October Surprises and Wagging the Dog: Do Upcoming Elections Affect Foreign Policy Decision Making?

While it is often asserted that leaders use foreign policy to domestic advantage as elections approach, the scholarly findings on this subject defy simple characterization.  My project examines the extent to which U.S. presidents adjust their foreign policies during an election run.  I contend that while elections do affect foreign policy decisions, presidents do not seek political advantage from foreign policy and instead see foreign policy only as a potential threat to their political objectives.

Make sure to stop by my office hours today (5-7) or tomorrow (11-12)

if you need to withdraw from a class.

Any sophomore or junior in good standing may submit an application statement that addresses the following:

* Describe in detail the most influential social justice effort in which you played a leadership role that sought to make our society more equitable. (The effort could have a direct affect on the Wesleyan campus or on external communities.)
* Indicate how you effectively worked across different social identity groups (such as identity-based student organizations, program houses, faculty, administrators, and staff) in the pursuit of social justice

In addition to your application statement, you must include a letter of support from a faculty or administrator involved in your effort and submit evidence of impact that the social justice effort had on making our society more just by contributing testimonies from individuals directly involved, artifacts from your social justice effort (e.g., past printed programs, presentations, and articles), and/or your work from courses. You may include non-print items, such as DVDs.

You must include at least four copies of the non-print and printed items and drop them off to Dean Marina J. Melendez, North College, 2nd floor, Room 215 by 5 p.m. on February 26, 2010. All application letters, letters of support and printed items must be in by the deadline. By submitting your application, you agree to allow the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Strategic Partnerships to use it (or excerpts from it) for assessment, archival, and promotion purposes.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Dean Marina J. Melendez, Ph.D., x.2765, mmelendez@wesleyan.edu.

For more information, go to http://www.iie.org/programs/finip.

To apply, deliver a hard copy of your application to Professor Anne Greene’s office: Downey House, Rm. 207. Include an info sheet with your name, class year, phone number, major, any second languages you speak, and a brief explanation of why you’re interested in the position; an unofficial transcript, the academic history page from your e-portfolio; and a recent writing sample, preferably with the grade and your professor’s comments.

Writing Tutors in the Workshop:

As a writing tutor in the workshop you will work four hours a week, 7-11pm, at one of our offices: Olin, SciLi, or the Shapiro Center. You will also attend the one hour Ford Teaching Seminar (ENG 492) that meets on Tuesdays at noon. Compensation for this position includes one full credit in English and $400 stipend.

Writing Tutors in Academic Courses:

Tutors in courses work with students to generate paper topics, they revise drafts, host occasional discussion sessions, and help students review and incorporate professors’ comments on writing assignments. This position has the same compensation as above and tutors attend the Ford Teaching Seminar.

Writing Mentors:

Mentors work one-on-one with three to five students for an entire semester. They too attend the Ford Teaching Seminar and receive the same compensation.

These positions are filled every semester and students can work as many semesters as they wish; returning tutors enroll in the Veteran Ford Teaching Seminar.

For more info, please feel free to contact us at Writingworks@gmail.com or Professor Anne Greene at agreene@wesleyan.edu.

interested in applying for the Watson Fellowship

in September 2010?

Want $25,000 to travel around the world

doing a self-designed project based on your passion

for one year after you graduate?

Come to the

Watson Informational Meeting

Wednesday, November 18

4:15 p.m., PAC 002

with Dean Brown

Proposal for Class of 2011 is due mid-September, 2010.

For more information about the fellowship, see

www.watsonfellowship.org and

www.wesleyan.edu/deans/watson.html

]]> http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2009/11/18/watson-fellowship-meeting/feed/ 0 http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2009/11/18/wesleyans-second-sickle-cell-dinner/ http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2009/11/18/wesleyans-second-sickle-cell-dinner/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:56:26 +0000 ngarrett http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/?p=965 Second Annual Sickle Cell Benefit Dinner

Tonight, Wednesday, November 18, 6:00 p.m.

