University of California, Irvine
Department of Political Science
Job Placement Candidates from UCI
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Research Fields |
Dissertation Title (& Date Expected) |
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American Politics, Public Policy, Interest Groups, Identity Construction, Queer Political Issues |
Advancing a Progressive Public Policy Agenda in Conservative Times (Expected June 2008) |
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Normative IR Theory; International Ethics; Ethics of International Security |
Moral Dilemmas: Acquiring Nuclear Weapons in the Second Nuclear Age (Expected June 2009) |
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Nongovernmental Organizations, Nonprofit Organizations, Undocumented Migration, Children's Rights |
In the Line of Fire: Orange County Nonprofit Organizations Providing Services to Undocumented Immigrants |
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Comparative Politics, Democratization, Political Culture, Civil Society, Peacebuilding |
Putting the 'Up' in Bottom-Up Peacebuilding: The Political Engagement of Peacebuilding NGOs in Democratizing Societies (Expected Winter 2008) |
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The Internet & Politics, Political Theory, Rhetoric & Politics |
Electronic Democracy in America: The Internet and Participation in American Local Politics |
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American Politics, Minority Politics, Latino Politics |
The Influence of Co-ethnic Partisan Recruitment on Latino Vote Choice. (Expected Spring 2008) |
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Culture & Religion, Immigration & Citizenship, International Relations, Political Psychology |
Integrating Muslim Immigrant Women in the U.S. and the Netherlands: How Islamic Institutions, Immigrant Organizations and Religious Interpretations Affect the Process (Expected August 2008)
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Political Psychology, Democratic Theory, Political Theory, Citizenship & Identity |
Language, Passions and Participation: Democratic Thought and the State of Nature in the Modern Age (Expected December 2008)
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Joe S. Bergeron
Contact Information
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Dissertation Title: "Advancing a Progressive Public Policy Agenda in Conservative Times"
Expected Date of Completion: June 2008
Dissertation Committee: Helen Ingram (Chair), Political Science, UCI (hingram@uci.edu) Louis DeSipio, Political Science, UCI (ldesipio@uci.edu) Jennifer Terry, Women’s Studies, UCI (jterry@uci.edu )
Dissertation Summary: Drawing from the experience of the organized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) movement via an examination of in-depth interviews and documents, I demonstrate the complex manner in which a progressive American social movement goes about advancing its public policy agenda within a conservative political context. Individual chapters specifically address the maintenance of group resources, the impact of public policy on social movement strategy, the mapping of the strategic terrain between group maintenance and coalition building, and the “safe spaces” for a social movement in unfavorable times.
Research Interests: My dissertation employs qualitative methods of data analysis, particularly the examination of in-depth interviews with LGBT movement activists, organizers, and policy specialists in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Analysis of various other movement-related documents is also integrated throughout the study. I believe my work makes an important scholarly contribution to the political science discipline by challenging well-known theories in political science, such as those of James Q. Wilson. I have found, for instance, that a wide range of strategic orientations are held by LGBT group staff members as they balance the service of group identity with the need to build coalitions. Instead of perceiving a trade-off between group maintenance and coalition building, as Wilson would predict, LGBT staffers demonstrate far more sophisticated strategic orientations in which they are able to simultaneously build identity and form alliances. Over the long term, I envision developing further expertise into the strategic perceptions among social movement activists and public policy specialists in state capitals and other policy arenas.
Teaching Interests: I am prepared to teach introductory courses, as well as more specialized upper-division and graduate courses in American politics, public policy, social movements, mass media studies, civil rights and liberties, and women’s and gender studies. My courses analyze crucial policy matters like immigration policy, HIV/AIDS health policy, and antidiscrimination policy in order to teach students how to explain many of the dynamics surrounding the construction of racial, ethnic, class, gender, and sexual hierarchies within transnational, federal, and local political contexts. Such a discussion permits students to engage in dialogue with their classmates and think critically about important questions of justice and inequality in American government.
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Thomas E. Doyle II |
Dissertation Title: "Moral Dilemmas: Acquiring Nuclear Weapons in the Second Nuclear Age "
Expected Date of Completion: June 2009
Dissertation Committee:
Etel Solingen (Chair), Political Science, UCI (esolinge@uci.edu)
Dissertation Summary: The nuclear proliferation dilemmas of the second nuclear age are irreducibly moral or ethical, and the political/strategic success in addressing them largely depend upon treating them as problems of political theory. A neo-Kantian moral ethnography of the main cases of justificatory discourse for pursuing/acquiring nuclear weapons by selected countries is undertaken to support two claims. One, that the main theoretical anchors employed to politically justify nuclear weapons aspirations e.g., “security”, “identity”, and “retribution” are irreducibly moral. Secondly, that these discourses provide evidence that state and non-state nuclear aspirants are (knowingly or not) implicated in at least one of the following interrelated moral dilemmas: (1) morality and law, (2) obligation and ignorance, (3) competing moral requirements, and (4) contradictory moral rules. Under current international conditions, these dilemmas appear to be irresolvable. Only if a radical transformation of thought and action is undertaken will the moral dilemmas of the second nuclear age be transcended. I conclude by exploring at least two avenues of such transformation. Ultimately, my dissertation enables future research that evaluates the moral validity of each justificatory discourse and draws conclusions for theoretical and policy-oriented research.
