Two respected scholars -- one of African literature and one of the political economy -- will join the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences faculty this year. Grace Musila has been named associate professor in the Department of English, and Eric Mvukiyehe has been named assistant professor in the Department of Political Science.
Both hires were supported by a $4 million grant from The Duke Endowment, a private foundation based in Charlotte. The funding is dedicated to hiring up to six new scholars with expertise on Africa… read more about Two Experts on Africa to Join Trinity Faculty »
Before Donald Trump’s surprise election in 2016, students in Ian MacMullen’s politics classes listened with a collective shrug when he talked about forms of government other than democracy.
No longer.
Faculty who teach about politics and public policy say four years of a chaotic, unorthodox presidency has exposed democracy’s fragility. Free speech, the Constitution, trust in government leaders, etc. all took a sucker punch under Trump.
But in classrooms that challenge undergraduates to think critically about democracy,… read more about Teaching Democracy in a Moment of Political Crisis »
Before Donald Trump’s surprise election in 2016, students in Ian MacMullen’s politics classes listened with a collective shrug when he talked about forms of government other than democracy.
No longer.
Faculty who teach about politics and public policy say four years of a chaotic, unorthodox presidency has exposed democracy’s fragility. Free speech, the Constitution, trust in government leaders, etc. all took a sucker punch under Trump.
But in classrooms that challenge undergraduates to think critically about democracy,… read more about Understanding Democracy's Frailties »
The Duke Graduate School has an annual tradition of celebrating the contributions of graduate students. Each spring, the Graduate School organizes activities to help students socialize, expand personal growth, and get access to tools for professional development.
This year, the Graduate School encouraged departments and schools to create thank you videos to highlight this extraordinary period of life and the students who challenge themselves to become experts in their fields of study.
We made this video to say thank… read more about Graduate Student Appreciation Week »
April
So Jin Lee has accepted a postdoc at MIT and Harvard as a Grand Strategy, Security, and Statecraft Fellow
Zeren LI has been offered a tenure-track position at University College London and won a Leitner Postdoctoral Fellowship at Yale University
Marco Morucci has accepted a postdoc as a Moore-Sloan Faculty Fellow at the NYC Center for Data Science
Rachel Myrick was selected among 30 young professionals as part of the Aspen Strategy Group's Rising Leaders Program
Geneviève Rousselière. 2021. "Can Popular… read more about Scholarship and Milestones, 2021 »
April
John Aldrich and Michael Gillespie guide a journalist through a discussion of Democratic strategies for gun control, in The National Interest
Pablo Beramendi examines the transmission of elite bias through the U.S. system of representation from 1781 until 1961, in Broadstreet Blog
David Dow, Diego Romero, Juan Tellez (PhD '19), Mateo Villamizar Chaparro, Erik Wibbels and more DevLab affiliates follow their new report with "4 things the Biden Administration should pay attention to with the border crisis,"… read more about In the News, 2021 »
A group of Duke researchers wrote an article for the Washington Post discussing their work on what happens when people are deported from the United States. The authors include David Dow, a postdoc in Political Science; Mateo Villamizar Chaparro, a graduate student in Political Science; and Erik Wibbels, the Robert O. Keohane Professor of Political Science. read more about Biden Wants to Halt Deportations. Here’s What Happens When Migrants Are Sent Back. »
This month, we present a collection of 12 Duke-authored books documenting women's contributions to history, culture and society.
These books, along with many others, are available at Duke University Libraries, the Gothic Bookshop or the Regulator Bookshop.
Women and the War Story by Miriam Cooke
In “Women and the War Story,” Professor Emerita miriam cooke charts the emerging tradition of women’s contributions to what she calls the “War Story,” a genre formerly reserved for men. Concentrating on… read more about 12 Duke-Authored Books on Women's History »
The seventh annual Duke Graduate Conference in Political Theory, which will take place over Zoom on February 26 from 9:30 am to 5:15 pm EST.
The conference schedule and papers are available here.
All panels are open to the public. To receive a zoom link, please register for the conference here.
Melissa Lane, the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics at Princeton University and director of the University Center for Human Values, will serve as the keynote speaker for the conference. Her keynote address will… read more about Seventh Annual Graduate Conference in Political Theory »
More than 1,000 Duke students from across the globe logged on to Zoom over the first two weeks of January to participate in an academic gateway for students of any major to explore new topics in a short form and without the pressure of grades
Open to all Duke students- undergraduates, graduates, and professionals, Winter Breakaway offered 13 different programs focusing on topics including computational thinking, mindfulness, policies in the technology sector, intercultural competencies and navigating difficult… read more about Students Find Interdisciplinary Exploration and Connection in Winter Breakaway Courses »
Paul D. McClain, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Political Science, joined PBS NewsHour to discuss the challenges Joe Biden will face as president. “Our democracy is not only fragile, but it can be destroyed in a flash,” she said. “How do you get people to believe in this idea of democracy again?” read more about Biden Inherits a Deeply Divided Nation, but Most Voters Think He Will Bring Unity »
After last week’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a gang of rioters egged on by President Trump, longtime observers of government and politics are trying to determine just how much damage the nation has suffered and how it can begin to recover.
At Duke, three experts in history, law and political science discussed the challenges the nation now faces. In a wide-ranging virtual media briefing, the scholars looked at the historical precursors to the insurrection, the infiltration of police and military by white nationalists,… read more about US Capitol Riots: Where Do We Go From Here? »
Americans were shocked Wednesday by the image of rioters storming through the U.S. Capitol, ransacking galleries, hallways and offices.
