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Chair’s Message

Introducing……..

Adam Sheingate

Hello and welcome to the 2015 edition of the Department News-

letter. This is my first newsletter as chair, and I want to take this

opportunity to highlight the many positive things happening in

the department. This year, we officially welcome two outstand-

ing new faculty members, Sebastian Mazzuca and Sebastian

Schmidt, as well as another superb cohort of students in our

graduate program. They join a committed group of faculty, grad-

uate students, and undergraduates dedicated to the study of

politics in all its varied forms as evidenced by the wide range of

books, articles, and other research completed each year. We

plan to build on these strong foundations in the year ahead. Our department will be con-

ducting searches for a scholar in Middle East politics and a scholar of Chinese politics. Our bi

-monthly colloquium series continues to thrive and we look forward to another series of

speakers, regular meetings of our graduate student colloquium, and other events that con-

tribute to the vibrant intellectual life of the department. Our undergraduate classes and

graduate seminars continue to bring a diverse and accomplished group of students together

with faculty passionate about, and dedicated to, their chosen subjects.

One of my goals for the coming year is for us to connect more with our department alumni,

both undergraduates and former graduate students, across the country and around the

globe. If you can, take a moment to send us an email with news of recent accomplishments,

fond memories, or ideas for better ways we can keep in contact with one another. We can

be reached at poliscialumni@jhu.edu.

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

New Faculty

Post-Docs

Faculty News

Graduate Student News

Undergraduate Awards

P A G E 2

In Memoriam

Dr. Richard Flathman, Emertius

It is with sadness that I tell you of the death of

Richard Flathman, George Armstrong Kelly

Professor of Political Science, emeritus, on Sep-

tember 6. He was 81.

I can say without exaggeration that Dr. Flath-

man was a giant in his field. An eminent politi-

cal theorist, he is perhaps best known for hav-

ing pioneered the application of analytic phi-

losophy to political science. He was a particu-

larly influential scholar of Hobbes, and he artic-

ulated a distinct understanding of liberalism

and freedom. Next year, Routledge will publish

a book about his work: Richard E. Flathman:

Situated Concepts, Virtuosity Liberalism and

Opalescent Individuality, edited by P.E. Di-

geser.

With his colleague William Connolly, Krieger

Eisenhower Professor in the Department of

Political Science, Dr. Flathman founded what is

sometimes called the “Hopkins School” of po-

litical theory, a deeply philosophical approach

to understanding the meaning of political con-

cepts such as liberalism or pluralism. Dr. Con-

nolly explains it this way:

“When I arrived at Hopkins in 1985 as a new

professor, Richard Flathman was well-known

as a theorist who pursued assertive individuali-

ty in politics joined to relations of presumptive

generosity between individuals of different sorts. I

pursued a deepening of public pluralism in which

people—in ways that compromise a secular division

between public reason and private faith—

sometimes carry their faith into the public realm

and then recoil back through admission of its con-

testability to promote public negotiations. Out of

these complementary views, people soon started

talking about a Hopkins School.

Our students were increasingly placed at top

schools and they took pride in that name. It per-

sists today: the theory faculty here continue to

carve out distinctive space in the American world

of theory, though in new ways. And former Hop-

kins students play a huge role in helping new Hop-

kins PhD’s to find their way in the profession. Dick

was a giant as a theorist, a teacher, a colleague

and a person, and we all miss him immensely.”

Dr. Flathman received a bachelor’s degree in his-

tory from Macalester College and went on to re-

ceive a master’s degree and a doctoral degree—

both in political science—from the University of

California at Berkeley.

Before coming to Johns Hopkins in 1975 as a pro-

fessor of political science, Dr. Flathman held

teaching positions at Reed College, the University

of Chicago, and the University of Washington at

Seattle.

He has published numerous books and articles in

esteemed journals and was the recipient of sever-

al awards and fellowships, including the David and

Elaine Spitz Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship.

He was known as a serious scholar and an excep-

tional teacher and adviser.

Dr. Flathman’s storied career is a testament to the

kind of path-breaking scholarship we have at

Johns Hopkins. You can read memorial tributes by

some of his former students on this public Face-

book page.

He resided in San Rafael, California, and we send

condolences to his wife, Nancy, and to their three

children, Karen Jamison, Kristen Flathman, and

Jennifer Flathman.

