|
|
|
WMU's Department of Political Science was highly internationalized well before it became fashionable. Opportunities for students, faculty activies, and extracurricular events all contribute to the international dimensions of the department. International Opportunities for Students Study Abroad. Globalization is more than just the latest buzzword. It is recognition of the fact that borders in our world are diminishing in importance and our interdependence is growing. Whether you will be seeking employment after graduate or will be looking to enrol in graduate or law school, an international experience can be an important addition to your portfolio. The most effective way for Political Science students to incorporate include a meaningful nternational experience in their undergraduate career is to study abroad while at WMU. WMU's Office of Study Abroad offers many programs that include courses in Political Science. You can also select programs through other universities and, with advance approval, apply some or all of your course work to major credit, minor credit or general education credit. Programs vary in their duration, from as little as ten days to as long as an academic year. Grants and scholarhips are available for certain types of programs (for more, see OSA's page on financing a study abroad experience). Here are some of the countries in which WMU Political Science students have studied:
Field Research. Believe it or not, international field research is not beyond the scope of undergraduate students. In recent years, WMU Political Science students have conducted field research in Mexico, Spain and South Africa. Although the amount of planning and preparation is extensive, the reward is significant. Not only do you have a great and meaningful international experience, but you number among very few students nationwide who undertake such a project. For more on undergraduate research and funding opportunities, see our student research page.
International Internships. Several WMU Political Science student have served in internships overseas! For information, see our Internships page. Colloquia and Presentations. The Institute of Government and Politics regularly organizes colloquia and presentations, many of which are international in character. See the IGP page for scheduled events. The George Klein Endowment. The Department administers the George Klein Endowment, created in honor of the late Dr George Klein, a longtime faculty member. Devoted to the countries of Eastern Europe, the Endowment supports scholarly activities (including student activities) and provides scholarship support for students from Eastern Europe to study at WMU.Events associated with the Klein Endowment can be found at the Institute of Government and Politics web site. Faculty Activities in International Affairs About half of the Department's faculty are active internationally on a regular basis. All of the full-time faculty who teach courses for the major in International and Comparative Politics are at least bilingual, and boast extensive living and working experience in the areas of their expertise. Some examples: Dr. Jim Butterfield is interested in civil society, transitions and development. As a specialist in the former Soviet Union and several of the successor states (principally Russia), he has been to the region some two dozen times for a total period in excess of three years. Fluent in Russian, he has traveled extensively throughout provincial Russia, including to many cities that were formerly closed to foreigners. He worked on several consulting projects for USAID in Russia involving land reform, farm privatization and rural development, and for an Asian Development Bank project on agricultural sectoral development in Uzbekistan. As Associate Director of the Haenicke Institute of International and Area Studies from 2000-2003, he was responsible for new overseas program development for the university, and in that capacity traveled to Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. In 2002-2003 and in the summer of 2004, he was a Visiting Associate at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town. He served as chair of the university's International Education Council for four years. Dr. Paul Clements lived for five years in Africa, first as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia, and subsequently working on various projects. He conducted his dissertation research in Uganda, Kenya, and Malawi. He has also lived in Hong Kong and India. Fluent in Mandinko and with a working knowlege of Wolof, he continues his interest in international development with principle focus in Africa, but with attention to all developing countries. Most recently, he has undertaken monitoring and evaluation projects on contract with development organizations in Africa. Dr. Suhashni Datta-Sandhu, a graduate of the University of Nairobi, originates from Kenya and has conducted extensive research there. In particular, she is a specialist on the Green Belt Movement led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Matthai. More recently, as faculty supervisor for WMU's study abroad program at the University of Cape Town, she has been traveling to South Africa annually. She is fluent in Kiswahili. Dr. Gunther Hega, a native of Germany, is a specialist in Western European Politics. His research has centered on the German-speaking portions of Central Europe. He has taught summer courses at the University of Tübingen in southern Germany and has served as faculty supervisor for WMU's study abroad