Volume 27, Number 1, January 2004


 

Congress to Campus Program

The United States Association of Former Members of Congress

The Congress to Campus Program is designed to address several aspects of the civic learning and engagement deficit among the country’s college-age young people, combining traditional educational content with a strong message about public service. The Program sends bipartisan pairs of former Members of Congress - one Democrat and one Republican - to visit college, university and community college campuses around the country. Over the course of each visit, the Members conduct classes, hold community forums, meet informally with students and faculty, visit high schools and civic organizations, and do interviews and talk show appearances with local press and media.

In the summer of 2002, the Board of Directors of the U. S. Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC) engaged the Center for Democracy & Citizenship (CDC) at the Council for Excellence in Government to help manage the Congress to Campus Program in partnership with the Stennis Center for Public Service (Stennis). CDC and Stennis, with the blessing of the USAFMC, agreed to undertake a number of initiatives to greatly increase the number of campuses hosting program visits each year, expand the pool of former Members of Congress available for campus visits, develop new sources of funding, raise the profile of the program and its message in the public and academic community, and devise methods of measuring the impact of the program at host institutions.

[To access full report on Congress to Campus, click here.]

Dirksen Center Invites Applications for Grants

The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress. The Center, named for the late Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen, is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to the study of Congress and its leaders. Since 1978, the Congressional Research Awards (formerly the Congressional Research Grants) program has paid out $585,000 to support 315 projects. Applications are accepted at any time, but the deadline is February 1 for the annual selections, which are announced in March. A total of up to $35,000 will be available in 2004.

According to Center staff member Frank Mackaman, political scientists will use the grants to study such topics as congressional intervention in defense budgeting, congressional oversight of the executive branch, and campaigns for the U.S. House. Historians will explore the culture of violence in Congress in the antebellum years and the influence of incumbents in selecting congressional candidates at the turn of the 20th century. A complete list of Congressional Research Award recipients is posted at http://www.dirksencenter.org/grantcongresearchaward.htm.
The Dirksen Congressional Center is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization in Pekin, Illinois, that seeks to improve civic engagement by promoting a better understanding of Congress and its leaders through archival, research, and educational programs.
 

EITM Summer Institute at Duke University
Duke University's Social Science Research Institute and the Department of Political Science will sponsor the third annual summer institute on EITM, Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models. The EITM program seeks to train a new generation of scholars who can better link theory and empirical work. Each institute, conducted by a team of around 15 research faculty, can accommodate up to 25 advanced graduate students and junior faculty. The program will run from June 14 until July 9, 2004.

Three weeks are devoted to teaching that integrates formal-theory and empirical-methods with research presentation and interaction. Each teaching team features a lead and partner lecturer(s), who survery their area, its theory, its empirics, and the state of its EITM, plus two guest lecturers, who present completed research exemplifying current integration of formal theory and empirical methods. This year, these three weeks will cover political institutions, computational political economy, and political dynamics. The fourth week provides intense mentoring and aims to help germinate new research ideas in the EITM mold.

Funding to support participants' costs of travel, accommodation, and subsistence is available. EITM institutes are selective, with admission based significantly on the quality and potential of research presented. Institute training includes teaching and research components, providing students a highly individualized interaction with a far wider and deeper array of mentors than is available at any individual institution.

Lead and partner lecturers for this summer will be Scott de Marchi, James Granato, Arthur Lupia, Michael Munger, Scott Page, and Curt Signorino.

Visithttp://www.poli.duke.edu/eitm/ for more information and application procedures.


EITM Summer Institute at Washington University

The Washington University Summer Institute on the Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models is an NSF-sponsored program to train junior faculty and graduate students on the problems of testing formal  models of politics. This summer’s institute meets June 14-July 2, 2004. The application deadline is  February 15, 2004.   Up to 25 participants will receive a $1,000 stipend to be used for housing, meals, and transportation.
The program website is http://wc.wustl.edu/eitm. You will find seminar summaries, application information, and housing information on the website. 

