GV PS

Study Abroad Opportunities Abound!

Study abroad for a summer, a semester, or a year.
Take advantage of GVSU faculty led programs, GVSU partnerships, or dozens of other great programs. Read on -- the opportunities are endless!
Study abroad will help you...
• Prepare to work in an increasingly diverse and international workplace
• Understand the fields of IR and PLS from an international perspective
• Expand your cross-cultural communication and problem-solving skills
• Improve your language skills

Will Study Abroad delay my graduation?
NO! Most students receive full credit for courses they successfully complete abroad. Both PLS and IR majors can count study abroad courses toward electives in their majors.

Talk to your PLS or IR advisor:
Use a credit transfer form to get approval from your academic advisor for specific courses. Students are also able to fulfill GenEd requirements abroad, including a custom theme abroad.

Can I afford to study abroad?
YES! If you study abroad on a GVSU program, or if you study at one of GVSU's partner institutions, then you will pay the equivalent of Grand Valley tuition. Your regular financial aid applies to study abroad. In some cases, your aid will increase to cover additional expenses. The Padnos International Center offers scholarships to qualified study abroad participants. Visit their office in Lake Ontario Hall to research your options.

Visit this website: www.gvsu.edu/studyabroad

For some program recommendations, contact Professor Polly Diven here.

Democracy and World Politics Summer Research Program

From the Democracy and World Politics Summer Research Program website (click for more information):

In the summer of 2007, the Department of Political Science at Oklahoma State University (OSU) will host the third Democracy and World Politics Summer Research Program for undergraduates focusing on the substantively important and timely questions related to the impact of democracy on international politics and foreign policy. Supported by summer stipends, research funds, and travel funds, students will work in one of three issue areas:

Foreign Policy in a Democracy;
Democratization and Democracy Promotion;
Democracy and Conflict.

The program is designed to provide undergraduate students with valuable educational experiences through its support of research participation. This grant will enable student learning based on active discovery and inquiry and will improve student engagement, ownership of education, and preparation for graduate study.

If you are planning to apply, please e-mail Dr. Mark Richards (richardm@gvsu.edu) or Dr. Polly Diven (divenp@gvsu.edu) and we will give you some assistance with your application.

The Michigan Political Leadership Program

The Michigan Political Leadership Program is one of the country's landmark
political training programs.

MPLP is now gearing up for its major public presentation, an annual dinner
and breakfast, and is putting out the call for student volunteers to take
advantage of a special opportunity.

MPLP is inviting students with an interest -- and maybe a passion -- for
journalism, public affairs, political affairs, public policy, advertising
and public relations or even elected office to help with our annual
breakfast right in Grand Rapids.

Students will have the opportunity to meet, greet and talk with leaders from
the highest ranks of state government, from the state House and Senate and
even from their locally elected boards and committees.

MPLP needs help setting up, greeting speakers and guests, directing traffic
and helping out in a number of ways during breakfast.

The political training program is adminstrated by the Institute for Public
Policy & Social Research in the College of Social Science at Michigan State
University.

This time there will be a free lunch, well, almost. Breakfast -- plus the
price of a ticket to the event -- will be at no charge to volunteers.

The program features CNN commentator Paul Begala, a former White House
staffer in the administration of President Bill Clinton, squaring off
against J.C. Watts, chair of the J.C. Watts Companies, a former U.S.
Congressman and counselor to President George Bush and former quarterback
for the University of Oaklahoma Sooners.

Breakfast is Friday, March 2 at 7:30 a.m. at Noto's Old World Italian Dining
in Grand Rapids.

To volunteer or for more information, please contact Professor den Dulk.

Confessions of Young Alumni

The Future Alumni Association is hosting Confessions of Young Alumni: What Helped Them Survive the Real World on Tuesday, February 13 at 6 p.m. at the Alumni House. Alums who have graduated in the last 5 years will come together for this panel discussion to talk about how their experiences at Grand Valley helped them break into the professional world and to succeed there. They will share tips on what students can do for their careers right now, what stands out on a resume or in an interview, and what they wish they would have done in school to get ahead. Those who wish to participate should RSVP to alumni@gvsu.edu.

