Congratulations to our 2014 graduates!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by pppauwt

Congratulations to all our 2014 graduates! We’re proud of this year’s UW Tacoma graduates who have majored in Politics, Philosophy & Economics or Law & Policy.

Politics, Philosophy & Economics graduates:
Jaime Ray Dalit Arreola, Imanjit Singh Bains, Miguel Angel Balderamma, David Allen Barnes, Nicholas Bradford, Brynn J. Brooks, Raymond Brooks, Jacob Alan Bush,
Fu-Yen Chan, Annie Songyie Choi, April A. Coberly, Lauren Catherine Conley, Patrick Courtney, Brant Robert Delarme, Yahye Y. Dineh, Semone Dover, Kevin James Drugge, Nicolas J. Dunning, Alex-Jon Earl, Kaycie Elwess, Thomas Gregory Farrow, Erin Barbara Gaede, Uuriintuya Erika Ganjargal, Brandon Green, Cristina M. Hakansson, Shane Gregory Hall, Janessa India Harris, Thomas L. Harris, Katrina Ann Honrade, Tzu Yang Hsu, James D. Jagger, Aaron Robert Jones,
Michael A. Jordan, Sheetal Kavita, Elliot J. Klavuhn, Aaron C. Knapp, James Koo,
Feipang Lam, Wei Li, Arely Lopez, Colin W. McCann, Jason Frederik McCausland,
Carley N. Metcalf, Jason M. Michaud, Dominique Andrew Miles, Chantell Munoz,
Megan Kimberly Nation, Martin Nderi, Jason Michael O’Neill, Madeleine Broxton Park,
Alycia Lorraine Patterson, Yessica M. Perez, Jeremy Scott Peterson, Stacilynn Mae Rambow, Julian Lavar Richards, Laura C. Richardson, Jeremy Bradon Rothschild,
Michelle Santos, Janaia Marie Seacrest-Holden, Arianna Elizabeth Shorey,
Ronald Smith, Liliya A. Stakhovich, Jesse Jameson Strege, Madhav Subedi,
Milena Summers, Tallman Harlow Trask IV, Thanhhong Thi Vu-Smith,
Perrin J. Walker, Nicole Nadean Wilcox, Tremicka Nicole Williams, Rees T. Yaden, and
Dennis E. Zuleta-Dupleich

Law & Policy graduates:
Mohamed Hassan Ahmed, Sharon-An B. Athey, Grady Heins, Jordan Emma Katherine Jones, Ramon Ralph Maddox, and Michael Wotherspoon

Brittany Hale wins annual PPPA paper prize

Posted on June 1, 2014 by pppauwt

Brittany Hale is the 2014 PPPA Paper Prize winner, an award won for her PP&E capstone paper on medical marijuana. Brittany wrote this paper while interning during the winter quarter for the Washington State Legislature. The annual award, given to the student with the best capstone paper for the year, was announced April 30th at the PPPA Internship/Paper Prize Event in William Philip Hall, and Brittany presented her paper during a lunchtime seminar May 15th in the Tacoma Room. Hale states, “My time in Olympia as a legislative intern piqued my interested in public policy. All of the proposed legislation around medical marijuana in this last session provided an important focus for my research paper. I am honored and excited to receive recognition from UWT, and I’d like to thank Professor Baird for helping me focus my research and perfect my paper.”

Lester Burkes’ paper, “Venice Submerged,” on the topic of nuclear power, was named runner up for the prize. Lester also wrote his paper while interning for the Washington State Legislature. Congratulations to both! You can read Brittany’s paper–and those of past PPPA prize winners–in UW Tacoma’s Digital Commons.

Two faculty members leaving….

Posted on May 31, 2014 by pppauwt

Two additional faculty members will not be returning next year, and we wish them the best. After spending a year at UWT, Prof. Ben Gonzalez recently accepted a tenure track position at Highline Community College. “My time at UW Tacoma has been great and I will really miss working alongside all of the other wonderful members of faculty in PPPA and IAS. During my time here, one of the things I’ve appreciated the most is the diversity of the student body who brought a range of perspectives to our discussions of American politics that I consider invaluable. This has been a great year and I am looking forward to collaborating with UW Tacoma faculty when I am at Highline.”