Five seminars will be held this summer:

June 14-17 Theoretical and Methodological Foundations Professors Randall Calvert and  Andrew Martin
(both of Washington University in St. Louis)

June 18-19 Quantal Response Models Thomas Palfrey (Caltech) 

June 21-23. The Methodological Challenges of Coalition Theory Itai Sened and Norman Schofield
(both of Washington University in St. Louis) 

June 24-28 Experimental Tests of Theoretical Models Rick Wilson (Rice University)
June 29-July 2 Issues in Testing Positive Theories of Legislative Politics Steven Smith (Washington University in St. Louis)
and Keith Krehbiel (Stanford University) 
 
The institute has an excellent set of seminars and instructors. Up to 25  subsidies of $1,000 each are available for full-time participants.

The application process is not complicated. You must submit a complete curriculum vita and a 1-2 page  statement of the value of the institute for your education and work. We recommend that graduate students also submit a transcript of their graduate work and 1 or 2 letters of recommendation. The vita and statement may be submitted by email to eitm@wc.wustl.edu

Please do not hesitate to email or call with any questions you have about the program. You can either email your questions to eitm@wc.wustl.edu or contact Alana Bame, EITM Administrative Assistant, at (314) 935-5657 or Steven Smith at (314) 935-5630.


Election Results Archive
Center on Democratic Performance at Binghamton University

The Center on Democratic Performance at Binghamton University is pleased to announce the launch of the Election Results Archive (ERA), a collection of electronic files containing data on election results from around the world.  This unique online database with global coverage provides researchers, policy-makers, scholars, and others interested in elections with information on over 900 elections from around the world.  It includes information on the following:
  • Types of Elections: Results for presidential and national legislative elections.
  • Countries: The Archive currently contains election results from 134 countries that have met a minimum threshold of democratic performance for the year in which the elections took place. 
  • Dates of Elections: The ERA contains results back to 1974, This date was selected because it is frequently cited as a beginning point of the recent phase of democratic expansion (democratic elections in Greece and Portugal).

More election data will be added to this Archive as time and resources permit.

The archive can be searched by country, region, or year and type of election.  Please visit the archive at http://cdp.binghamton.edu/era/index.html

European Consortium for Political Research

ECPR has a new standing group on Parliaments, coordinated by Shane Martin, University of California, San Diego) and Matti Wiberg (University of Turku).

For a number of years the study of legislatures has concentrated on the US Congress. Parliaments in Europe have not been a subject of investigation to any comparable extent. Nevertheless, the body of knowledge is ever expanding on both the long-standing parliaments in Europe and the new institutions of the European Union and Central and Eastern Europe.

The Standing Group's aim is to promote comparative research and theory-building on the institutionalisation, capacity, operation, and performance of legislatures and the dissemination of such research.

For more information, and to register for membership (which is free) please see their web site at: http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/standinggroups/parliaments/index.htm

Parliamentary  Representation in the Internet Age

Economic and Social Research Institute, University of Salford, UK
ESRI has announced a new research project that looks into parliamentarians' use of internet based technologies in the UK and Australia. In particular, they are examining the role of new technologies in shaping the work of MPs and the nature of parliamentary representation. The project is wide ranging, looking at a number of complementary issues, and does involve a range of research activities and methodologies:
  • Regular analyses of parliamentary/MPs websites to assess the function of such sites (over the next two years);
  • Postal surveys of parliamentarians to gauge the attitude toward, and importance of, Internet communication and online participation;
  • Interviews with MPs to understand Internet communication strategies, and their associated benefits and problems;
  • Public opinion survey to evaluate citizen awareness, usage and problems of internet communication with representatives;
  • Focus group assessment of the design and content of parliamentary websites.

For more information, visit the web site at http://www.ipop.org.uk or contact Wainer Lusoli by email at s.lusoli@salford.ac.uk.



Research Fellowship Grant

Central Valley Political Archive, California State University, Fresno

The Research Fellowship
The Central Valley Political Archive at California State University, Fresno, is pleased to announce the availability of a research fellowship grant. Generously supported by the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute of Public Affairs, the purpose of the research fellowship is to support the individual research of graduate students, university professors, and independent scholars for an extended period at the Central Valley Political Archive. Fellows will have the opportunity not only to conduct intensive research but also give a lecture on their research to the campus community. The availability of the fellowship runs from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005.