Research Interests: I am generally interested in the intersections between political theory and international relations, and my current specific interest is international security ethics focusing on nuclear weapons issues. I am interested in re-thinking the concept of international security, drawing on the resources of both modern and postmodern thought.
Teaching Interests: I have extensive teaching experience. Besides teaching towards my research interests, I have teaching compentencies in liberal political and moral theory, IR theory, Ethics and international relations, and Middle East politics.
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Rebecca Brandy Griffin
Contact
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Dissertation Title: "In the Line of Fire: Orange County Nonprofit Organizations Providing Services to Undocumented Immigrants"
Dissertation Committee: Martha Feldman, School of Social Ecology, UCI (feldmanm@uci.edu) David Meyer, Sociology, UCI (dmeyer@uci.edu)
Dissertation Summary: My dissertation explores three nonprofit organizations in Orange County, California that provide services to undocumented immigrants, despite opposition from anti-immigrant activists. I seek to understand how the organizations are able to provide these services despite such opposition. I find that threats from the anti-immigrant movement are one of the many challenges that these organizations face. Nonprofit organizations operate in a complex environment; therefore, they must prioritize their threats. Basic organization survival is their primary concern. Once survival has been ensured, the organizations seek to establish a logic of service provision to guide their operations. The decisions made to address these two concerns then influence how the organizations respond to other environmental threats, including the anti-immigrant movement.
Research Interests: My primary research interest is in nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations. While my curriculum vitae might, at first glance, show a hodgepodge of research interests, there is actually a common thread that runs through my work. I am interested in the provision of services by non-state actors, both domestically and internationally, to marginal populations and the relationship between such actors and the policymaking process. I have conducted research in several countries, including the United States, England, Thailand and Uzbekistan. My research does not focus on a particular geographic area, but instead focuses on the ways in which non-state actors provide similar services and/or advocate for similar causes (such as children’s rights or immigrant rights) across different geographic regions.
Teaching Interests: My first introduction to post-secondary teaching was when I began to work as a teaching assistant at UC Irvine during the fall of 1997. I was employed as a teaching assistant for seventeen quarters, supporting many Political Science courses such as Introduction to Political Analysis, Micropolitics, Macropolitics, and U.S. Foreign Policy. I began to develop and teach my own undergraduate courses at UCI during 2002. For several years, I taught Computer Research Skills for Social Science Majors. Other classes I have taught at UCI since then include Sexism and Power, Introduction to Nongovernmental Organizations, Domestic Nonprofit Organizations and California Government. I have also taught American Government, Public Policy, Policymaking, and Urban Politics at California State University, Long Beach. Currently, I am teaching a new course at UCI called Politics and Culture. In this course, the students analyze political themes and messages found in recent fictional literature and film.
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Bruce W. Hemmer |
Dissertation Title:" Putting the 'Up' in Bottom-Up Peacebuilding: The Political Engagement of Peacebuilding NGOs in Democratizing Societies"
Dissertation Committee : Russell J. Dalton (Chair), Political Science, UCI (rdalton@uci.edu) Carole J. Uhlaner, Political Science, UCI (cuhlaner@uci.edu) Patrick M. Morgan, Political Science, UCI (pmmorgan@uci.edu) John L. Graham, Paul Merage School of Business, UCI (jgraham@uci.edu)
Dissertation Summary: My dissertation studies how to make democratization work for peace. Looking beyond the level of political institutions, I examine how civic democratization affects the political engagement of peace activists. This is a comparative study based on my field interviews of 60 peacebuilding NGO leaders and 20 experts on civil society in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. I analyze quantitatively and qualitatively the effects of politically participatory ideology and legitimacy on the public and private political engagement of peacebuilding NGOs. In turn I examine effects on ideology and legitimacy of the NGO's internal democracy and its relationships with outsiders from established democracies. I show how the context of civic democracy affects these relationships, and the role outsider mentorship plays in compensation. This has timely theoretical and practical implications for our understanding of what democratization for peace entails, how long it takes, and how easily it can be accelerated.
