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Political Science Faculty


  • Department Chair

  • Douglas E. Edlin
    Associate Professor of Political Science (2004).
    Denny Hall Room 305
    edlind@dickinson.edu
    (717) 245-1388

  • Department Faculty

  • J. Mark Ruhl

    J. Mark Ruhl
    Glenn E. and Mary L. Todd Professor of Political Science (1975).
    Denny Hall Room 207
    (717) 245-1501 | ruhl@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Dickinson College, 1970; M.A., Syracuse University, 1972; Ph.D., 1975.
    Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1988-1989.

    He specializes in comparative politics. His research centers on the politics of democratization in contemporary Latin America with a special emphasis on civil-military relations.

  • Douglas T. Stuart

    Douglas T. Stuart
    Professor of Political Science and International Studies; J. William Stuart and Helen D. Stuart Chair in International Studies, Business and Management; Adjunct Professor, U.S. Army War College (1986).
    Stern Center for Global Educ Room 105B
    (717) 245-1930 | stuart@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Marist College, 1970; M.A., University of Southern California, 1974; Ph.D., 1979.
    Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1990-1991; Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1995-1996.

    His teaching and research interests include American foreign policy, national security affairs, Asian and West European security. Dr. Stuart is also an Adjunct Professor at the U.S. Army War College.

  • David G. Strand

    David G. Strand
    Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science (1980).
    Stern Center for Global Educ Room 105E
    (717) 245-1204 | strand@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Lawrence University, 1971; M.A., Columbia University, 1973; M.Phil., 1974; Ph.D., 1979.

    His field is 20th century Chinese politics and history with related interests in comparative social and political development.

  • Harold L. Pohlman

    Harold L. Pohlman
    Professor of Political Science; A. Lee Fritschler Professor of Public Policy; Executive Director of the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues (1983).
    255 W Louther St
    (717) 245-1846 | pohlman@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., University of Dayton, 1974; Ph.D., Columbia University, 1982.

    Professor Pohlman's teaching interests include American constitutional law, other law-related courses, and political and legal philosophy. Recent publications: Professor Pohlman's undergraduate constitutional law textbook, Terrorism and the Constitution: The Post-9/11 Cases was published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2008. His book May It Amuse the Court: Editorial Cartoons of the Supreme Court and Constitution (with Michael A. Kahn) was published by Hill Street Press in 2005. He has also published three recent volumes in the second revised edition of Rowman and Littlefield's Constitutional Debate in Action series: Civil Rights and Liberties (2005), Criminal Justice (2005), and Governmental Powers (2004).

  • Russell Bova

    Russell Bova
    (on leave Fall 2011)
    Professor of Political Science (1982).
    Denny Hall Room 101
    (717) 245-1550 | bova@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1977; M.A., Indiana University, 1980; Ph.D., 1985.
    Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2010-11

    Professor Bova teaches a variety of courses on international relations and comparative politics. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on Russian politics and comparative democratization. His international relations textbook, How the World Works, and an accompanying book of readings, Readings on How the World Works, were published in 2009.

  • James M. Hoefler

    James M. Hoefler
    Professor of Political Science (1989).
    Denny Hall Room 206
    (717) 245-1311 | hoefler@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.S., Syracuse University, 1977; M.A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1987; Ph.D., 1988.
    Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2003-04

    Professor Hoefler specializes in American politics and public policy. His research areas are end-of-life decision making and the right to die, in both the U.S. and western Europe.

  • Andrew C. Rudalevige

    Andrew C. Rudalevige
    (on leave Fall 2011)
    Associate Professor of Political Science; Walter E. Beach Chair in Political Science (2000).
    Denny Hall Room 316
    (717) 245-1716 | rudaleva@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., University of Chicago, 1989; M.A., Harvard University, 1997; Ph.D., 2000.

