CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH SPRING 2011 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Newsletter Greetings from the Chair Dear Alumni, Students, Faculty, and Friends, Greetings from the POSC department. Despite enormous budget cuts that have imperiled our ability to provide a quality education, we have had an eventful and productive year. As I write, however, there are dark clouds on the horizon; if the tax extensions proposed by Governor Brown do not succeed, our campus will face budget cuts so severe that we will be unable to provide the classes and services that students need, and countless eli- gible students will not have access to a university education through the CSU. This year also has witnessed some transitions. As you will read in the pages that follow, former faculty members Steve Horn and Sudershan Chawla have passed away; and in May 2011 Ron Schmidt will retire. As always, I thank our amazing office staff—Nancy St. Martin, Amelia Marquez, and student assistant Kristin Taylor—for their invaluable assistance and support. In addition, I wish to thank all of those who responded to last year’s newslet- ter, and encourage you to keep us posted regarding your activities and accomplishments. Finally, particularly in this time of great crisis in higher education, I hope that you will continue to actively participate in INSIDE THIS ISSUE politics, and to use your knowledge and skills to work for the betterment Faculty publications and activities 2-3 of our local, national, and global Transtions 4-5 communities. Alumni News 5-9 Student News 9 With warm regards, Clubs and events 10 Teresa Wright, Chair Model united Nations 10-11 Moot Court 11 PAGE 2 - DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE FACULTY PUBLICATIONS AND ACTIVITIES Mary Caputi (Political Theory; Ph.D., Cornell Society for Historians of American Foreign Policy: University) was named CSULB Outstanding Pro- Roundtable on Michaela Moore, “Know Your En- fessor in 2010. Dr. Caputi’s works in progress emy: The American Debate on Nazism,1933-1945.” include: (with Vincent Del Casino) Professions of Faith: Derrida and the Future of the Liberal Arts; Liesl Haas (Comparative “The Manly Virtues: Macaulay’s Influence, Woll- Politics; Ph.D., Univer- stonecraft’s Legacy,” (provisionally accepted for sity of North Carolina) publication in a proposed volume on feminism and has recently published: the Enlightenment); and Feminism and Power: the Feminist Policymaking in Need for Critical Theory. Chile (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010) Christopher Dennis (American Politics; Ph.D., and Liesl Haas and Merike University of Georgia) will soon publish “The Blofield, “Gender Equality Impact of Partisan Party Control on the Diffusion of Policies in Latin America,” Parental Involvement Laws in the American States” in Merke Bloflied, ed.,The (with Marshall H. Medoff and Kerri Stephens), Great Gap: Inequality and Politics of Redistri- State Politics and Policy Quarterly (forthcoming); bution in Latin America, (Pennsylvania State “The Impact of Tax Rates, Political Partisanship University Press, forthcoming). and Economic Variables on the Distribution of State and Local Tax Burdens” (with Marshall H. Medoff Richard Haesly (Comparative Politics; Ph.D., and Kerri Stephens), Social Science Journal (forth- University of North Carolina) is in the last stages coming); “The Dynamics of Public Preferences of the data collection for a research project, “My for Restrictive State Abortion Laws” (with Mar- Neighbor’s Keeper: Religious Identity and Percep- shall H. Medoff), The American Review of Politics tions of Public Policy,” that he is conducting with (forthcoming); “TRAP Abortion Laws and Partisan Professor Liesl Haas. Accepted for publication: Political Control of State Government,” The Ameri- “Comparative and International Perspectives” in can Journal of Economics and Sociology (forth- Brian D. Fitch and Anthony H. Normore, eds., coming); “A Deep Blue Hole”?: California, the Tea Education-Based Incarceration and Recidivism: Party, and the 2010 Midterm Elections” (with Amy The Ultimate Social Justice Crime Fighting Tool Widestrom), in Charles Bullock, ed., Key States, (Information Age Publishing, forthcoming) (with High Stakes: Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and the Arthur Jones and Richard Gordon). 