Research Interests: While my main field is Comparative Politics in my doctoral program, I have maintained an interest in International Relations (the subject of my MA). Within these fields, I am interested in the subjects of peacebuilding, nonviolence, democratization, political participation, civil society, political culture, cultural conflict and change, globalization, transnational and international organizations, and democratic peace. My research focus currently is on the civic aspects of democratization, and the relationship of democratization and peacebuilding, with attention to the role of international actors in promoting both. I have published in a peer-reviewed journal, International Negotiation, a related article entitled "Putting the 'Up' in Bottom-Up Peacebuilding: Broadening the Concept of Peace Negotiations." I also have several forthcoming book chapters which draw on my dissertation, including a chapter on Bosnia in a comparative book on Civil Society and Peacebuilding. See the research section of my website for more details, including my research agenda.
Teaching Interests: I hope to have a positive impact on the world not only through my research, but also through my teaching, by aiding the development of critically inquisitive, open-minded, articulate and productive citizens. My latest teaching experience was to design and teach my own version of the Global Issues and Institutions course at UCI (see my CV or website for link to course website). I had previously served as a teaching assistant for seven semesters, including the Global Issues and Institutions course with Prof. Alison Brysk, as well as US Foreign Policy with Prof. Pat Morgan, and a course comparing civic peacebuilding efforts in nine countries with Prof. Paula Garb. My most recent student evaluation report, for my Global Issues and Institutions class, rates my performance as good to excellent on all indicators. In the future, I envision teaching introductory courses on comparative politics or international relations, and more advanced courses in my areas of specialization. In particular, I am looking forward to teaching a course on peace and democracy. I would also be interested in teaching a research design class. See the teaching section of my website for more details.
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Michael A. Jensen
Contact Information (949) 824-9694 (o) (949) 230-5976
Curriculum Vitae
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Dissertation Title: "Electronic Democracy in America: The Internet and Participation in American Local Politics"
Dissertation Committee: James N. Danziger (chair), Political Science, UCI (danziger@uci.edu) David Easton, Political Science, UCI (deaston@uci.edu) Alladi Venkatesh, Paul Merage School of Business, UCI (avenkate@uci.edu )
Dissertation Summary: The dissertation is an inquiry into how residents use the Internet to Interact with their communities and local governments. A more complete description of the dissertation can be found here (PDF).
Research Interests: I am working on a comparative investigation of online political behavior. As a graduate student, I worked on a major ($2.8 million) NSF backed project (Project POINT) to study how the Internet is being used by local governments and residents in America. Currently I am working with two projects based at Universities in Barcelona to collect comparative data on Spain. We are looking to more generally expand the base of this research across Europe through collaborations with other scholars. Additionally, I have a background in democratic theory which I apply to this empirical research, theorizing how the empirical changes observed impact our understanding of democratic practice.
Teaching Interests: I have a broad teaching background in comparative politics and political theory courses. I am prepared to teach a variety of survey courses in comparative politics, political behavior, political participation, democratic theory, research design, the history of political science, and political communication.
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Stephen A. Nuno
Contact Information (310) 338-1779
Curriculum Vitae
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Dissertation Title: “The
Influence of Co-ethnic Partisan Recruitment on Latino Vote Choice”
Dissertation Committee: Louis DeSipio (Chair), Political Science, UCI (ldesipio@uci.edu) Carole Uhlaner, Political Science, UCI (cuhlaner@uci.edu) Fernando Guerra, Political Science, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts (fguerra@lmu.edu)
Dissertation Summary: My dissertation, The Influence of Co-ethnic Partisan Recruitment on Latino Vote Choice, uses a multi-method approach to examine the interactive effect between partisanship and ethnicity on partisan efforts to recruit Latino voters.
Research Interests: My current and future interests revolve around the role that race and ethnicity play in political participation, mobilization and partisanship. To date, there has been a growing interest in Latino political behavior, but conventional methods have often failed to provide an accurate depiction of the complexity of this growing segment of our society. My research is driven by three fundamental goals; 1) to gain a more accurate understanding of Latino political behavior by, 2) using innovative methods in gathering data on Latinos and, 3) to improve our understanding of the relationship between Latinos and the American political system. I have worked on several exit poll projects in Los Angeles and Orange County measuring political behavior and voter sentiment with regard to immigration, voter identification laws, ethnic identity and other areas. I have also worked on several phone survey projects, such as the 2007 Los Angeles Riots 15th Year Anniversary Survey.