Sincerely,

Beverly Wendland

James B. Knapp Dean

New Faculty

Sebastián Mazzuca, Assistant Professor

Sebastián L. Mazzuca graduated in Political Science (MA, PhD) and

Economics (MA) from the University of California at Berkeley and has

been a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Academy for Inter-

national and Area Studies. His work focuses on state formation, re-

gime change, and economic development, and has been published in

the American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Poli-

tics, Studies in International Comparative Development, Journal of

Democracy, Hispanic American Historical Review, and the Oxford Handbook of Political Science.

P A G E 3

Sebastian Schmidt, Assistant Professor

Sebastian Schmidt received his PhD at the University of Chicago. He is

interested in the sociological foundations of security strategies and in

particular the conditions under which novel strategies emerge. His re-

search is closely tied to understanding how norms change in interna-

tional politics and the role of tacit knowledge. He also has a long-

standing interest in the historical development of sovereignty. His

work, which has appeared in the American Political Science Review and

International Studies Quarterly, has investigated the origin of foreign basing practices and has

sought to shed change. His current and future work is focused on the elaboration of a pragma-

tist theoretical perspective on international politics with attendant empirical applications as well

as on exploring the development of security strategies through history.

WEL

CO

ME

Patrick Henry Post-Doctoral Fellow

Andrew received his PhD in political science from Northwestern Uni-

versity in 2012. His work is in the areas of American political develop-

ment and comparative politics, with a focus on science and health poli-

cy. His dissertation, “Entering the New Frontier: The Origins and De-

velopment of Scientific Capacity in the United States and Great Brit-

ain,” explores the political origins of American scientific capacity in the

nineteenth- and early twentieth-century. In a comparison with Great

Britain, Kelly examines the ability of scientists in the American bureau-

cracy to expand scientific capacity through the construction of a network of public-private con-

nections between the federal government, institutions of higher learning, and private scientific

institutions. After completing his PhD, Andrew spent two years at the University of California,

Berkeley as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar. His work as an

RWJF Health Policy Scholar exams changes within Medicare, particularly the shift toward private

insurance plans. Additional work examines the politics of healthcare cost containment and the

ability of bureaucrats to innovate using Demonstration Projects. Andrew also spent time at the

University of California, San Francisco, where he undertook research related to the politics of

public health policy and tobacco-control policy.

P A G E 4

Inho Choi - International Relations

Charlton Copeland - American Politics

Darcie Draudt - Comparative Politics

Colin Eubanks - Political Theory

Brian Gordon - Political Theory

Christopher Higgins - Political Theory

John McMinn - American Politics

Stephanie Najjar - Political Theory

Franziska Strack - Political Theory

Yunchen Tian - Comparative Politics

Mannheim University

Exchange Graduate Students

Torben Schutz

Hana Attia

Denis Hammerschmidt

Berlin Exchange Graduate Student

Jonas Pentzien

2015 New Graduate Students

Patrick Henry

Wel

com

e

Congratulations

P A G E 5

PJ Brendese was appointed as Co-director for Racism,

Immigration and Politics Program

The Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship (RIC) Program at the

Johns Hopkins University provides a forum for students and

faculty to explore how racial hierarchies interact with migra-

tion flows to shape understandings of citizenship, debates on

national identity, and practices of democratic inclusion and

social exclusion. Through annual workshops, speaker series, and conferences, the

RIC program brings together scholars whose research traverse disciplinary and re-

gional boundaries.

The RIC program has been developed at a critical period in both academic and

world history, when the reconfiguration of the international political economy,

migration flows, and political conflicts defy national and even regional solutions.

The global dimensions of migratory flows in the last century have created common

dilemmas for countries in every region of the world, at various stages of develop-

ment. In places as distinct as Japan, India, Britain, France, the United States, Brazil,

and South Africa, governmental officials struggle to classify and incorporate new

populations into existing, often outdated, structures while dominant, minority,

and migrant groups negotiate the political, economic, and social challenges of in-

creasing diversity amidst rapid change. The RIC program thus emphasizes cross-

regional comparisons, especially among societies and polities that are often over-

looked in existing scholarship on race and ethnicity.

Some of the common questions that our affiliated faculty and students address

across regions include: What impact does migration have on both sending and re-

ceiving countries? How do state and non-state actors negotiate the movement of

labor, culture, languages, skills, and norms that are carried by migrants from their

home countries to their new lands of settlement? How have migration flows

affected both citizenship and the presence or absence of racial hierarchy in receiv-

ing societies? How salient are somatic differences within racial classification and

codification across societies?