2010 Midterm Election (Rowman and Littlefield, forthcoming). William Leiter (Public Law; Ph.D., University of Chicago) has recently published (with Samuel Larry N. George (International Relations; Ph.D., Leiter) the second edition of the treatise/casebook, Princeton University) has recently published: “Leo Affirmative Action in Antidiscrimination Law and Strauss’ Squid Ink,” in Tony Burns and James Policy: An Overview and Synthesis (State Univer- Connelly, The Legacy of Leo Strauss (Exeter, UK: sity of New York Press, 2011). Imprint Academic, 2010). Larry Martinez (International Relations; Ph.D., Cora Goldstein (Comparative Politics; Ph.D., University of Santa Barbara) will soon publish “Is University of Chicago) has recently published: There Space for the UN in Bonn? Perspectives on “President Obama: Look for a New Massoud” the Sustainability of Cyberspace and Outer Space Small Wars Journal, August 2010; and an invited for UN Organizations” (University of Bonn, forth- book review for Passport, the Newsletter of the coming). PAGE 3 - DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Charles Noble (American Politics; Ph.D., Uni- to Online Videos during the 2008 Campaign,” versity of California, Berkeley) contributes to the Journal of Political Marketing 10:1; “Beyond University of Montreal blog on American politics, Agenda Setting: The Role of Political Blogs as and will soon publish an article on the welfare Sources in Newspaper Coverage of Government,” state, entitled “Goodbye to All That,” in an edited Proceedings of the 44th Annual Hawaii Interna- volume on the future of American liberalism. He is tional Conference on System Sciences, Computer rewriting “L’autre république” (The Other Repub- Society Press; “Preaching to the Choir? Religious lic), a French-language account of contemporary Leaders and American Opinion on Immigration American politics, and in summer 2011 will co- Reform,” Social Science Quarterly (forthcoming) direct and teach in a course on American politics and “The Causes and Consequences of Political for the “École d’été” sponsored by CÉRIUM at the Blogging,” in Zheng Yan, ed., The Encyclopedia of University of Montreal. Cyber Behavior (forthcoming) Amy Cabrera Rasmussen (American Politics; Jason Whitehead (Public Law; Ph.D., University Ph.D., Yale University, MA and BA CSULB) of Southern California, MA and BA CSULB) has has been granted fellowships from the CSULB been offered a contract with Lexington Press for his Research Infrastructure for Minority Institutions book manuscript entitled, Judicial Values: Judging, Health Disparities project and from the American Politics, and the Rule of Law. Association of University Women to advance an ongoing research project entitled: “Constructing Amy Widestrom (American Politics; Ph.D., Syra- targets: race, gender, and contemporary United cuse University) will soon publish: “A Deep Blue States infant mortality policy.” Recent publications Hole”?: California, the Tea Party, and the 2010 include: “Contraception as Health? The Framing Midterm Elections” (with Christopher Dennis), of Issue Categories in Contemporary Policymak- in Charles Bullock, ed., Key States, High Stakes: ing,” Administration & Society (forthcoming). Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and the 2010 Midterm Election (Rowman and Littlefield, forthcoming). Lewis Ringel (Public Law; Ph.D., University of Works accepted for publication include: “History Maryland) has been named Chairman of the Na- and Politics of Correctional Education” and “Prison tional Case Committee of the American Collegiate Education: The Inmate as Student” (with David Moot Court Association (ACMA). R. Werner and Sylvester Pues), in Brian D. Fitch and Anthony H. Normore, eds., Education-based Gerry Riposa (American Politics; Ph.D., Uni- Incarceration and Recidivism: The Ultimate So- versity of California, Riverside) is the Dean of the cial Justice Crime Fighting Tool (Information Age College of Liberal Arts at CSULB. Publishing). Ron Schmidt (American Politics; Ph.D., Univer- Teresa Wright (Comparative Politics; Ph.D., Uni- sity of California, Riverside) is currently working versity of California, Berkeley) will soon publish: on a new project on immigration. “China’s Rising Generation: College-Educated Youth in the Reform Era,” in Zhiqun Zhu, ed., New Barry Steiner (International Relations; Ph.D., Dynamics in East Asian Politics (NY: Continuum Columbia University) has recently published: “To International, forthcoming); a review of Socialist Arms Control or Not: Lessons for Focused Case Insecurity: Pensions and the Politics of Uneven Comparisons,” Contemporary Security Policy (De- Development in China, by Mark Frazier, for Con- cember 2010). temporary Sociology (forthcoming); and a review of Democracy is a Good Thing, by Yu Keping, Kevin Wallsten (American; Ph.D., University for The China Quarterly (forthcoming). In sum- of California, Berkeley) has recently published: mer 2011 she will work as a Visiting Scholar at the “Many Sources, One Message: Political Blog Links East-West Center. PAGE 4 - DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE transitions Professor Ron Schmidt Retires After forty years of university teaching, Professor Ron Schmidt will retire from the department’s faculty at the end of the Spring 2011 semester. Schmidt began his career