I strive to be active in the community and I have participated in several events in Los Angeles using my research, such as serving as a panel expert on immigration in Los Angeles at the L.A. Chamber of Commerce and as a speaker celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at Raytheon Company. I have been awarded a several awards and grants, including a $50,000 pre-doctoral fellowship at Loyola Marymount University’s Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles and a $12,500 grant from UC-Mexus. My work is currently being used to help evaluate the disproportionate impact stringent voter identification laws could have on minority, poor and older voters in two upcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases involving voter identification laws, Crawford v. Marion County and Democratic Party v. Rokita.
As a result of my attention to the three central questions that drive my research agenda, I have publications in American Politics Research and PS: Political Science & Politics, and I have several manuscripts under review.
Teaching Interests: My projects center around a teaching philosophy that relies on direct student involvement in research activities. For instance, over one hundred undergraduate students participated in the 2005 Los Angeles Mayoral Election Exit Poll by fulfilling roles in the field as surveyors and in the lab doing data entry. My recent exit poll in Orange County was conducted by over forty students that were recruited at UC-Irvine. I feel strongly about teaching my students the strategies social scientists use to investigate phenomenon that have real impact on them and others as members of society, and instilling in my students a sense of connection between their work and its potential impact outside of the classroom.
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Saba S. Ozyurt |
Dissertation Title: Integrating Muslim Immigrant Women in the US and the Netherlands: How Islamic Institutions, Immigrant Organizations and Religious Interpretations Affect the Process
Expected Date of Completion: August 2008
Dissertation Committee: Cecelia Lynch (Chair), Political Science, UCI (clynch@uci.edu) Louis DeSipio, Political Science, UCI (ldesipio@uci.edu) Karen Leonard, Anthropology, UCI (kbleonar@uci.edu)
Dissertation Summary: By far one of the most influential meta-narratives in effect today is a presumed “clash” between the western and the Islamic civilizations. Many scholars have paid attention to the ways in which this meta-narrative has influenced foreign policy decisions of western governments towards Muslim majority countries. But an equally important -and largely overlooked- question is how this same narrative affects the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims who live side by side within western host societies. In an effort to understand how religious practices, identities and institutions affect immigrant integration process my dissertation examines the ways in which Islam and Islamic institutions in Western Europe and North America facilitate or hinder the socialization and integration of Muslim immigrant women. Using a multi-method research design consisting of survey data and qualitative interviews with female congregation of mosques, religious leaders of the community and founders and members of Muslim women’s associations in Southern California and Amsterdam, I evaluate how Muslim immigrant institutions empower Muslim immigrant women through their activities and teachings, and through the services and resources they make available to their congregation/clients. On a broader level, my research evaluates the conditions under which Islamic institutions act as bridge builders versus boundary markers between the Muslim immigrant community and the larger host society, thus promoting (or failing to do so) societal security and peaceful coexistence.
Research and Teaching Interests: Immigration and Citizenship, Religion, Gender, and Identity, Islam and the West, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Psychology
Teaching Experience: Psychology of Conflict in
the Middle East;
Islam and the West
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Ted Wrigley
No Picture Available
Contact Information (949) 854-2414
Curriculum Vitae
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Dissertation Title: "Language, Passions
and Participation: Democratic Thought and the State of Nature
in the Modern Age"
Dissertation Committee: Shawn Rosenberg (Chair), Political Science, UCI (swr@uci.edu) Kristen R. Monroe, Political Science, UCI (krmonroe@uci.edu) Kevin Olson, Political Science, UCI (olsonke@uci.edu)
Dissertation Summary: In my dissertation I analyze democratic institutions as socio- psychological compensatory structures structures designed to counterbalance presumptive elements of human nature with a particular emphasis on how this operates within the American constitutional system. I suggest that certain critical problems in modern democratic practice originate because institutional structures were built using assumptions about the reactions of citizens to their political and social environment, and thus were vulnerable to variations both in the greater environment and in the way citizens react to that environment. I examine shifts in assumptions about human nature - from classical virtue politics to Enlightenment era State of Nature arguments to modern social/linguistic theory - to show the sea changes in political ideation these shifts produced, and then reexamine the American Constitutional system in light of these understandings.
Research Interests: My specialty is political psychology, and in particular the psychology of democratic systems. This leads me to fairly interdisciplinary interests, from social and developmental psychology to European social theory, critical theory, and deliberative and discursive democratic theory. Further, I am intrigued by science as a theoretical object in its own right, and am working on certain topics in methodology.
Teaching Interests: I have several years as a Teaching Assistant, primarily in Political Psychology, Social Psychology, and Statistics courses. I also have a year and a half teaching a class I designed in computer use and research methods in the social sciences. I enjoy methodology courses, which I invariably take as an opportunity to build analytical skills in students, and would welcome the chance to teach an assortment of classes from within my research areas.
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