along with granting summary judgment to Retz and IU, the trial court granted Scott's motion to strike part of an affidavit that IU designated in support of the summary judgment. Did this affidavit contain an inadmissable hearsay statement?"
At the conclusion of the oral arguments, the judges answered questions from the audience, although they refrained from discussing the particular case being considered.
"Here at DePauw we often have visitors speaking about public affairs and various aspects of the American political system," says Bruce Stinebrickner, professor of political science. "In the oral arguments that occurred on 13 October, our visitors, three Indiana Court of Appeals judges, conducted actual state government business, not just talking about it."
For more information, visit the Indiana Court of Appeals online.
Prof. Brett O'Bannon Invited to Address UN-Sponsored Conference on West Africa
September 8, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Brett R. O'Bannon, associate professor of political science at DePauw University, has been invited to speak at a ministerial conference in Lomé, Togo next week. The sessions, September 15-16, are being organized by the United Nations in collaboration with the Economic Commission of West African States and the government of Togo.
In preparation for December's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen(COP 15), next week's regional conference will "seek a joint position of West African states on ways to best address current and future issues relating to the protection of civilians in the context of climate change," according to Ludovic de Lys, regional director of the OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs) Regional Office for West Africa.
The letter from de Lys to David Harvey, vice president for academic affairs at DePauw, adds, "In pursuance to the excellent collaboration between our regional office and DePauw and considering the crucial understanding that your University has made to the understanding of the herders/farmers conflict in the Sahel through the work of Professor O'Bannon, I wish to invite DePauw University to participate in the subject conference and to be a part of a panel discussion on climate change, conflict prevention and recovery in West Africa."
"For me, of course, it is a great honor, one of the greatest of my life, frankly, to be asked to advise as a member of a panel of experts such an organization on such an important topic," says Dr. O'Bannon. "As the government ministers of these countries well understand, the severely negative effects of climate change do and will continue to disproportionately affect the poorest countries with the least capability to adapt to the ever worsening context."
According to the professor, "One of the great sticking points in achieving a more effective global response to climate change is the question of how much of the economic burden of responding to climate change (i.e. reducing carbon footprints, etc.) should be borne by richer countries and how
much should less developed countries should be responsible for shouldering some of the current costs of adaptation. That will no doubt remain a tricky issue, but what should be made perfectly clear at Copenhagen is that countries like those in West Africa, and the African Sahel (one of the most sensitive ecosystems in the world) are already paying a much heavier price for the climate change they did not create than we are in the West. The relationship to environmental degradation such as desertification -- the spread of the Sahara desert, for example -- and armed conflict is well established. So while I applaud those in the West who demonstrate in great numbers about the need to stop the genocide in Darfur, for example, all too frequently we fail to appreciate how much our own lifestyles are intimately connected with those very conflicts which are nevertheless represented as a conflict waged by savages in a far off land for reasons of ancient tribal hatreds."
As O'Bannon sees it, "The Darfur conflict has occurred, in large measure, because the land beneath the feet of herders and farmers --people who have co-existed for ages in an often symbiotic relationship -- failed. This increase in resource scarcity helped transform a relationship of co-existence into genocidal competition for life-sustaining resources. Of course each conflict is more complicated than the result of one cause, and the government in Khartoum's responsibility in this genocide should not be overshadowed by these structural matters, but the stark reality is that only more of this is to come."
Solutions to such problems are far from obvious, the DePauw political scientist says. "My presentation will discuss the results of my research on West African herders and farmers and their efforts to establish local institutions of conflict management under changing political and economic 'climates.' I will explore things like what explains how a relatively small incident in the spring of 1989, in which a group of Senegalese youth guarding a cornfield chased Mauritanian herders off and back across the border where four of them were shot, which nearly led to war between these two countries who are important development partners. I will also -- and perhaps this is the trickiest part -- discuss how political and economic changes impact these interrelationships. This is important, I think, because adaptation to climate change will require economic and political policy responses, and these invariably impact -- for better or worse -- herder-farmer relations. That's why the sensitivity of herder-farmer relations to these kind of changes in their socio-economic, political and physical environmental makes the observation of herder-farmer relations such a useful conflict early-warning system. Monitoring these relationships taps into changes that are hard to observe and thus do not appear in the newspaper or intelligence briefings until the conflict has already, well, made the news."