F

acult

y P

ubli

cati

ons

The Power of Memory in

Democratic Politics

2014, University of Rochester

Press

Bearing Society in

Mind:Theories and Politics of

the Social Formation

2014, Rowman & Littlefield

International

When Movements Anchor

Parties: Electoral Alignments

in American History

2015, Princeton University

Press

Benjamin Ginsberg

The Worth of War

2014, Prometheus Books

Emily Zackin

Looking for Rights in All the

Wrong Places

2013, Princeton University

P A G E 6

2015 Undergraduate Awards

P A G E 7

Julius Turner Award The Turner Award is given to the most distinguished Senior Thesis in Political

Science

Rachel Schnalzer - Class of 2015

"Imposed Ignorance: The Motivations of Book Censorship In Post-

Independence Ireland"

Robert Tucker Award The Tucker Award is given to the most distinguished Senior Thesis in International

Studies.

Alexandre Mason-Sharma: “Foundations of Order: The Police Role in Political

Centralization and the Future of the State”

Dr. Richard Katz and Rachel Schnalzer

Dr. Daniel Deudney and Alexandre Mason-Sharma

Congratulations

Winner of the Paul A. McCoy Award 2015 Best Thesis Paper for an outstanding graduate student seminar paper in Political Science

Nils KupzoK

“Fragile Legitimacy: The Rise and Decline of the EU’s ‘Sustainable Biofuel’’Policy”

Dean’s Teaching Fellowship

P A G E 8

Patrick Giamario

The Politics and Philosophy of Laughter

Cara Daggett

Energy and Global Politics

Yehonatan Abramson

Diasporas in World Politics

Spring 2016

Political Science Department Graduate Student Honors 2015-2016

James Hart Fellowship: Zachary Reyna

Nicole Suveges Fellowship: Kavi Abram and Yehonatan Abramson

Connie Caplan: Ayako Hiramatsu

Joel Steward Ish Fellowship: Nicole Thornton

Warren B. Hunting Scholarship: Christopher Forster -Smith and Patrick Giamario

Charles Lathrop Pack in memory of John Hibben: Yehonatan Abramson

Wilfrid Rumble: Anne Gillman

William Reinsch: Tulio Zille

Rosembloom Foundation Fellowship: Lauren Foley

Fall 2015

Tulio Zille

Postcolonialism, Postdevelopment: Renewing

Politics Through Critical Thinking

David Dagan

Mass Incarceration and American Politics

Devin Fernandes

Interest Group Politics and American Politics

Taesuh Cha

Competing American Exceptionalisms

Cara Daggett and Beth Mendenhall hosted a graduate student workshop on Apr il 10 called " The New

Earth: The Politics of Planetary Spaces and Places." The workshop examined the political dimensions of global-

ization and globality, with panels on the Earth as "home" in the Anthropocene, the networks and flows of a

global ocean, and the emergence of new virtual global spaces. Participants came from Penn, American Universi-

ty, McMaster University, and Johns Hopkins (inside and outside the department). Daniel Deudney, Renee Mar-

lin-Bennett, and Bentley Allan served as discussants, and Prof. Deudney also gave the keynote address: "Dark

Skies: Space Expansionism and Planetary Geopolitics." All participants received valuable feedback, and a live-

ly discussion was had by all. Beth and Cara would like to thank all members of the department who attended or

participated in the workshop!

Participants and panels:

I. Earth as Home in the Anthropocene

Quinn Lester, “The Horror of the Earthbound”

Cara Daggett, “The History of Energy: A prequel to the politics of the Anthropocene”

Gregory Koutnik, “Living at Home on the Earth: The Question of Home in Morton, Bachelard, and Heidegger”

DISCUSSANT: Bentley Allan

II: Watery Earth: Networks, Flows, and Management

Beth Mendenhall, “Harnessing the Hydrosphere: Science, Technology, Ocean Governance”

Marcel Goguen, “The Geography of Port Security and the Nomos of Global Supply Chains”

Abby Lindsay, “Multiscalar Complexities of Urban Water Politics: the role of scientific and technical

knowledge”

DISCUSSANT: Daniel Deudney

III: Virtual Earth: New Global Spheres

Kavi Abraham, “Democracy at stake: expertise, networks, and the future of global governance”

J. Mohorcich, “Scale and Noosphere Two”

Francisco Del Canto Viterale, “International Scientific Relations”

DISCUSSANT: Renee Marlin-Bennett

Conference Coordinated by

Graduate Students

P A G E 1 0

Stephanie Erev- What Is It Like to Become a Bat?

