GV PS

LAS 380 01 The ‘Indian Question’ in the Americas

LAS 380 01 The ‘Indian Question’ in the Americas

Dr. Andrew Schlewitz
Fall 2008
Tues./Thurs. 1-2:15 PM 1118 Au Sable Hall

The “Indian Question” haunted the young states of the 19th century Americas. Trying to consolidate control over territory, or expand that territory, and forge a national identity, North and South American governments confronted indigenous groups who resisted that control and identity. The “Indian Question” was, then, what to do about such resistance?

The answers varied—from exile and destruction to forced assimilation and accommodation. We will study these answers with a focus on the United States, Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. The intent of this course is not only to learn how these answers varied, but why. We will also think together about the ways these answers to the “Indian Question” shaped political development in the Americas, and what those answers bequeathed to later generations.

Course Goals: by the end of the course, students will
•be able to relate key similarities and differences among selected American states in terms of how they treated indigenous populations over the 19th and 20 centuries;
•know the varied ways by which indigenous peoples responded to state efforts to shape and control them;
•be familiar with different explanations of relationships between indigenous groups and states, for example, from early (though still existing) essentialist arguments, to competing cultural, economic, and institutional theories, on to interpretive or constructivist approaches;
•be prepared to weigh the merits of these explanations of why Indian-state relations in the Americas have varied;
•have added to their experience with using primary documents; and
•practice critical reading and writing skills, as well as collaborative research in the seminar format.

Political Science Course Featured on WZZM

GVSU Political Science course PLS 205 The Policy Process was featured on WZZM news on April 24, and the video is currently at the top of the most popular videos list at WZZM.com. Students from the class prepared a policy report and presented it to M & M Energy. which is planning the Great Lakes Energy and Research Park.

Conference: Michigan's Underground Railroad Network

The African and African American Studies program in collaboration with the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission, the Hauenstein Presidential Studies Center and the Johnson Philanthropy Center will host a conference at Grand Valley on September 26-27, 2008 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the National Network to Freedom and the Michigan Freedom Trail. The theme of the conference will be 'Michigan's Underground Railroad Network: A Decade of Discoveries.'

The keynote speakers will be Karolyn Smardz Frost, Toronto archaeologist and author of I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad, Betty DeRamus, Detroit author of Forbidden Fruit Love Stories of the Underground Railroad, Anna-Lisa Cox, author of A Stronger Kinship One Town’s Extraordinary Story of Hope and Faith, and Allen Guelzo, Lincoln scholar and professor at Gettysburg College and others.

The National Network to Freedom and the Michigan Freedom Trail were created by national and Michigan legislation to enable citizens to recover, document, preserve and commemorate the histories of the underground railroad networks devised by black and white Americans that enabled blacks to resist and escape from slavery. The work that citizens have done to recover our state’s stories will be highlighted in the conference. In the past decade the work of citizens throughout the nation has dramatically increased our understanding of the Underground Railroad and abolitionist movements.

Details of the conference are posted and updated on the conference website.

Rogowski Wins Henry Fellowship

The political science department has chosen Ryan Rogowski as the recipient of the Paul B. Henry Congressional Internship. This summer Ryan will be interning in the Washington office of Senator Levin.

Amy Goodman to Speak May 10

Radio talk show host and author Amy Goodman will be speaking in Grand
Rapids on May 10. Amy and her crew with Democracy Now! are on a speaking
tour with Amy's newest book "Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes
in Extraordinary Times."

Her visit would be an excellent opportunity for your students to hear
about the work of someone in the independent media field, We are aware
that her visit is after the semester is over, but we would be grateful if
you could pass this information along to students.

This event is being sponsored by the Grand Rapids Indy Media group
MediaMouse.org. Media Mouse is an independent media collective that works
to provide independent news pertaining to Grand Rapids and the world.
Wherever possible, Media Mouse aims to draw links between national and
local issues and between movements for social change. In turn, it is hoped
that this news will be a catalyst for action and will help spur organizing
for social change.

The Amy Goodman lecture begins at 7pm at Plymouth Congregational UCC
located at 4110 Kalamazoo SE, just north of 44th street. Doors open at 6pm
and since this is a fundraiser for Media Mouse we are asking people to
donate anywhere between $5 and $25 to help support the independent media
we do here in West Michigan.

