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Jodi Dean has compiled an outstanding record as a scholar and administrator and she is an ideal candidate for the APSA Council. Without her willingness to run as a candidate-by-petition, there would be no election in the association this year, and she is the only candidate on the ballot who teaches at a liberal arts college. A vote for her is a vote for methodological pluralism and democracy in our profession. The re-legitimation of qualitative research has made great strides, but much remains to be done if qualitative work is to achieve parity in hiring and promotion decisions, in the graduate curriculum, in the editorial policies of regional association journals such as AJPS and JOP, and in the governance of APSA. Competitive elections are an important means to further reform. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the longstanding shift toward quantitative research and formal theory is that it occurred without public debate. Who made the decision that our association journals should favor hard science? The election of APSA’s officers ought to give political scientists an opportunity to discuss such matters, but ordinarily it does not. We challenge the official slate for the APSA Council not to protest the particular choices of the nominating committee, but to challenge the system of appointments itself. Alone among major academic associations, APSA’s nominating committee offers the membership no choice among candidates, and thus there are normally no electoral campaigns in which to discuss the issues that confront us. This must change. Never again should political science undergo a major transformation without a full public discussion. Jodi Dean is a staunch advocate of competitive elections. Her research exemplifies the methodological pluralism that Perestroika espouses. She will be an able representative of the faculty of non-PhD-granting institutions. She will bring a long record of administrative service to her participation in APSA’s leadership. Please join the 78 signatories who have endorsed Jodi’s candidacy and give her your vote for the APSA Council. 78 Signatories: |
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