Prof. Kim Earles has been teaching for us for two years, and will be leaving UW Tacoma at the end of the spring quarter to pursue other career opportunities. “Thanks to my colleagues in PPPA for all of their help and mentorship in tackling the challenges of teaching and research, and thanks for their continued support and friendship as I end my time at UW Tacoma.”

….New faculty members joining us

Posted on May 30, 2014 by pppauwt

We’re delighted that Seyed Karimi will be joining PPPA faculty this fall. Karimi, an economist, earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from Tehran Polytechnic, his MS in Industrial Engineering from the Institute for Research in Planning and Development in Tehran, and his PhD. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “I am interested in issues in welfare, health, gender, and religion economics in the context of both developing and developed countries. My passion for understanding the economic implications of society’s norms and institutions and socioeconomic consequences of policy interventions inspires my current research agenda, drives my teaching, and will shape my future inquiries. The interdisciplinary aspect of my academic activities is in line with the mission of IAS at the University of Washington Tacoma. Therefore, I am very enthusiastic to be a member of the school.” We look forward to his arrival this summer.

Also joining us is Eric Bugyis, who recently earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Yale University. His research focuses on the intersection of modern religious thought and critical theory. He is particularly interested in contemporary constructions of “secular” and “religious” persons and publics, and the political and cultural mobilization of these categories in the service of both “conservative” and “progressive” ends. For the past five years, Eric has been an adjunct instructor at the University of Notre Dame where he has taught courses on the history of philosophy and Christian theology. At UW Tacoma, he’ll be teaching courses on Religion in the Modern World, Comparative Religion, and Philosophy of Religion, as well as developing new courses at the intersection of religion, culture, and society.

Ann Frost will be joining PPPA next year as a lecturer in American Politics. Ann has a JD from the University of Washington and is currently completing her PhD in Political Science at the University of Washington, Seattle. Having practiced law as a public defender for the past 14 years, her expertise is in the politics of the criminal justice system, the politics of race and ethnicity, and American politics. Her research focuses on state drug sentencing policies, the War on Drugs and their effect on racial minorities. Next year she will teach courses in American Politics, Media and US Politics, Race and Ethnicity, and State Government, and will also teach our two internship courses. Says Ann: “I am incredibly excited to be joining the community at UW Tacoma next year. As long time Seattle residents, my family and I truly appreciate and respect the opportunity to be part of this campus and community.”

Emeritus Prof. Morris keeps busy

Posted on May 30, 2014 by pppauwt

When David Morris retired two years ago, he did so with big future plans. What were those plans and has he accomplished them? We went to the source himself. What have you been up to David?

“Been enjoying retirement. Impersonating a captain. Being a great-uncle. Hiking with my old colleagues. Attending Halloween parties. And remembering the old days when I had hair.” David (r) with Mike Honey (l) and Rob Crawford (c)

With Mike Honey (l) Rob Crawford (c)

Got Hair alright!

Faculty hold research colloquium in Silverdale

Posted on May 29, 2014 by pppauwt

This May, PPPA held its first annual research colloquium retreat. Organized by Prof. Turan Kayaoglu, the event took place over a long weekend where eight faculty members participated in sessions discussing six different research papers. Chaired by Profs. Turan Kayaoglu and Brad McHose, the sessions included papers presented by Mary Hanneman (“Surrender, Society and National Identity: Implications of Japan’s WWII Surrender“); Rob Crawford (“The Politics of Accountability for U.S. Torture“); Jane Compson (“The CARE Protocol: A model for introducing healthcare professionals to self-care literacy“); Will McGuire, (“Institutional Barriers to Creative Destruction and the Future of China’s Economic Development“); Etga Ugur (“Contextualizing Islamist Politics: Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey in Comparative Perspective“); and Katie Baird (“Financial Crises and Transfers to the Poor: A comparison of social policies in eight European nations”). The colloquium took place in Silverdale, and in addition to the scholarly sessions, faculty also enjoyed meals together (above) and a game of disco bowling (no picture included). It was a very successful retreat, and we are now planning for next year’s second annual colloquium.