Casey McNeill- Geographies of Anarchy, Geographies of Failure

Alona Dolinsky - Issues and Voters: A Dual Look at Niche Party Strategy

Sally Lawton - Assembled in Detroit: The Production of Post-Industrial Space

Bryan Brentus Carter - May We Die Good Deaths: Race, Biopolitics, and Neoliberal Governmentality

in Octavia Butler's Anthropocene

Tripp Rebrovick - Seeing "The Economy": The Political Origins of an Invisible Object

Graduate Students’ Colloquium

Noora Lori (2013): Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boston University

Drew Walker (2013): Associate Director , Pembroke Center for Teaching and

Research on Women, Brown University

Patrick Quirk (2014): Senior Policy Advisor , US Depar tment of State

Jesse Merriam (2014): Assistant Professor of Political Science, Loyola University of

Maryland

Anatoli Ignatov (2014): Assistant Professor of Sustainable Development,

Appalachian State University

Frankie Clogston (2014): Senior Economist, Econometr ica, Inc.

Nicole Grove (2014): Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Hawaii

Kellan Anfinson (2014): Post-Doctoral Fellow, Science Po

Daisy Kim (2014): Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Southern California

Benjamin Mieches (2015): Assistant Professor , School of Interdisciplinary Ar ts and

Sciences, University of Washington-Tacoma

Recent Placements

Here are just a few places recent PhDs are working

P A G E 1 1

Political Theory: An International Journal of Political Philosophy

Dr. Jane Bennett is the journal editor which is peer -reviewed and published bi-monthly, serves as the leading forum

for the development and exchange of political ideas. Broad in scope and international in coverage, PT publishes articles on

political theory from a wide range of philosophical, ideological and methodological perspectives. Articles address contem-

porary and historical political thought, normative and cultural theory, the history of ideas, and critical assessments of cur-

rent work. The journal encourages essays that address pressing political and ethical issues or events.

Contemporary Political Theory Journal

Dr. Samuel Chambers is the co-editor of the journal Contemporary Political Theory, running the entire submissions

process that is housed in the department here at Johns Hopkins. Currently Trip Rebrovick is the Assistant Editor of the

journal, Founded in the UK in 2002, Contemporary Political Theory has quickly established itself in the top rank of peer-

reviewed journals in political theory and philosophy. Under the editorship of Terrell Carver and Sam Chambers since

2010, the journal is now based in both the USA and UK and reaches out to authors and readers in Europe, Asia and Ocean-

ia. It will continue, through a rigorous peer-review process, to seek out the very best work from the wide array of interests

that constitute ‘contemporary political theory’: from post-structuralist thought to analytical philosophy, from feminist theo-

ry to international relations theory, from philosophies of the social sciences to the cultural construction of political theory

itself. The editors welcome submissions from disciplines outside philosophy and political science, including but certainly

not limited to: geography and anthropology, women’s studies and gender studies, cultural studies and economics, literary

theory and film studies. Contemporary Political Theory publishes a challenging and eclectic mix of articles that contribute

both to rethinking what political theory is and does, and to promoting lively engagements with contemporary global poli-

tics. CPT website: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/cpt/index.html

Journals

International Studies Compendium Project

Dr. Renée Marlin-Bennett is general editor for the International Studies Compendium Project, published by Wiley in

association with the International Studies Association. This comprehensive reference resource is available in two formats: a

12-volume encyclopedia in print (The International Studies Encyclopedia, 2010), and as a dynamic online reference

(International Studies Online) which is updated annually. This resource is the most comprehensive reference work of its

kind for the fields of international studies and international relations.

ISCP website: http://www.isacompendium.com/subscriber/uid=976/?authstatuscode=202

The Political Science Department at the Johns Hopkins University Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and

Sciences provides graduate and undergraduate training in American politics and law, comparative poli-

tics, international relations, and political theory. Its programs are well suited to students who seek rigor-

ous training, pursue large questions about politics, and aspire to develop strength in more than one field.

The department offers a graduate program leading to the PhD, as well as two distinct undergraduate ma-

jors: the area major in International Studies, and the major in Political Science.

For information about the Political Science Department, send an email to: political.science@jhu.edu.

You can also go to the website at http://politicalscience.jhu.edu/ for more details about the graduate pro-

gram, faculty and graduate students.

Johns Hopkins University

Department of Political Science

3400 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21218-2686

P A G E 1 2