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Greetings from the Department Head
On behalf of the political science department, I’d like to welcome our students to the 2020-21 academic year at UNCG and wish our alumni well as they cope with the pandemic. We can say with certainty that this will be a year like no other.
Since this is an election year, we hope that everyone will keep up with the latest news about the campaign and that students will bring their analysis and questions into the classroom to help themselves and others understand what is going on. Most importantly, we want you to be sure to make a plan to vote. Details about the rules and opportunities to vote are available in a variety of places online but also at https://olce.uncg.edu/students/voting/
Despite the challenges associated with COVID-19, we hope to provide students with courses and extracurricular opportunities to make this a productive and enriching semester. The faculty worked steadily over the spring, summer, and fall converting courses to new formats so that you can continue making progress toward your degree in Political Science. They are exploring new strategies for learning in a hybrid and online environment and some of these innovations will likely remain after we return to face-to-face classes. We appreciate your patience as we adapt to teaching in the midst of the pandemic.
Spring semester classes will look a lot like the fall, with a mix of online (synchronous and asynchronous), hybrid, and face-to-face. Despite the challenges posed by the virus, our course offerings in the spring will provide the same variety that we typically offer, including a mix of writing and speaking-intensive courses.
We hope to return to normal in the near future and see all of you once again walking the halls of the Curry building.
Sincerely,
Professor Greg McAvoy
Department Head
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Professor Charles Prysby Retires
Professor Charles Prysby is retiring after 49 years of service to UNCG, and we want to recognize his many contributions both as a teacher and researcher.
As a teacher, Prysby taught research methods to generations of students, while also offering interesting courses on political behavior, election, and Southern Politics.
Prysby is also a distinguished researcher. He is the author of four books, two edited volumes, and dozens of articles in the fields of public opinion, voting, and Southern politics - including “Rich Voter, Poor Voter, Red Voter, Blue Voter,” which he just published in 2020.
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Welcoming our new faculty member, Andrew Engelhardt
We’re excited to welcome a new faculty member to the Political Science Department. Professor Engelhardt received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 2019 and last year was a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University’s Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy and an affiliate with The Policy Lab.
In his research, he focuses on political identities and intergroup attitudes and how these can change over time. His research on changing racial attitudes is particularly salient right now and has been referenced by a variety of media outlets, including The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, NPR, The National Review, The Week, and Yahoo News. He will teach courses in research methods, identity and politics, and political psychology. We are hopeful that you will get to meet him in person soon!
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Faculty Publications and Updates
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Professor Patrick Giamario has a forthcoming article in Contemporary Political Theory. In "Laughter as Dissensus: Kant and the Limits of Normative Theorizing Around Laughter," he proposes that we treat laughter in politics as an aesthetic rather than a normative issue. That is, we should not ask about the role laughter should play in politics, but rather how the experience of laughter shapes what we think of as "political" itself. He makes this argument by putting the German philosopher Immanuel Kant's (pictured) theory of laughter into conversation with Dave Chappelle's recent stand-up comedy special "Sticks & Stones."
Professor Greg McAvoy is working on two studies of political deliberation among young people. One focuses on the effectiveness of a deliberation process that will be used by high school students in the Baltimore County School District, and the other examines deliberation among students attending programs run by the Close Up Foundation in Washington, DC. He is collaborating on these projects with his sister, Paula McAvoy, who is faculty member in the NC State School of Education. They have a forthcoming article in the Peabody Journal of Education entitled, “Can Debate and Deliberation Reduce Partisan Divisions? Evidence from a Study of High School Students.”
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Professor Susan Johnson published "Speaking Up: Women and Dissenting Behavior in the Supreme Court of Canada" in Justice System Journal.
Professor Fabrice Lehoucq had a busy spring semester while on research leave. He worked on his book manuscript and published, "Bolivia's Citizen Revolt," Journal of Democracy, 31: 3 (July 2020), pp. 130-144. This article is part of Lehoucq's long-term research on why close elections, especially in the context of electoral fraud, can lead to conflict and violence. Visit his website for papers on electoral fraud and reform.
In addition, Professor Lehoucq gave several interviews on the outcome of the 2019 presidential elections in Bolivia, like the one in this video.
Professors Charles Prysby and David Holian published "Did Character Count? Candidate Traits and the 2016 Presidential Vote" in the latest edition of Presidential Studies Quarterly.
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Professor Thomas Little (above left) will be providing Election Night Coverage on Channel 2 WFMY from 7:30-11:30 on Tuesday, November 3.
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Congratulations to our scholarship recipients for the 2020-2021 academic year!
May Davidson Scholarship
Jessica Agbemavor
Jenny Lois Francisco
Jaear McClendon
Panashe Washaya
Annie Moring Alexander Scholarship
Kiana Banks
Andrea Santolim Geller
Shante McNeill
Chloe Siegel
James Clotfelter Scholarship
Joy Woods
Mina Weil Scholarship
Elizabeth Upchurch
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Thinking about grad school? Want to make a difference?
Are you graduating soon and are not quite sure what you want to do with your degree? Maybe UNCG's Master of Public Affairs program is the answer for you.
The MPA program offers an exciting professional degree opportunity for students considering careers in nonprofit organizations or government agencies.
This 43-hour program provides students with relevant educational experiences to prepare them for a variety of challenging careers.
The job placement rate for the past two years has been over 90 percent! Graduate assistantships, paid internships and scholarships also make this degree more affordable than law school.
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Consider joining Model United Nations Club
Model United Nations (PSC 250) is a one-credit class offered in the Spring 2021 semester. The focus of the class is preparation for the Southern Regional Model UN in Charlotte on March 25-27, 2021. Students will represent their assigned country in simulations of UN committees and agencies. The class is open to all interested students. For more information, contact Dr. Michael Broache.
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A Note about Letters of Recommendation
Faculty members are happy to write recommendations for their best students. You should ask a faculty member who knows you well and will be able to provide a letter with some detail about your abilities and accomplishments. Whenever possible, please give the faculty member a copy of your Statement of Purpose (or whatever explains your goals) and plenty of time to prepare the letter before the deadline. Please understand that a well-written letter of recommendation takes time.
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Political Science Careers
The Department handbook for majors (and anyone else who is interested) is available in a PDF format. Send a request to Agnes Szarka at a_szarka@uncg.edu to receive a copy of Careers and the Study of Political Science, sixth ed., American Political Science Association.
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Political Science Students Featured
Several political science students were recently featured in UNCG news outlets.
- Joy Woods (left) was featured in the story, "A Spartan Family: Five siblings thrive at UNCG." Read it here >>
- Austin Moore (right) was featured in an article about what it's like to serve as student body president during a pandemic. Read it here >>
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Alumni-Student Networking will be virtual
Due to Covid-19, the annual PSC Alumni-Student Networking Event will NOT be held during Homecoming, as it has been for the past 11 years. Instead, in the spring, there will be a series of evening online events, giving Political Science juniors and seniors a chance to interact with our alumni, working in a wide variety of occupations. Because it will be virtual, we can have a wider array of our alumni, from all across the country, participate. Look early in the spring semester for announcements concerning the dates and times!
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Gifts of any size help enrich our department's student research, travel, and conference participation.
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