SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
JANUARY 2012 POLITICAL SCIENCE NEWSLETTER
PENN STATE ERIE, THE BEHREND COLLEGE
THIS MONTH'S HEADLINES
1. SPACES STILL AVAILABLE FOR TORONTO COURSE; FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 1
2. NEW LEGAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE NOW IN EFFECT
3. POLITICAL SCIENCE, ECONOMICS, AND BIOLOGY MAJORS MOST COMMON AMONG TOP 1% IN WAGE EARNERS
4. CURRENT ISSUE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LAWYER DEBATES LAW SCHOOL ADVISING
5. LECTURE ON FEBRUARY 20 ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JURY BEHAVIOR
6. STUDENT GROUP NEWS
7. FACULTY IN THE NEWS
1. SPACES STILL AVAILABLE FOR TORONTO COURSE; FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 1
Applications are available from Dr. Speel or from the Learning Resource Center on the second floor of Lilley Library for this Summer's PL SC 299/499 North American Politics course to take place in downtown Toronto between May 13 - June 9, 2012. Generous Penn State financial assistance with tuition exists - the deadline to apply for the financial aid is February 1. Read more details below.
PL SC 299/499
The class is an official Penn State Education Abroad course that can be used to fulfill requirements for the political science major or minor at any PSU campus, the international politics major at University Park (PL SC 499 only), and requirements in some majors for an Education Abroad component, including the international business major at Penn State Behrend. The course may also meet requirements in other majors and minors. The course is open to students at all Penn State campuses.
The course will be co-taught by Dr. Robert Speel, associate professor of political science at Penn State Behrend, and by Ryerson University Professor Greg Inwood. The class will take place on the Ryerson campus in downtown Toronto and will include students from Penn State and Ryerson in the classroom together. American students from Penn State and Canadian students from Ryerson will participate together in class discussions and on class excursions and will take the same exams. Penn State students will be graded by Dr. Speel.
The course focuses on the comparative politics of the United States and Canada and on international relations between the two countries. Among the topics to be discussed will be a comparison of the development of separate political cultures in the two countries, comparisons of government institutions, election systems, federalism, and regionalism, and comparisons of each country's policy approaches toward the economy, health care, gun control, same-sex marriage, language, free speech, abortion, and the role of religion in education. Issues important in international relations between the two countries will also be discussed - this includes trade, border security, and control of the Arctic. Class excursions will visit the Ontario Parliament Buildings and Fort York, site of an important battle in the War of 1812. The course will take place during commemorations of the two hundredth anniversary of the War of 1812 in Canada.
The grade for PL SC 299 will be determined by exams and class participation. An additional research paper will be assigned for students who enroll in PL SC 499 - the paper will be due a few weeks after the course is over.
The class will meet four days a week, three hours a day, Mondays-Thursdays, for fourteen days over four weeks, with a final exam on Friday, June 8. Students will have the option of staying in the Ryerson University residence an additional few days until June 12. Weekends will be free for students to explore Toronto on their own.
The Ryerson University Residence and Location
Students will live during the month in the International Living Learning Centre (ILLC) student residence on the Ryerson campus. Students will each have their own motel-style single rooms with television, air conditioning, and private bathrooms. Each floor of the residence also has a kitchenette, laundry machines, and a television lounge area. The residence is located next door to a 24-hour supermarket and to a 24-hour grocery store.
The ILLC residence is located just two blocks from Yonge Street, the Eaton Centre, and Dundas Square. Yonge Street contains miles of restaurants and retail shops. The Eaton Centre is a large downtown mall on several floors that contains many stores and a fast food court. Dundas Square, patterned after New York City's Times Square, offers frequent free live performances by musicians and buskers and is surrounded by restaurants, stores, food courts, a new movie theater, and many large electronic billboards. The ILLC is also a short walk from subway lines and streetcar lines to take you to other parts of Toronto. Toronto contains the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere (the CN Tower), the second largest zoo in North America, a large variety of ethnic neighborhoods, Canada's largest museum of world cultures and natural history (Royal Ontario Museum), several prominent art museums, the hockey hall of fame, and the Harbourfront Centre, which is located on Lake Ontario and contains cultural attractions, shopping, boat cruises, and pedestrian walkways. Penn State students will visit several of these locations as a group while in Toronto outside of class time.
