Gerard Huiskamp
Chair, Associate Professor of Political Science
Office: Knapton 206
Office Hours: Fall 2008: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00-11:30am
Phone: 508-286-3682
Fax: 508-286-3640
Email: ghuiskam@wheatoncollege.edu
Degrees
Ph.D., M.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A., Marquette University
Main Interests
Comparative Politics: African politics; Latin American politics; social movements and alternative politics; gender politics in non-Western nations; political development and political culture; globalization and resistance; political violence, revolution and terrorism.
Political Theory: democratic theory; non-Western political and social theory; critical theory.
Research Interests
My primary research focus has been rural women's organizing and identity formation in non-Western societies. I've also published articles on the doctrine of preemptive war at the center of post-9/11 US foreign policy, hegemonic and counter-hegemonic discourses, democratization and social movement theory, and Marxism and religion. My current research is on the micropolitics of patriotism and protest.
Teaching Interests
I enjoy teaching courses in both comparative politics and political philosophy, and have taught a number of courses in each area: African Politics, The Politics of Latin America, Comparative Political Development, Introduction to Comparative Politics, Introduction to Political Thought, Religious Sentiment and Popular Movements, International Mediation, Inter-American Regional and Global Cooperation.
Student Projects
I have directed the senior theses of majors Morgan Kunz '03 (Political Science), "American Exceptionalism on the Kyoto Protocol;" Lanae Ball '04 (Political Science), "The Dangerous Intersection of Drugs and Terror: Counternarcotics and Counterterrorism Policy under the George W. Bush Administration;" and Rose Jackson '06 (International Relations), "Men as Partners in Women's Empowerment: United States HIV and AIDS Policy in Southern Africa." I've also had the pleasure of serving as a reader on the thesis committees of Libby Bixby '02 (Anthropology), "Embodying Inequality in Ecuador: Children, Identity and Pedagogy;" Brian Donorfio '04 (Computer Science and Political Science), "The Politics of 'Free' -- Open Source Software in Government;" Jared Duval '05, "Climate of Negligence: An Analysis of Climate Change and the US Political Agenda;" and Tamar Palandjian '05, "Civil Society and Human Rights Organizations in Armenia: Leading the Path to Democratization."
Lanae Ball '04 and I also presented a paper together at the 2004 Northeast Political Science Association Meeting. The study, "Political Violence, Commerce and Stateness on the Margins of the International Order: A View on US Counterterrorism and Counternarcotics Policy from Below," was a follow-up on some of the issues raised in Lanae's thesis.
Selected Publications, Creative Work or Performances
Gerard Huiskamp and Lori Hartmann-Mahmud, "As Development Seeks to Empower: Women from Mexico and Niger Challenge Theoretical Categories," Journal of Poverty 10, no. 4 (Winter 2006), pp. 1-26.
Gerard Huiskamp, "Minority Report on the Bush Doctrine," New Political Science 26, no. 3 (September 2004), pp. 389-415. Also published in Joseph G. Peschek, ed., The Politics of Empire: War, Terror and Hegemony (New York: Routledge, 2006), pp. 121-147.
Gerard Huiskamp, "Negotiating Communities of Meaning in Theory and Practice: Rereading Pedagogy of the Oppressed as Direct Dialogic Encounter," in Judith J. Slater, Stephen M. Fain and Cesar A. Rossatto, eds., The Freirean Legacy: Educating for Social Justice (New York: Peter Lang, 2002), pp. 73-94.
Gerard Huiskamp, "Identity Politics and Democratic Transitions in Latin America: (Re)organizing Women's Strategic Interests through Community Activism," Theory and Society 29, no. 3 (June 2000), pp. 385-424.
Gerard Huiskamp, "Structuring Political Opportunity from Below: Latin American Popular Movements Envisioning the Democratic Society," Political Chronicle 12, no. 1 (Spring 2000), pp. 15-42.
Gerard Huiskamp and Christian Smith, "Marxism," in Robert Wuthnow, ed., The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Books, 1998), pp. 497-501.