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Task Force on Political Science in the 21st Century

Political Science in the 21st Century

Task Force Leadership

  • Dianne Pinderhughes, APSA President (2007-2008), The University of Notre Dame
  • Luis R. Fraga, Co-chair, The University of Washington
  • Terri Givens, Co-chair, The University of Texas at Austin

Task Force Members

  • Manny Avalos, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
  • David Covin, Cal State University, Sacramento
  • Lisa Garcia Bedolla, University of California at Irvine
  • Francis Hagopian, University of Notre Dame
  • Jennifer Hochschild, Harvard University
  • Juan Carlos Huerta, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
  • Vincent Hutchings, University of Michigan
  • Michael Jones-Correa, Cornell University
  • Taeku Lee, University of California at Berkeley
  • Mark Sawyer, University California at Los Angeles
  • Sherri Wallace, University of Louisville
  • Kenny Whitby, University of South Carolina
  • Norman J. Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute

Ex Officio, NSF Liaison

  • Fae Korsmo, National Science Foundation (Artic)

It is rare for academic disciplines to take stock of the practice of their professions to determine if they are realizing their full potential as effective contributors to societies.  One can argue that the relevance of such considerations vary by discipline and subdiscipline.   It would, however, be disingenuous to argue that political science, the discipline devoted to the study of power and its consequences, should not have a clear expectation of its capacity to contribute to both individual liberty and a collective common good.

Political scientists must have the full space to address their esoteric questions.  Nonetheless, by its very nature, the questions pursued by political scientists in their research, the methods used to teach political science, and the practice of professional development in political science should address the range of choices and deepen the confidence in those choices made by citizens in exercising their civic responsibilities in participatory democracies.

It is the goal of this task force to take stock of the profession of political science to determine whether it is living up to its full potential as a scholarly discipline to contribute to enriching the discourse, broadening the understanding, and modeling the behavior reflective of vibrant democracy.  It is to this end that the Task Force on Political Science in the 21st Century was established. 

Three primary questions structure the work of this task force:

  1. How can more of the questions pursued by political scientists in their research speak directly to the challenges of effective, democratic governance facing many nation states today?
  2. In what ways can the curriculum and pedagogical approaches used in political science be modified to maximize the intellectual and civic engagement of undergraduate and graduate students?
  3. Which innovative strategies of recruitment, retention, and promotion must key gatekeepers in political science pursue if the profession is to attain the more full inclusion of members from historically underrepresented groups?