    Professor Rudalevige's main interests are the policymaking and interaction of American political institutions, with a focus on the executive branch and public administration; current research focuses on implementation and presidential control of the bureaucracy. He has written on presidential-congressional relations, presidential management strategies, and federal policymaking, especially in secondary and higher education. From 2007-2009 he directed Dickinson's humanities program in England. Recent publications: Professor Rudalevige's book The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate was published by the University of Michigan Press in 2005 and was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2006. His first book, Managing the President's Program, was published by Princeton University Press in 2002 and received the 2003 Richard E. Neustadt Prize honoring the best book on the presidency. He has co-edited two books published by CQ Press, The Obama Presidency: Appraisals and Prospects, 2011, and The George W. Bush Legacy, 2008. His recently-published articles include ""Bureaucratic Control and the Future of Presidential Power" (White House Studies, 2010); "'Therefore, Get Wisdom': What Should the President Know, and How Can He Know It?" (Governance, 2009); "The Administrative Presidency and Bureaucratic Control: Implementing a Research Agenda" (Presidential Studies Quarterly, 2009); "Juggling Act: The Politics of Science in Education Research" (Education Next, 2009); "'Worked Out in Fractions': Neutral Competence, FDR, and the Bureau of the Budget" (with Matthew J. Dickinson, Congress and the Presidency, 2007); "Civil Rights and Uncivil Wrongs" (Foreign Affairs, 2007); and "The Decline and Resurgence and Decline (and Resurgence?) of Congress: Charting a New Imperial Presidency" (Presidential Studies Quarterly, 2006).

  • Neil J. Diamant

    Neil J. Diamant
    Associate Professor of Asian Law and Society (2002).
    Stern Center for Global Educ Room 005
    (717) 245-1540 | diamantn@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1988; M.A., University of Washington, 1991; Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley, 1996.

    Professor Diamant's research focuses on law and society in Asia (with particular reference to China, Japan, and India), civil-military relations in China, patriotism in comparative perspective, and (most recently) public health. He also teaches courses on Israeli politics and Zionism. Recent publications: Professor Diamant is author of two books, Embattled Glory: Veterans, Military Families and the Politics of Patriotism in China, 1949-2007 (published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2009) and Revolutionizing the Family: Politics, Love, and Divorce in Urban and Rural China, 1949-1968 (published by University of California Press in 2000). He also published the edited volume Engaging the Law in China: State, Society and Possibilities for Justice (with Stanley Lubman and Kevin J. O'Brien) with Stanford University Press in 2005. His most recently-published articles include "Conspicuous Silence: Veterans and the Depoliticization of War Memory in China" (published in Modern Asian Studies in 2011) and "Veterans, Organization, and the Politics of Martial Citizenship in China" (published in The Journal of East Asian Studies in 2007). He has contributed chapters to a number of edited volumes, including "The Limitations of Martial Citizenship in the People's Republic of China," in Peled, Lewin-Epstein, Mundlak and Cohen's Democratic Citizenship and War (2010); "Why Archives?" in Carlson, Gallagher, Lieberthal, and Manion's Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies (2010); and "Legal Syncretism and Family Change in Urban and Rural China" in Galvan and Sil's, Reconfiguring Institutions across Time and Space: Syncretic Responses to Challenges of Political and Economic Transformation (2007).

  • Douglas E. Edlin

    Douglas E. Edlin
    Associate Professor of Political Science (2004).
    Denny Hall Room 305
    (717) 245-1388 | edlind@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Hobart College, 1988; M.A., University of Pennsylvania, 1990; J.D., Cornell Law School, 1993; Ph.D., Oxford University, 2002.
    Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2007-08.

    His research and teaching interests are in comparative constitutionalism, the judicial process and judicial review, the legal and policy issues raised by developments in assisted reproductive technology, and the politics of race and gender in the United States.

  • Kristine Mitchell

    Kristine Mitchell
    Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies (2006).
    Denny Hall Room 7
    (717) 245-1220 | mitchelk@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Oberlin College, 1997; M.A., Princeton University, 2003; Ph.D., 2006.

    Professor Mitchell's teaching and research interests include European and EU politics, international political economy, labor politics and Left parties. She has conducted field research across Western Europe and has held visiting and short-term appointments at the Institute for European Studies at UC Berkeley, the Center for European Studies at New York University, the Sciences Po in Paris, and the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University. Recent publications: Professor Mitchell has two forthcoming articles: "Creating Europeans? ERASMUS University Student Exchange and European Identity" in Open Citizenship and "From Whitehall to Brussels: Thatcher, Delors and the Europeanization of the TUC" in Labor History. Her edited volume Approaches to Inequality, Identity and Institutions (with Rachel Beatty Riedl and Sada Aksartova) was published in 2006 by the Princeton University Institute for International and Regional Studies Monograph Series.

