Political Theory: Methods and Approaches
Political Theory: Methods and Approaches. David Leopold and Marc Stears, eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. As their book opens, “Political theorists are often silent on…
The Comparative Politics of Eric Voegelin
These three essays–“Democracy in the New Europe” (1959), “Industrial Society in Search for Reason” (1960), and “Democracy and Industrial Society” (1964)–were written in a period of transition…
The Postmodern Condition of Cosmopolitanism
The advent of globalization has prompted both democratic and cosmopolitan theorists to reconceptualize democracy, citizenship, and political community, as “the ideals of citizenship clash with the sovereign…
The Anthropology of Intentions: Language in a World of Others
The Anthropology of Intentions: Language in a World of Others. Alessandro Duranti. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. How and to what extent do people take into…
Enemy Images, Evidence, and Cognitive Dissonance: The Cold War as Recalled by Michiganders
This chapter is a summary of Michiganders’ view of three Cold War events: the communist infiltration of labor unions in the 1940s, McCarthyism in the 1950s, and…
Aristotelian Citizenship for a Multicultural World
One the debates confronting liberal democracies is how to conceive of citizenship in an age of multiculturalism. Liberal political theorists regard citizenship as primary a legal entity…
The Case Against Education: Why the Education System is a Waste of Time and Money
The Case Against Education: Why the Education System is a Waste of Time and Money. Bryan Caplan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018. According to Caplan, an…
The Future of University Credentials: New Developments at the Intersection of Higher Education and Learning
The Future of University Credentials: New Developments at the Intersection of Higher Education and Learning. Sean R. Gallagher. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2016. Each year employers…
Making Sense of The College Curriculum: Faculty Stories of Change, Conflict, and Accommodation
Making Sense of The College Curriculum: Faculty Stories of Change, Conflict, and Accommodation. Robert Zemsky, Gregory R. Wegner, and Ann J. Duffield. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press,…
In Search of Meaning: Politics and Religion in Eric Voegelin’s Thought
Harvard Abigail Adams Institute is hosting a weekend seminar on the thought of Eric Voegelin on September 27-28, 2019. Eric Voegelin (1901–1985) was a German-American political scientist…
Liberal Learning and the Great Christian Tradition
Liberal Learning and the Great Christian Tradition. Gary W. Jenkins and Jonathan Yonan, eds. Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2015. In the forward, Stratford Caldecott claims that education…
Higher Calling: The Rise of Nontraditional Leaders in Academia
Higher Calling: The Rise of Nontraditional Leaders in Academia. Scott C. Beardsley. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2017. According to Beardsley, a revolution is taking place…
SoTL as a Subfield for Political Science Graduate Programs
Today the discipline of political science is faced with the challenges of demonstrating its public worth, finding employment for its doctoral students, and discovering a common language…
Teaching American Politics in the Modern University
You may be surprised to learn of the growing movement to dispense with the study of American politics as a distinct subfield of political science, but this…
Aristotelian Pluralism and Diversity: The Conditions for Civic Education and the Common Good
With the decline in social capital and the rise of the immigrant populace in the United States, there is renewed interest in civic education as a way…