Over half of all residents of Toronto were born outside of Canada, and over half of the residents of Toronto's largest suburbs were also born outside of Canada. Because immigrants to Toronto have come in large numbers from every part of the globe (East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa), Toronto is considered by many to be the most international city in the world.
Applications, Costs, and Financial Aid
To take the course and participate in the Education Abroad program, students will need to fill out some application forms and pay Penn State tuition for 3 credits next summer. The exact amount of tuition depends on your class year, college of enrollment, and major. However, there is widespread financial aid available to assist with the costs of tuition. Behrend and Penn State offer many tuition scholarships and grants for Education Abroad students. Most students have received financial assistance with tuition in past years. Application forms for the scholarships and grants are included in application packets - Ruth Pflueger at the Learning Resource Center on the second floor of Lilley Library at Penn State Behrend can also offer more information about financial assistance with tuition.
The cost of a room at the Ryerson ILLC residence for the month in downtown Toronto will be $1000 Canadian. However, due to a grant from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Endowment Fund and donations from Penn State Behrend political science alumna Barbara Welton, at least half the cost of the residence will be covered for the first 11 students who turn in their application forms. Those students will pay a maximum of $500 for one month's residence in downtown Toronto. Spaces remain for students who submit applications to still be among the first 11.
We have applied for additional grant money, and it is possible that the cost of the residence will be even less than $500 and that we may be able to assist additional students.
Students will need a minimum 2.5 GPA to be accepted into the course, though exceptions can be made - contact Dr. Speel for details about that. The deadline for submission of applications and deposits to register for the course is March 1, 2012, though interested students should sign up as early as possible to guarantee a place in the course and financial assistance.
All adult Americans now need a passport to travel to Canada and return to the USA, so students will need to get one if they don't have one already. And students will be responsible for their own food costs and personal items - because each floor of the residence has a kitchenette and supermarkets are next door, students will be able to eat inexpensively while in Toronto. Students will also need to find their own form of transportation to get to Toronto, though we can offer suggestions to help with that. Toronto is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from the city of Erie. The Megabus service offers very cheap daily bus fares between Erie and Toronto.
Application forms should be turned in at the LRC in the Lilley Library.
If you have any questions about the course or residence, please contact Dr. Robert Speel at rws15@psu.edu.
2. NEW LEGAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE NOW IN EFFECT
Penn State Behrend is now offering a Legal Studies certificate program.
The Legal Studies certificate is intended for students who want to learn about some of the cases and legal processes they will study in law school. It is also intended for students who might wish to work as legal assistants or paralegals and wish to get some background in law and legal processes without attending law school.
The certificate requires that students take three political science courses (nine credits) about law or the legal process and two more political science courses (six credits) in which court cases or legal processes are a significant component of course materials.
This certificate is for students who are interested in legal careers. Students who are interested in criminal justice careers, such as police officers, probation or parole officers, correctional officers, border patrol, security officials, or work with delinquents should consider Penn State Behrend's Crime, Psychology, and Public Policy certificate as an alternative.
Completion of certificates gets noted on Penn State transcripts. Students who have completed certificate requirements must turn in a form available at the Registrar's office or on the Registrar's website in order to get that completion noted on transcripts.
Certificate Requirements:
Behrend Legal Studies (LEGST) certificate
LEGST (15 credits)
Take 9 credits in core courses from a program-approved list:
PL SC 471 - American Constitutional Law
PL SC 472 - The American Legal Process
PL SC 473 - American Judicial Behavior
PL SC 487 - International Law and Organizations
Take 6 credits in supplementary courses from a program approved list*:
PL SC 110 - Rights in America
PL SC 123 - Ethnic and Racial Politics
PL SC 480W - Congress and the Presidency
PL SC 482 - American State and Urban Politics
PL SC 197A - Organized Crime, Law, and Politics
PL SC 419 - The Bureaucratic State
*Students can also take 12 credits from the core courses and 3 credits from the list of supplementary courses.