Following the lecture, there will be a book signing and books will be
available for purchase.

You can download flyers and find other promotional materials here.

PLS and IR Students Receive Awards

Political Science and International Relations students were recognized at the recent GVSU Awards Banquet. Edward Kastelz received the International Relations Outstanding Student Award. Andrea Dickson received the Political Science Outstanding Student Award.

IR Major Dorothy Sewe

International Relations major Dorothy Sewe has received a number of accolades recently. She is the recipient of a Local Hero in Philanthrophy Award from the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthrophy and Nonprofit Leadership.

She also received the International Humanitarian Award from the Red Cross.

Dorothy was also featured in a story about her humanitarian accomplishments and her participation in the Switzerland: International Organizations and Social Justice program sponsored by the nonprofit group World Learning. She plans to attend the SIT Graduate Institute to obtain a master's degree in sustainable development.

2008 Law School Summer Boot Camp for Students of Color

From the JD Project:

2008 Law School Summer Boot Camp for Students of Color

Having more lawyers of color is essential to the well-being of communities of color. In fact, a recent National Jurist Article, a journal for law students, talked about the disappearing black and Latino law student. This is particularly problematic. The power in this country is held by those who control the money and the law. The decreasing number of black and Latino attorneys is in fact a decrease in power in our community. The JD Project is committed to reversing that trend. One our projects is to assure that entering law students of color do well in law school, particularly their first year. This is important so that they can maximize their career options and be prepared to give back to their community with legal knowledge, skills and support.

Everyone admitted to law school has demonstrated similar intelligence, commitment and effort. What distinguishes "A" students is study skills and habits, access to legal information, analytical and test-taking skills All these are skills and abilities that can be learned and improved on. In our more than 35 years of experience of helping students-of-color succeed, we have seen the impact that intense preparation can have on a student's ability to excel. In a competitive environment like law school, where grades are given based on how a person performs compared to the other students in the class, it is essential the entering law students-of-color be appropriately prepared.

The Summer Boot Camp is an online distance learning program designed to provide that intense preparation. The Boot Camp teachs students to study effectively for law school, introduces students to the writing, thinking and test-taking skills needed to excel on law school exams, and builds a network of academic support that crosses school boundaries. The participants will work on the study skills, strategies and techniques they will need to achieve their goals as law students.

This is a 100 hour online program. It is $600 (Compared to $2000 for a 40 hour program by BarBri).

Admission is on a rolling basis till the program is filled. Because of the intense nature of this program it is important that students start as early in the summer as possible, preferrably by June 1st

For more information, contact Ms. Brenda Randall, Volunteer Director and Admission Coordinator, admin@thejdproject.org.

New Book by Dr. George Kieh

George Klay Kieh, Jr., Professor of Political Science, has published the book THE STATE IN AFRICA: ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES, Lagos, Nigeria: Kraft Books, 2008(co-edited). This is the first of a series of books that will be produced by African-based publishers as part of the efforts to help address the crisis of textbooks at the various universities in Nigeria and other African states.

Electoral College Debate

From the Hauenstein Center:

Join Grand Valley's Hauenstein Center on Thursday, April 24, 2008, for a debate on the electoral college. The debate will take place at 7:30 in the Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Campus. RSVP.

The Constitution says,

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.... The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons.... The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President....

Is the design still necessary? Or -- 180 years after Andrew Jackson ushered in America's Democratic era -- is the system an anachronism of an earlier age?

Gary Gregg II will argue in favor of the electoral college. Gregg is Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville, where he is also Director of the McConnell Center for Political Leadership. He is the author or editor of five books, including The Presidential Republic: Executive Representation and Deliberative Democracy (1996), Vital Remnants: America's Founding and the Western Tradition (1999), and Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College (2001).

Burdett Loomis will argue against the electoral college. Burdett is professor of political science at the University of Kansas and former director of the Robert J. Dole Institute for Public Service and Public Policy. He is author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Choosing a President: The Electoral College and Beyond (2002), Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy (2002), and The First Shots of the Culture Wars: Politics, Institution, and Change (forthcoming).