Usdan University Center, Daniel Family Commons

Guest Speaker: Ziomara Ramos-Moquete

Donation:

Students: $5.00

Non-students: $10.00

]]> http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2009/11/18/wesleyans-second-sickle-cell-dinner/feed/ 0 http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2009/11/13/dr-henry-lee-on-forensics-and-foreignness/ http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2009/11/13/dr-henry-lee-on-forensics-and-foreignness/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:58:44 +0000 ngarrett http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu/?p=960 Asian/Asian American (AAA) House presents an evening with forensic expert Dr Henry Lee, who has worked on numerous high-profile crime cases including the JonBenet Ramsey murder, the O.J. Simpson case and the reinvestigation of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Dr Lee was born in China and grew up in Taiwan, where he served in the police force. In 1965 he migrated to the US, furthering his studies and launching his career in forensic science. Today, he has helped to solve more than 6000 cases.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about the personal and professional experiences of this renowned forensic science expert! Bring your questions, bring your friends. Reception to follow after event.

Date:   Nov. 16
Time:   7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Place:  Tishler Hall (Exley 150)

For more information about Dr. Henry Lee, please visit his personal website at http://www.drhenrylee.com

All of the talks run from noon to 1:00 p.m.

Nov. 13 – Prof. Wiliarty – Cafe in Allbritton

Twenty Years after the Wall: The German Elections of 2009

It has been twenty years since the fall of the Berlin wall. This talk investigates the legacy of the incorporation of East Germany. The influence of the former East Germany is manifested in two ways in the elections of 2009. First, the continued presence of a new party representing eastern interests is making coalition building more complicated. Second, the incumbent Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is originally from East Germany. Her identity as a female candidate interacts with her identity as an eastern candidate in ways that both help and hinder her ability to win election.

Nov. 20 – Professor Douglas Foyle – Butterfield C Lounge

October Surprises and Wagging the Dog: Do Upcoming Elections Affect Foreign Policy Decision Making?

While it is often asserted that leaders use foreign policy to domestic advantage as elections approach, the scholarly findings on this subject defy simple characterization.  My project examines the extent to which U.S. presidents adjust their foreign policies during an election run.  I contend that while elections do affect foreign policy decisions, presidents do not seek political advantage from foreign policy and instead see foreign policy only as a potential threat to their political objectives.

Dec. 4 – Professor Erica Chenoweth – Cafe in Allbritton

The Politics of Terrorism: Non-State Actors and Political Violence in the 21st Century

Chenoweth’s research program involves three general questions: why do
non-state groups use political violence, what are the alternatives to political violence, and how can states best combat non-state political violence? Currently, Chenoweth is investigating the conditions under which nonviolent resistance methods are more effective than violent methods in achieving strategic goals such as regime change, expelling foreign occupiers, or achieving self-determination.  She is also working on a project that assesses the efficacy of counterterrorism in the Middle East since in1980, and in another she is looking at how the tactical evolutions of nonviolent and violent insurgencies have affected their strategic outcomes.

Dec. 11 – Professor Anne Peters – Cafe in Allbritton

Shadow Governments: Parallel Institutions, Public Goods, and State Power in Iraq

The international system is increasingly characterized by neotrusteeship relations that link great powers to the periphery through formal and informal transfers of political authority and institutions. In contemporary Iraq, the United States has supplied a battery of “parallel institutions” that link American political authority and operational mandates to public goods provision in sectors such as security, infrastructure, and regulation. We know very little about the origins, efficiency, and implications of these institutions for state power. I argue that the US has employed parallel institutions in Iraq for the sake of short-term security and infrastructure, which would not be possible in the current political environment. However, parallel institutions are inefficient providers of public goods due to principal-agent problems , as well as their lack of accountability to local populations. Finally, parallel institutions will only weaken the Iraqi state after American withdrawal, as they provide disincentives for local political and administrative reforms that could undergird purely Iraqi public goods provision.

a music competition between the classes

February 18, 2010

Crowell Concert Hall