Stinebrickner Completes First Year of Service on Two Local Government Boards and Transylvania University Committee
At the end of the 2008-09 academic year, Bruce Stinebrickner, Howell Professor of Political Science, completed his first year of service in three positions outside DePauw University.
In July 2008, Stinebrickner took the oath of office to become a member of the Greencastle school board. In August 2008, he was appointed to serve on the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission, and in fall, 2008, he began a five-year term as a member of Transylvania University’s Bingham Selection Committee.
Stinebrickner reported that each of these positions has provided him with an opportunity to give back to the Greencastle and larger academic communities of which he is a part and has enriched his work as a political scientist. According to Stinebrickner, “I expected my school board and redevelopment commission experiences to relate to my longstanding academic interest in state and local governments, and they certainly did. But I also gained a lot of firsthand insights about the national government and its attempts to combat the economic recession besetting the country when President Obama took office. In particular, I learned a great deal about the stimulus bill that President Obama signed into law in February and the sorts of local government revenue shortfalls that that bill sought to remedy. I also was reminded how complicated and, at times, frustrating the transfer of money from Washington to local government entities can be.” Stinebrickner continued: “Ask POLS 110 students who had me this past spring, and they’ll tell you that I more than once discussed the way stimulus money was—and was not—filtering down to state and local governments in Indiana.”
Transylvania University’s Bingham Selection Committee selects Transylvania faculty members for Bingham teaching awards. The committee consists of five faculty members who come from a variety of disciplines at distinguished liberal arts colleges from across the country. Currently, Reed, Carleton, Davidson, Claremont, and, of course, DePauw are represented. According to Stinebrickner, the committee’s selection process is a thorough and time-consuming one: “Each semester we make a three-day visit to the Transylvania campus in Lexington, Kentucky. We review Bingham applicants’ paper credentials, interview them, and visit their classes, all with an eye to selecting the best of those who have applied for Bingham awards.” Stinebrickner said that he has learned a lot from his work on the committee. “For one thing,” he said, “I get to see the teaching styles of a variety of instructors in different disciplines. In addition, I get to discuss the classes we have observed with my committee colleagues, and those discussions often get me thinking about pedagogy and teaching styles in new ways. I wind up considering anew just what constitutes good college teaching, and that makes me reflect on my own teaching at DePauw.”
Stinebrickner said that he has enjoyed each of the three “outside” positions, and that they help make him a better political scientist and a better instructor. His two local government appointments are for four years; his Bingham Selection Committee appointment lasts one year longer. The additional years are fine with Stinebrickner, for he said that he has lots more to learn and, he hopes, to contribute.
Bruce Stinebrickner Named
First Howell Professor of Political Science
Members of the Department of Political Science received word in April 2009 that Bruce Stinebrickner has been appointed the inaugural Leonard E. and Mary B. Howell Professor of Political Science. The Howell professorship is awarded for a five-year term.
Stinebrickner joined the department in January 1987 and chaired the department for fourteen years between 1988 and 2007. He held the Frank L. Hall Professorship in Political Science from 2001-2006 and was awarded a four-year University Professorship in 2004. DePauw President Brian Casey appointed Stinebrickner as Howell Professor on the recommendation of Vice President for Academic Affairs Neal Abraham, who had consulted with members of the department before making his recommendation.
After learning of his appointment as Howell Professor, Stinebrickner thanked President Casey, Vice President Abraham, and his colleagues for their support and best wishes. He also acknowledged the donors for their generous gift to the university: “Donors such as Leonard and Mary Howell help make DePauw a vibrant institution of higher learning. The establishment of the Howell chair reinforces the importance of political science for students, faculty, and the entire DePauw community.”
'In God We Trust' License Plate Case to Bring Court of Appeals Here October 14, 2008
A high-profile case involving Indiana's "In God We Trust" license plate brought the Indiana Court of Appeals to DePauw University on Tuesday, October 14, 2008. As part of its outreach efforts, the Court heard oral arguments in the case of Mark Studler v. Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles at the Walden Inn Social Center. Members of the DePauw University and Putnam County communities were invited to attend. Normal courtroom rules of decorum applied.