  • Edward Webb

    Edward Webb
    (on leave Spring 2012)
    Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies (2007).
    Denny Hall Room 202
    (717) 245-1009 | webbe@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Cambridge University, 1992; M.A., University of Pennsylvania, 2003; Ph.D., 2007.

    His teaching and research activities are mainly in Middle East politics, comparative politics and international relations. He contributes to Middle East Studies and Security Studies. He has particular interests in the interaction of religions and politics and the politics of education, as well as authoritarianism and empire. His interest in pedagogical applications of new technologies, including simulations, games, and social media, has led to him being appointed to the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education. A former diplomat, he has lived and worked in the Middle East and Europe. Recent publications: Professor Webb contributed a chapter on “Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism” to 21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook, edited by Ishiyama & Breuning (2011) and a chapter, “Should the Daleks Be Exterminated?” (with Mark Wardecker) to Doctor Who and Philosophy, edited by Smithka & Lewis (2010). His article “Engaging Students with Engaging Tools” was published in Educause Quarterly in 2009.

  • Andrew T. Wolff

    Andrew T. Wolff
    Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies (2008).
    Stern Center for Global Educ Room 003
    (717) 245-1968 | wolffan@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Washington & Lee University, 1995; M.A., Johns Hopkins University, 2003; Ph.D., 2010.

    His areas of teaching and research include U.S. foreign policy, transatlantic relations, NATO security policy, international relations theory, and European politics. Currently, his primary research concerns the geopolitics of NATO enlargement into Central and Eastern Europe. He has been a legal staff assistant in the United States Senate and an English teacher in the Czech Republic. Professor Wolff's article “The Structural and Political Crisis of NATO Transformation” was published in the Journal of Transatlantic Studies in December 2009.

  • Vanessa C. Tyson

    Vanessa C. Tyson
    Assistant Professor of Political Science (2007).
    Denny Hall Room 102
    (717) 245-1232 | tysonv@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Princeton University, 1998; M.A., University of Chicago, 2002; Ph.D., 2011.

    Professor Tyson focuses her research on interracial alliances in the House of Representatives, and what political dynamics these alliances create outside of more traditional issues regarding race. More broadly, she focuses on Congress and American Political Institutions, as well as race and gender as they operate as social constructs in the United States.

  • Jason Toby Reiner

    Jason Toby Reiner
    Assistant Professor of Political Science (2011).
    Denny Hall Room 3
    reinerj@dickinson.edu
    B.A., University of Manchester, 2000; M.Phil., University of Cambridge, 2001; M.A., University of California-Berkeley, 2006; Ph.D., 2011.

  • Todd Makse

    Todd Makse
    Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science (2011).
    Denny Hall Room 301
    makset@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Rice University, 2001; M.A., The Ohio State University, 2005; Ph.D., 2010.

    Professor Makse has teaching and research interests throughout the subfield of American politics, including state politics, legislative politics, voting behavior, and political parties. His current research focuses on redistricting, representation in Congress, legislative entrepreneurship in state legislatures, and the consequences of political yard sign displays in residential neighborhoods. He has also published research on the 2008 presidential primaries and the diffusion of innovative public policies in the American states.

  • P. J. Crowley

    P. J. Crowley
    (Former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.)
    The Omar Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership (2011).
    Denny Hall Room 109
    crowleyp@dickinson.edu
    B.A., College of the Holy Cross, 1973.

  • Contributing Faculty

  • Crispin Sartwell

    Crispin Sartwell
    Associate Professor of Art and Art History (2004).
    Weiss Center for the Arts Room 203
    (717) 245-1474 | sartwelc@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., University of Maryland, 1980; M.A., Johns Hopkins University, 1985; Ph.D., University of Virginia, 1989.

    Author of "Political Aesthetics" (Cornell University Press, 2010), "Six Names of Beauty" (Routledge 2004), and many other books. Interests include hip hop and other popular musics, anarchist political theory, epistemology, Asian philosophy.

  • Adjunct Faculty

  • Craig Nation

    Craig Nation
    Visiting Professor of Political Science and Security Studies (2011).
    Stern Center for Global Educ Room 001
    (717) 245-1770 | nationr@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Villanova University, 1968; Ph.D., Duke University, 1975.

  • Anthony R. Williams

    Anthony R. Williams
    Visiting Professor of Political Science and Security Studies (2011).
    Stern Center for Global Educ Room 001
    (717) 245-1770 | williant@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Old Dominion University, 1967; M.A., University of Virginia, 1969.