program at the University of Bonn, which he helped establish. He won a European Union instructional grant to promote and expand the study of the EU at WMU. Dr Priscilla Lambert, a Japanologist, has spent over five years living and studying in Japan. She earned an MA in economics from Keio University, one of Western's partner institutions. She is fluent in Japanese. Dr Mahendra Lawoti, a native of Nepal, is a South Asian expert. He has conducted research in Nepal and India. He grew up in Nepal and has lived in India for more than four years. He is fluent in Nepali and has a working knowledge of Hindi and Limbu, an indigenous language from Nepal. He regularly visits the region on research trips. Dr. Sybil Rhodes, the department's Latin American politics specialist, speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese. She has lived and worked for a total period exceeding four years in several Latin American countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Costa Rica. She continues to travel regularly to the region for research purposes. Dr. Larry Ziring, professor emeritus, is one of its most widely traveled faculty members. An expert in the politics of South Asia (he has published on Bangladesh, India and Pakistan), he has focused more recently on the changing geopolitics of Europe. He often attends NATO conferences in Europe. Dr. Kenneth Dahlberg, professor emeritus, has interests in food systems and sustainable agriculture. He worked briefly in newly independent Latvia, consulting with specialists in environmental management. He spent a summer in New Zealand and subsequently an academic year in Australia participating in workshops, curriculum development, and research projects. Dr. Thomas Kostrzewa, an adjunct professor in the Department, has traveled all over the world at various points in his life. More recently, his dissertation research focused on China (he is fluent in Mandarin). His current interests are particularly in the western peripheral provinces of Xinjiang and Tibet, and in Cuba. He has served as faculty supervisor for WMU study abroad programs in Tibet and Cuba. Dr. Barbara McCrea, adjunct and a specialist on the former Yugoslavia, has been to the region many times. She has been awarded Fulbright lectureships at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and the University of Tartu, Estonia. Recent International Field Research by Graduate Students Stacey Pollard (ABD) is doing her field research in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 academic years. Melanie Kintz (ABD) is in Germany collecting data on the career patterns of German Bundestag members. Fodei Batty (ABD) was in Sierra Leone and Liberia for two years gathering survey data and conducting focus groups for his dissertation project on post-civil war voting patterns. His research was partially supported by a Howard Wolpe African Studies Grant from the department and a Jennings Randolph Peace Fellowship from the United States Institute of Peace. Courtney Buck (2008) interned with the Komaza NGO in Kalifi, Kenya in the summer of 2007, where (among other things) she researched the cultivation of jatropha. Mihaiela Ristei (ABD) spent one year in Bucharest, Romania researching anti-corruption strategies. She was partially funded by a George Klein East European Studies Grant from the department. Miguel Centellas (2007) conducted field research for ten months in Bolivia over the 2003-2004 academic year supported by a Fulbright grant. He researched the roots of democratic stability and instability. From March to December 2004, Yazmine Watts (ABD) was in Senegal, also on a Fulbright grant, studying NGO activities in the area of women's health.
Jianfeng Wang (PhD 2005) conducted field research in Xian during the summer of 2004 on residents committees and their role in affecting local politics. Ekaterina Levintova (PhD 2004) was the recipient of two American Council grants and one IREX grant that supported her research in Russia (9 months) and Poland (6 months) on how intellectuals influence both policy and public opinion. Levintova is now Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University / Texarkana. Aparna Thomas (PhD 2004) spent a total of 14 months spread over two trips in India, most of it in the state of Maharashtra, working at the village level examining how the quota laws stipulating women's presence on local councils has affected gender relations. She was awarded the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women in Politics for her work. Thomas is now Assistant Professor of Political Science and Women's Studies at Cornell College in Iowa. Moataz Abdelfattah (PhD 2004) conducted field research in eight Middle Eastern countries in the course of conducting his dissertation research on Muslims' attitudes toward democracy. He did surveys, conducted focus groups, and interviewed Islamic scholars and intellectuals. Abdelfattah is Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University. He also maintains his position on the faculty of Cairo University. Kiragu Wambuii (PhD 2004) conducted field research in Kenya for his dissertation on AIDS policy and democratization. Wambuii is currrently Assistant Professor at Southwest Missouri State University. Sukhee Lee (PhD 2002) spent six months in his native South Korea in 2000 researching the roots of Korea's democratic transition in civil society activity in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now on the faculty of Dankook University, Seoul.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