Studler "was challenging Indiana Code section 9-18-24.5-1, which authorizes a speciality license plate featuring an 'In God We Trust' design," notes a summary of the case. "The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles offers the 'In God We Trust' plate at no additional charge. Studler, who paid a $40 administrative fee to obtain an environmental specialty plate, contended that providing the 'In God We Trust' plate for no fee violates Article I, section 23 of the Indiana Constitution. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment in the trial court; Studler's motion was denied and the BMV's motion was granted as a final judgment. Studler appealed the grant of summary judgment to the BMV."
A three-judge panel of Michael P. Barnes, Margret G. Robb and Terry A. Crone (DePauw '74) heard the case. Each side was allowed twenty minutes to argue their case. Often, the judges will ask questions during the presentations. The panel of judges took the arguments under advisement and issued an opinion at a later date.
After the hearing, the public had the 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. The department of political science at DePauw University hosted the Greencastle event.
New Theorist Appointed
After a semester-long search for a tenure track position in political theory Dr. Smita A. Rahman was appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor in the department. Professor Rahman was selected out of a pool of about 100 applicants. She is currently teaching at DePaul University in Chicago and will join the department in fall 2008. A native of Bangladesh, Professor Rahman earned her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2007 and B.A. from University of Pennsylvania in 2000. According to chair Sunil Sahu, “the department is excited about Smita’s appointment as she has strong credentials and the rare combination of expertise in canons of both Western and Islamic political thought. She will definitely add to the strength to our department.” Professor Rahman will offer two new upper level courses—Equality and Justice (fall 08) and Muslim Political Thought (spring 09) in addition to teaching the required theory course (Elements of Political Theory).
Professor Peterson Named the New Department Chair
Clarissa Peterson, Associate Professor of Political Science, has been named the new department chair; she will succeed Sunil Sahu when he goes on sabbatical leave in fall 08. Professor Peterson has been a member of the department since 1997 and has served as the Director of Black Studies Program in 2003-04. She also currently serves as the Associate Faculty Coordinator for Quantitative Reasoning. Her research interests focus on African-American voting behavior and attitudes.
Professor O’Bannon Granted Tenure and Promotion 
Brett O’Bannon, Assistant Professor, was granted tenure in the department and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor effective fall 2008. According to Professor Sunil Sahu, the department chair, “Professor O’Bannon is an excellent addition to the tenured faculty in the department. He has introduced new courses—Women and World Politics, African Politics, and Humanitarian Intervention—and has had an active presence on campus since he came to DePauw.”
Professor O’Bannon was on a pre-tenure leave in spring 2007 during which he spent part of his time in residence at the Gorée Institute (http://www.goreeinstitute.org/) where he began working on a new research project. He delivered two talks on his work dealing with conflict early warning systems in Senegal, including at the West Africa Office of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. He is currently working to organize a symposium on humanitarian intervention under the auspices of the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. Professor O’Bannon has recently published "Receiving an 'Empty Envelope': Governance Reforms and the Management of Herder Farmer Conflict" in the Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines.
Why Aren't Presidential Candidates Discussing the Environment?, Asks Prof. Bruce Stinebrickner
January 30, 2008, Greencastle, Ind. - "What has happened to global warming as an issue in the presidential nomination process?," asks Bruce Stinebricker, professor of political science, in today's Indianapolis Star. In an op-ed, he writes of debate questions and the media's "extensive commentary about campaigns, strategies and candidates' policy positions on such issues as the economy, the Iraq war, terrorism, immigration, health care, taxation, energy independence and the like. But what has happened to global warming? It has all but disappeared from the campaign agenda."Dr. Stinebrickner asserts, "The United States stands alone as the only industrial nation in the world that has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, an international effort to slow the rate of carbon emissions before global warming becomes irreversible. In November, Australian voters ranked global warming as one of their top concerns and unseated longtime incumbent Prime Minister John Howard. Howard's replacement, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, fulfilled his campaign promise and moved quickly to ratify the Kyoto Protocol."
Yet despite the Academy Award and Nobel Prize that greeted Al Gore's 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth, discussion of environmental issues by this year's presidential candidates has been minimal, argues the professor.
"According to the League of Conservation Voters, in 140 debates and interviews since early 2007, five top TV interviewers (Tim Russert, Chris Wallace, George Stephanopoulos, Bob Schieffer and Wolf Blitzer) have asked 2,484 questions of presidential candidates, and they have mentioned global warming only three times and asked only 24 questions related to the issue," notes Stinebrickner, who holds a University Professorship at DePauw. What's equally worrisome: the candidates themselves aren't bringing up environmental issues, he states.