2006-7 Faculty Publications, Grants, Awards, and Conference Papers

This list is under construction and does not currently include all 2006-2007 publications and awards. The list is in alphabetical order by faculty name.

Dr. John Constantelos

"Strategie dei Gruppi d’Interesse nell’Europa Multilivello [Interest Group Strategies in Multi-Level Europe]," Faculty of Political Science, University of Perugia, May 3, 2006.

"Interest Group Strategies in Multi-level Europe." Journal of Public Affairs 7:1 (February 2007).

Dr. Kevin den Dulk

“In Legal Culture, But Not Of It: The Role of Cause Lawyers in Evangelical Legal Mobilization.” In Cause Lawyering and Social Movements, eds. Austin Sarat and Stuart Scheingold. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. 2006.

2007. Pew Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr. Polly Diven

2006. "A Coincidence of Interests: The Hyperpluralism of U.S. Food Aid Policy."
Foreign Policy Analysis 2 (4): 361-384.

Dr. George Kieh

"State Collaspe and Democratic Construction: The Prospects for Liberia," in John Mukum Mbaku and Julius O. Ihonvbere(eds), Multiparty Democracy and Chnage in Africa, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2006, pp. 158-178.

Beyond State Failure and Collapse: Making The State Relevant in Africa (Edited Volume). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2007.

Reconstituting The State in Africa. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan. 2007 (Co-edited with Pita Ogaba Agbese).

The First Liberian Civil War: The Crises of Underdevelopment. New York: Peter Lang. 2007.

The State in Africa: Beyond False Starts. Ibdan, Nigeria: Spectrum Books. 2007 (Co-edited with Pita Ogaba Agbese).

"The Crisis of the Neo-Colonial State and The Sierra Leonean Civil War," African Strategic Review, Vol. 1, No.1, 2006.

Dr. Michelle Miller-Adams

"A Simple Gift? The Impact of the Kalamazoo Promise on Economic Revitalization," Employment Research, W.E. Upjohn Institute, July 2006.

Panel Discussion on Media Coverage of Persistent Poverty, "Grassroots and Groundwork: What Communities are Doing to Get Out and Stay Out of Poverty" the annual conference of the Northwest Area Foundation, St. Paul, MN, September 17, 2006.

Dr. Mark Richards

Mark J. Richards, Herbert M. Kritzer and Joseph L. Smith. 2006. "Does Chevron Matter?" Law & Policy 28 (October): 444-469.

2006. Pew Teaching Excellence Award. Grand Valley State University.

Dr. Robert Stewart-Ingersoll

"Systemic Globalization and Personal Integrity Rights in Developing States." Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 2006.

Dr. Heather Tafel

“The Federal Gamble in Brazil, Russia, South Africa, and Spain,” Midwest American Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, 20-23 April 2006

“Democracy Demotion in Russia: The European Union’s Conflicting Priorities,” International Studies Association Conference, San Diego, 23-25 March 2006

2007. GVSU Faculty Research Summer Stipend.

2007. GVSU Research and Development Research Travel Grant.

Dr. Darren Walhof

“Friendship, Otherness, and Gadamer’s Politics of Solidarity,” Political Theory 34.5 (2006).

“Conceptual History and the Force of Tradition,” Crossroads: Writing Conceptual History beyond the Nation-State, the 9th Annual International Conference of the History of Political and Social Concepts Group (HPSCG), Uppsala, Sweden, August 24-26, 2006.

Great Decisions - Foreign Policy Lecture Series

The World Affairs Council of Western Michigan sponsors an excellent lecture series every winter semester, and 2007 is no exception. The Great Decisions Foreign Policy Series features talks by prominent thinkers and practitioners on many of today's hot topics in international affairs. For a listing of this year's lectures, go to the Council's website , or contact Professor Polly Diven (divenp@gvsu.edu), International Relations Coordinator at GVSU.

How Do I Find an Internship?

The first answer to the question is that you should come and talk to Professor den Dulk (Political Science) or Professor Diven (International Relations). Their contact information can be found to the left of this entry.