For law professor Darrell Miller, the attack also prompted questions about white supremacy and how Americans respond to race.
“The police response to the insurrection at the Capitol shows two things,” said Miller, Melvin G. Shimm Professor of Law at Duke. “First, how incredibly dangerous it is if we as a country allow armed political protest to become the norm. One… read more about DC Riot Underscores Dangers of White Supremacy, Experts Say »
DURHAM, N.C. -- The jaw-dropping insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, egged on by President Trump, has shone yet again a harsh spotlight on domestic terror groups, disinformation and the role the military plays in domestic security issues.
Four Duke experts spoke Thursday on these and other topics during a virtual briefing for members of the media. (Watch the briefing on YouTube.)
Here are excerpts:
ON THE CAPITOL INVASIONDavid Schanzer, director, Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland…read more about Lessons From the U.S. Capitol Riot »
If he could bottle the sound, he would.
In his backyard music studio in Durham, Matthew Busch lifts his saxophone to his lips, takes a breath, and plays four languid notes. He ascends from an E to an A, then plays up an octave, holding each note for four beats. He switches to another mouthpiece, plays again. Repeats with a third.
Busch describes the sound coaxed from each thumb-sized mouthpiece like he’s describing a favorite wine. One, a Selmer tenor sax mouthpiece from the 1950s, is expressive, balanced, bright. Another,… read more about Conjuring Coltrane »
December
Jeremy Spater. 2020. "Exposure and Preferences: Evidence from Indian Slums." American Journal of Political Science.
Amelia Steinbach, T’21 student, who wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post last year, has been awarded the George J. Mitchell Scholarship for a year of graduate study in Ireland, reports Duke Today
November
Daniel Kselman, Emerson Niou, and Austin Wang. 2020. “Measuring ‘closeness’ in 3-candidate elections: Methodology and an application to strategic voting.” Electoral Studies…read more about Scholarship & Milestones, in 2020 »
Timur Kuran, professor of Economics and Political Science, joined the podcast Hidden Brain to discuss the way "our personal, professional and political lives are shaped by the fear of what other people think." Listen at the Hidden Brain website or your favorite podcast app. read more about A Conspiracy of Silence »
In July 2020, President Donald Trump announced plans for the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization, which he has repeatedly blamed for failing to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. While the threat had no immediate practical effect – the WHO’s rules require a year’s notice to withdraw – it inflamed concerns in global health circles that the U.S. would back away from its historical commitment to the organization at the worst possible time.
Following the election of Joe Biden as president, most of… read more about A Fresh Start for the U.S. and the WHO? »
Between August 2020 and January 2021, Duke political science faculty engaged journalists on the most pressing issues of the election cycle. This collection of videos brings them together alongside Duke faculty from other parts of campus.
“The right to vote requires a reasonable but not unlimited set of options. Citizens don’t have the right to violate the rights of others. Citizens don’t have the right to elect whomever they want. We typically have a limited set of choices. We don’t… read more about The Media Briefing Series »
Of all the things that make college students anxious, now you can add ghost cars to the list.
Not haunted, unoccupied moving vehicles, Flying Dutchman style. “Ghost cars” is a term Duke Parking & Transportation (DPT) uses to define cars that enter or leave parking lots when the gates are up, like during a football game or evening event. The gate sensors don’t record them both entering and exiting, which causes problems in keeping an accurate count of the cars using a lot.
A few summers ago, DPT asked a group of… read more about Quantitatively and Qualitatively, Data+ and Its Affiliated Programs Are Big Hits »
Alexander Kirshner, an associate professor of Political Science, argued in The Hill that Donald's Trump's "refusal to acknowledge that the election has been called for Joe Biden or even to allow Biden to receive the customary security briefings given to the presidents-elect has generated broad concern about the state of our constitutional system." read more about Saving Legitimate Opposition »
Kerry Haynie, an associate professor of Political Science and African & African American Studies, co-wrote an article for the Washington Post describing his new research with Beth Reingold and Kirsten Widner, which found that "women of color are the most likely to address the needs of multiple marginalized groups with their legislative portfolios, but Latinas and Black women approach such issues somewhat differently." read more about Women of Color Won Congressional Seats in Record Numbers. How Will They Legislate? »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University senior Amelia Steinbach of Durham, North Carolina, is one of 12 Americans selected this weekend to receive the George J. Mitchell Scholarship for a year of graduate study in Ireland.
This year, 453 students applied for the scholarship, named in honor of Sen. George Mitchell’s contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process. Recipients are chosen on the basis of academic distinction, leadership and service.
Steinbach, a political science major with minors in Gender, Sexuality &… read more about Duke Senior Awarded George J. Mitchell Scholarship to Study in Ireland »
Sunshine Hillygus, Professor of Political Science, was interviewed for an Atlantic article about how to convince loved ones to change their votes. “It’s not just one conversation," she said. “It is a repeated discussion of the things that you value.” Read the article at The Atlantic. read more about The Science of Changing a Loved One’s Vote »
As the Trump administration continues its flurry of largely evidence-free allegations of widespread voter fraud and rigged voting results, President-elect Joe Biden is left to wait for some of the resources needed for his official transition to the White House.
As the clock ticks, two Duke professors with experience in previous White House administrations discussed the impact the transition delay will have on the nation’s handling of the pandemic, national security and other important issues.
The two political scientists… read more about Former White House Official: 'The Delay in Transition is not Helpful' »
Political Science