"Global warming is among the most daunting challenges facing the United States and the world and perhaps the most important issue of all," asserts the political scientist. "Some people no doubt disagree. But should issues and policies related to global warming simply be ignored as Americans select the next president?" He concludes, "In a campaign in which candidates have been asked their views about evolution, gay marriage, UFOs, and, in one case, whether diamonds or pearls were preferred (yes, a debate moderator posed this question to Hillary Clinton in a nationally televised debate!), global warming and climate change deserve far more attention than they are getting." (at left: Prof. Stinebrickner moderating a student forum with 2004 Ubben Lecturer L. Paul Bremer III)
Read the complete essay at IndyStar.com.
Prof. Bruce Stinebrickner "Reconsiders" View of Early Balloting After Trip to Iowa
January 8, 2008, Greencastle, Ind. - "Even if one accepts the desirability of would-be presidents engaging in small-state 'retail politics' at the outset of the nomination process, I have hardly been alone in doubting the wisdom of allowing Iowa and New Hampshire such primacy," writes Bruce Stinebrickner, professor of political science at DePauw University, in Greencastle's Banner Graphic. "My experiences in Iowa last week gave me reason to reconsider." In an op-ed column, Dr. Stinebrickner writes of a three-day visit in which he saw citizens deeply engaged in the political process."As pundits and candidates repeatedly suggest, the Iowans whom we met approached their state's first-in-the-nation role thoughtfully and conscientiously," he writes. "In turn, rotating the early delegate selection processes among different states in different presidential years might not be such a good idea. Could we reasonably expect citizens of any two states that replaced Iowa and New Hampshire in 2012 to evaluate candidates as thoroughly as the Iowans we saw in action in 2008?"
A companion editorial by Aden Stinebrickner-Kauffman, son of Stinebrickner and Kelsey Kauffman, part-time assistant professor of University studies, also appears in the Banner Graphic. In it, Stinebrickner-Kauffman offers his own take on the trip to Iowa with his father, asserting that he "was impressed by the many conscientious and thorough Iowan caucus participants."
An introduction to the op-eds notes that Dr. Stinebrickner and his son also had an opportunity in Iowa to meet with Bill Clinton, who was a college classmate of the professor while both attended Georgetown University in the 1960s.
Last year, Bruce Stinebrickner was named to Georgetown's "all-century" basketball team.
Prof. Sunil Sahu Recalls Benazir Bhutto's DePauw Visit in Terre Haute Tribune-Star
December 30, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - "She connects very well with the masses, especially with the poor people," says Sunil Sahu of the late Benazir Bhutto. Sahu, professor and chair of political science at DePauw University, is quoted in today's Terre Haute Tribune-Star, which recalls the May 7, 1997 visit to DePauw by Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, who was assassinated Thursday. Dr. Sahu says Bhutto was capable of making people "feel comfortable and she could talk in their own language. She could talk in English. It doesn’t matter what language she is using, people feel comfortable." (at left: Bhutto with Sunil Sahu, DePauw professor of political science, in Watson Forum)The article by Austin Arceo, a 2006 DePauw graduate, notes that Professor Sahu moderated a question-and-answer session with Bhutto that followed her Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture at DePauw. "Sahu said that only a few people accompanied Bhutto during her visit, none of which were security personnel. He spent several hours with her, including driving her back to an airport in Indianapolis."
The story adds, "Bhutto’s assassination creates several problems, both in Pakistan and for the United States, Sahu said. She was the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, the only national party in the country. Her assassination also will cause political instability in the short-term, Sahu said. 'She was also the leader of a party which is kind of a moderate party, as opposed to a more Islamacist party in Pakistan,' Sahu said, 'so she had the backing of the U.S.' The United States tends to support individual leaders in power, Sahu said. Now, the U.S. has no other leader to support, since the only other prominent one, Nawaz Sharif, doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the U.S., Sahu added."
Of Bhutto's killing, Sahu states, "It surprised me and it didn’t surprise me. If you are a politician in South Asia, it is almost impossible to fully protect yourself against a group like al-Qaida, which is bent upon killing you."
Read the complete story, "Assassinated former Pakistani leader spoke at DePauw in ’97," at the newspaper's Web site.
Friday's Indianapolis Star also noted Benazir Bhutto's DePauw visit.