The second answer is to visit the PLS/IR Majors/Minors section of the Blackboard site. The announcements there are filled with opportunities.

The third answer is an upcoming Career Service event. Here's the information:

Seminar:
How To Find An Internship

Who Should Attend:
Any student looking to get started in their internship search. All levels welcome (Freshmen to Senior)

When:
JAN 22, 4-5pm
FEB 13, 12-1pm

Where:
KC 215/216

How to sign up:
Call Career Services at 331-3311 or via e-mail at career@gvsu.edu

Meet Judge Sara Smolenksi

We have an exciting event on January 24, 2007 at 6:00 PM. The Honorable Sara Smolenski is the keynote speaker for the first ATHENA Connections. Judge Smolenski’s insightful, humorous and dynamic presentation draws on her own principles of leadership and community service.

ATHENA Connections grows out of a desire to bring college students together with professional women in the West Michigan community and to begin conversations about career and life choices. ATHENA Connections is hosted by GVSU’s Women’s Center, Women & Gender Studies Program, and Seidman College of Business.

If you are interested, please email Professor Richards (richardm@gvsu.edu) *AND* RSVP to the Women’s Center by phone at 331-2748 or by e-mail at womenctr@gvsu.edu.

Here is a PDF describing the event. Download athena_invite_1_page_pdf.pdf

President Gerald R. Ford, 1913-2006

As you know, President Gerald Ford passed away in California on December 26. In fact, if you were anywhere in the vicinity of Grand Rapids during the end of winter break, you couldn't miss the tributes to and funeral of Grand Rapids' "favorite son." The Gerald Ford Museum, which has an association with GVSU's Hauenstein Center, has a great deal of information about President Ford's life and times. Visit its site here: http://www.geraldfordmemorial.org/

What I read on my winter vacation

It's been quiet here in AuSable Hall. While our brief interlude is almost over, a little reflection about the break is in order. What better way than to talk about the good and bad books of winter vacation? Yes, professors read books even when they don't have to. Feel free to add your list in the comments.

Mark Richards:

Halo trilogy by Eric Nylund and William Dietz (sci-fi series).

Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton - "a fascinating look at the increasing role of private military contractors in international conflicts."

Kevin den Dulk:

Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, by Herman Melville - "Melville and his Marquesan 'peeps'"

The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men’s Style, by Nicholas Antongiavanni - "now I know how much work it is to be a dandy, but also how much power there is in double-breasted suits"

Next, by Michael Crichton - "a fascinating concept, a really, really bad delivery"

The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis - reread

Polly Diven

I just read The Glass Castle, which is an amazing autobiographical account of columnist Jeannette Wells' childhood. Her father is an alcoholic genius and her mother is an artist who can't bother to fix meals. Neither parent can hold a job. Despite all this, the family has some great energy and creativity and the reader almost wishes he/she could spend a summer being homeless with them.

I've also been trying to keep up with my kids and get through the Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket. I'm also reading Anna Quindlen's new book, Rise and Shine. In terms of political science, I've been reading The Rise of the Vulcans. Enough said.

Michelle Miller-Adams

fiction, fiction, fiction... The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, The Memory-Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, Swann by Carol Shields (just starting that one). on tape and in the car, The Great Bridge by David McCullough...

John Constantelos

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, by Gordon Wood

Darren Walhof

I read The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (re-read, actually), The Boys, or Waiting for the Electrician's Daughter, by John Terpstra (a memoir about his three brothers-in-law who lived with muscular dystrophy until their deaths in their early twenties), and am currently reading Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, by the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben.

Heather Tafel

I finally finished Matthew Brzezinski's Casino Moscow: A Tale of Greed and Adventure on Capitalism's Wildest Frontier (2001, Touchstone) and finally read John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004, Plume) and have just begun Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner (2005, Penguin) in addition to catching up on some back issues of the Economist and the New Yorker.

Donald Zinman

Currently I am reading a book called Party of the People by Jules Witcover, New York: Random House, 2003. The book is a history of the Democratic Party

Paul Cornish

Joseph Priestly, Political Writings (Cambridge) and The Adams-Jefferson Letters, edited by Lester Cappon (UNC Press)