Students who have already taken some of the courses listed above must take at least one course starting this semester in order to be eligible to get the Legal Studies certificate. Certificates will not be awarded to students who took all 15 required credits in the past.
The next core course will be offered in Fall 2012, when PL SC 472 is tentatively scheduled.
Students who want advice about law school should contact the College's pre-law advisor, Dr. John Gamble.
Students with specific questions about the Legal Studies certificate can contact certificate coordinator Dr. Robert Speel.
3. POLITICAL SCIENCE, ECONOMICS, AND BIOLOGY MAJORS MOST COMMON AMONG TOP 1% IN WAGE EARNERS
According to US Census data cited in a recent New York Times article, the most common undergraduate majors for those among the top 1% of wage earners in the United States are political science, economics, and biology. The article and data can be found here:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/what-the-top-1-of-earners-majored-in/?emc=eta1
4. CURRENT ISSUE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LAWYER DEBATES LAW SCHOOL ADVISING
The current issue of The Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine, published by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, contains an informative debate for current undergraduates who are considering whether to go to law school. The debate includes strong arguments both in favor and against whether students should consider pursuing a law degree. If any of you would like to read the debate, both Dr. Gamble and Dr. Speel have copies of the article in their offices. We thank Political Science Advisory Board members and local attorneys Joseph P. Conti and John R. Falcone for bringing the article to our attention.
5. LECTURE ON FEBRUARY 20 ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JURY BEHAVIOR
The Penn State Erie Psychological Science & Human Behavior Colloquium Series Present: Dr. Jennifer Hunt, Buffalo State University, " Character Evidence across the Color Line: How Jurors Use Character Evidence and Stereotypes When Determining Guilt" – Monday 2/20 at 6:30pm, Reed 117. This event is co-sponsored by the Crime, Psychology, and Public Policy certificate program.
6. STUDENT GROUP NEWS
The College Republicans will meet this semester on Mondays at 6:30 PM in Bruno's near the television set in back. On February 6 at 6:30 PM, the group will again be hosting Ron Paul's local campaign coordinator, who will bring t-shirts, buttons, and stickers - the room will be announced soon. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in Pennsylvania is also seeking student volunteers. This Monday, the group will be designing Behrend College Republicans t-shirts. For more details, contact President David Kazimierczak at dak5183@psu.edu.
The College Democrats will meet on Tuesdays at 6 PM this semester, in rooms to be determined. They are organizing a viewing party of President Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday, January 24. For details, contact President Ayodele Osibodu at aqo5025@psu.edu.
The Political Science Society will meet Tuesdays at 4 PM in Reed 150 this semester. They are organizing a speaker series of law school admissions officers in February and a candy bar fundraiser. The group is also looking for a new secretary on its executive board. For more details, contact President Adam Fracassi at als5589@psu.edu.
7. FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Dr. Kilic Kanat has been selected for the Foreign Policy Initiative New York Leaders Program. The program is part of FPI’s efforts to cultivate the next generation of foreign policy leaders. The members include a diverse group of 40 outstanding participants from a variety of backgrounds and experience in the private sector, government, academia, non-profits, media, and the U.S. military. Participants engage in thoughtful and educational conversations on foreign policy and connect with notable thinkers and practitioners in international affairs. Through a series of dinner discussions and private receptions, the program will also provide an atmosphere for these emerging leaders to share their own insights with each other, as well as career and travel experiences. More details can be found here: http://www.foreignpolicyi.org/content/fpi-new-york-leaders-program
Dr. Kanat has also published four columns in Turkish newspapers in the past month: "The Foreign Policy of Republican Candidates," in Zaman Daily; "Assad the Elder and Younger: Two Interviews, Any Difference?" in Zaman Daily; "American- Israeli Relations in the Age of Arab Spring," in Star; and "Turkish- American Partnership 2.0?" in Today's Zaman.
Dr. Robert Speel was interviewed earlier this month for an article in the Erie Times-News about Rick Santorum's presidential campaign after the Iowa caucuses.
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Program Chair: Dr. Robert Speel
814-898-6206; rws15@psu.edu