Professor Sunil Sahu Moderates Q-A Session
with Ralph Nader
Sunil Sahu, Chair and Frank L. Hall Professor of Political Science, moderated (with Professor Jeff McCall) a Q-A session with Ralph Nader, the consumer rights activist, environmentalist and three-time presidential candidate, on September 27, 2007 in the Olin Auditorium. Later that day Nader delivered the Ubben Lecture entitled "Don't Waste Your 20's! Your Most Creative Decade," to approximately 1,100 people in the Kresge Auditorium.
Nader, recently named "one of the 100 most influential figures in American history" by Atlantic Monthly, urged undergraduates in the audience "to have a higher estimate of your own significance and the kind of impact you're going to have on society." Nader's Q-A session and the campus-wide 
lecture touched on a range of issues, including what he sees as the undue power of American corporations, how we as citizens own the airwaves and public lands and have subsidized research and development that are often given away to corporate interests, that one-in-three Americans make less than $10.50 an hour, and that about a quarter of the amount of money spent on the war in Iraq last year would pay the public tuition of every college student in America.
Professor Brett O'Bannon
Does Research at Goree Institute
Brett was on leave last spring and spent part of that time in residence at the Gorée Institute (http://www.goreeinstitute.org/) where he began working on a new research project. He delivered two talks on his work dealing with conflict early warning systems in Senegal, including at the West Africa Office of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. He is presently back on campus and working with his colleagues Sharon Crary and John Roth to organize a symposium on humanitarian intervention under the auspices of the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. Brett has also just published "Receiving an 'Empty Envelope': Governance Reforms and the Management of Herder Farmer Conflict" in the latest issue of the Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines.
Sunil Sahu Named to Succeed Bruce Stinebrickner as 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 "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.
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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. By Jon Murray
Donald E. Ware was 37 when he fired at four teens who had been throwing eggs at cars. A Marion Superior Court jury convicted him in January of murder, battery and two counts of criminal recklessness after a four-day trial.
Ware's appeal argued evidence had been improperly admitted and challenged both his conviction and his 70-year prison sentence.
Today's 3-0 decision, written by Judge Margaret G. Robb, dismissed those concerns. The panel heard arguments Nov. 28 at DePauw University in Greencastle.
The shooting happened in July 2005 at the Far Westside intersection of Rockville and Girls School roads. One shot hit 15-year-old Brandon Dunson-Taylor in the back, killing him, and another bullet struck Michael Dyer, 17, in the leg.
Ann Sutton, Ware's appelate public defender, said this afternoon that she was reviewing the decision. Ware likely will ask for a rehearing or appeal, she said.
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.
Two DePauw Professors Discuss State's "Closest Congressional Race" with Indianapolis TV Station
September 19, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - 
[Download Video: "Prof. Bruce Stinebrickner on WISH-TV" - 622kb] "Everyone says this is the year where the Democrats are going to do better in the congressional elections than they've been doing," Bruce Stinebrickner, professor and chair of political science at DePauw University, said on Indianapolis CBS television affiliate WISH's 5 p.m. newscast today. "Presumably that's going to have some flow down effect here."
But Stinebrickner added, "I think the national wave is what's going to be what determines Hostetler's fate, not what happens here in the district."
The station's political reporter, Jim Shella, has spent the day on campus preparing stories on the hotly-contested race in Indiana's 8th congressional district, where a WISH poll finds Democratic challenger Brad Ellsworth leading Republican incumbent John Hostetler by four percentage points. Shella presented live reports at noon, 5 and 6 p.m.
In the longest piece, which aired at 6, Stinebrickner appeared again, as did David Bohmer (seen at right), director of the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media and DePauw's Media Fellows program. Voters today are feeling [Download Video: "Prof. Dave Bohmer" - 772kb] "discontent with the Iraq war, gasoline prices -- even though they're going down, concern with the economy in general, even though some of the barometers are good." Of the reports suggesting the economy is healthy, Bohmer, a 1969 graduate of the University, added, "A lot of folks aren't sure they believe that that's the case."
WISH describes the Hostetler-Ellsworth contest as "the closest congressional race in the state. Standing in front of historic East College, Shella told viewers, [Download Video: "Jim Shella at DePauw" - 792kb] "This is one of three Indiana districts targeted by both Republicans and Democrats in Washington. It is one of the places where Democrats need to win if they are to take back control of Congress."
Visit WISH online by clicking here
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 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.
Click here for more award information
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