UW Tacoma alum Mohamed Abdel Halim graduates with double degrees–twice

Posted on May 27, 2014 by pppauwt

After graduating from UW Tacoma (2011) with two majors, PP&E and International Business, and a minor in Non Profit Studies, Mohamed Abdel Halim decided to head back to the classroom for another two degrees—an MBA and MPA from Eastern Washington University. Halim states that studying International Business and Politics at the same time has given him a strong understanding of political systems, economic policy, and the living standards in several diverse cultures. He also remarks that EWU’s Spokane campus reminded him of UWT, noting “faculty members and program directors are very approachable. In both schools, the majority of people knew me by name which made my interactions very personable.”

A native of Egypt, Halim credits the people he’s met with helping him come as far as he has in both education and life. “Dr. Turan Kayaoglu has been a mentor and a role model for me. The things he taught me were very powerful and while I am making education and career decisions, I always think of what he said. It amazes me sometimes how much motivation and encouragement this man has provided me.”

Read more about Halim’s experiences in “EWU’s Newsletter.”

Annual PPPA student-faculty softball game

Posted on May 26, 2014 by pppauwt

In what has become an annual ritual, students and faculty engaged in a hotly contested game of softball at Tacoma’s Vassault Park this May. We all enjoyed the sun and warm breezes blowing in from left field, and a fine game of softball followed by a BBQ. After four successive years of defeat, the students this year came out determined to win. And win they did! It was a close game, but graduating Law and Policy senior Grady Heins squashed the faculty’s early celebrations by socking a second home run, this one a three-run blast in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, allowing students to eke out a hard-fought but well-earned victory against us. Since alumni play for the faculty team, we look forward to having Grady on our side next year.

Andreas Neiderberger speaks at Philosophy Roundtable events

Posted on May 25, 2014 by pppauwt

As part of this year’s Philosophy Roundtable, Andreas Neiderberger, Professor of Political and Social Philosophy at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany spoke at UW Tacoma and Seattle in April. AT UW Tacoma he spoke of the theme of “Human Rights & Global Constitutionalism,” and at UW Seattle he discussed “Are Human Rights Moral Rights?” While in the Puget Sound area, he also attended a music recital at the University of Puget Sound, and spoke to the Research Group on Human Rights in the Suzzallo Library at UW Seattle. His talks were part of the Interdisciplinary Research Cluster Human Interactions and Normative Innovation (HI-NORM). His talks were made possible by support from PPPA as well as the Simpson Center for the Humanities, and the UW Seattle Department of Philosophy.

Faculty profile–Mary Hanneman

Posted on May 24, 2014 by pppauwt

Students often think of professors as people with no life outside of the classroom, living only to teach—or possibly to compose scores of journal articles. However, for Mary Hanneman, Associate Professor in PPPA and Acting Director of the Asia Pacific Center, there are other scores that hold her interest.

Hanneman’s interest in East Asia began during her childhood experiences as the daughter of a Lutheran missionary in Tokyo where she lived for 3 ½ years, attending grades K-2. Even after returning to the States, she continued to pursue her interest in Asia; during her high school, she studied Japanese — an unusual language to study in those days. She continued to study Japanese while earning her BA in East Asian Studies at WWU. After receiving her MA (also in East Asian Studies) from Yale, she returned home to Washington to pursue her PhD in Japanese History at UW Seattle, before finally settling here at UW Tacoma where she taught Asian History.

It was while living in Tokyo, though, that she discovered her second passion in life: music. Hanneman began playing the violin at age six before moving to the viola a few years later. While at WWU, she minored in music; while working on her Masters degree she joined the orchestra at Yale, and during Ph.D. work at the UW, she played in a string quartet. After that, she gave up music until about 10 years ago; when both of her parents died, she found that music gave her a way to deal with grief. “Playing got me into a different mental and emotional space,” she remembered. Hanneman currently is a member of the Olympia Symphony. The last concert of the 2013-14 season included a presentation of Brahms Symphony #2—a piece that she played years ago. Remarking on the idea of music and muscle memory, she commented, “It’s amazing how much of it was just under my fingers.”

This summer Hanneman will be taking a group of 16 students on a study abroad trip to China. Hanneman can’t wait – but she’ll miss her viola while she’s away.