The Resources
The CVPA currently houses the papers of Kenneth L. Maddy (CA State Assemblyman, 1971-1978, CA State Senator, 1979-1998), Jim Costa (CA State Assemblyman, 1979-1994, CA State Senator, 1995-2002), Bernie F. Sisk (U.S. Representative 1955-1979), and Charles Pashayan, Jr. (U.S. Representative 1979-1991). Major topics include water, agriculture, reclamation and other legislative issues. For more information, please visit the CVPA’s web site at: http://www.cvparchive.org

The Grant
This grant will provide up to $2,000 to fund transportation, lodging and related research costs such as photocopying and photographic reproduction. One grant is available in each fiscal year.
CVPA staff will assist the chosen fellow in obtaining housing. Free borrowing privileges within the Henry Madden Library at California State University, Fresno during the fellow’s stay will also be offered.

Application
To apply, please send your curriculum vitae and a research proposal of no more than 4 pages, including the dates of your visit, a proposed budget and a description of the ultimate end result of your research. Letters of recommendation may be requested during the review process. We encourage you to contact us prior to applying in order to ascertain the viability of your proposal. You may call the Central Valley Political Archive at (559) 278-8573. Please send all materials by March 31, 2004 to: Glenn R. Gray, Archivist, Central Valley Political Archive, 5200 N. Barton Avenue M/S ML34, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740-8014

All applicants will be notified by April 30, 2004.


Visiting Scholars Program

APSA Centennial Center for Political Science & Public Affairs


The American Political Science Association recently opened the Centennial Center for Political Science & Public Affairs in its headquarters building in Washington, D.C.  As part of its programs, the Centennial Center assists scholars from the United States and abroad whose research and teaching would benefit from a stay in and access to the incomparable resources available in the nation's capital.  The Center provides to Visiting Scholars the infrastructure needed to conduct their work, including furnished work space with computer, phone, fax, conference space, and library access.

The Center has space to host 10 scholars for extended periods of time, ranging from weeks to months.  Space for shorter "drop-in" stays is also available.  Scholars are expected to pursue their own research and teaching projects and contribute to the intellectual life of the residential community by sharing their work with Center colleagues in occasional informal seminars.

Eligibility is limited to APSA members.  Senior or junior faculty membes, post-doctoral fellows, and advanced graduate students are also strongly encouraged to apply.  A short applicationform is required, and submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis.  Positions are awarded based on space availability and relevant Center programming.

For more information and an application, please visit the Centennial Center web site <www.apsanet.org/centennialcenter> or call Sean Twombly at 202.483.2512.



Visiting Scholars Program

Carl Albert Center

The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma seeks applicants for its Visiting Scholars Program, which provides financial assistance to researchers working at the Center's archives. Awards of $500 - $1000 are normally grantedas reimbursement for travel and lodging.

The Center's holdings include the papers of many former members of Congress, such as Robert S. Kerr, Fred Harris, and Speaker Carl Albert of Oklahoma; Helen Gahagan Douglas and Jeffery Cohelan of California; and Neil Gallagher of New Jersey. Besides the history of Congress, congressional leadership, national and Oklahoma politics, and election campaigns, the collections also document government policy affecting agriculture, Native Americans, energy, foreign affairs, the environment, the economy, and other areas.

Topics that can be studied include the Great Depression, flood control, soil conservation, and tribal affairs. At least one collection provides insight on women in American politics. Most materials date from the 1920s to the 1970s, although there is one nineteenth century collection.

The Center's archives are described on their website at http://www.ou.edu/special/albertctr/archives/ and in the publication titled A Guide to the Carl Albert Center Congressional Archives by Judy Day et.al. (Norman, Okla.: The Carl Albert Center, 1995), available at many U.S. academic libraries. Additional information can be obtained from the Center.

The Visiting Scholars Program is open to any applicant. Emphasis is given to those pursuing postdoctoral research in history, political science, and other fields. Graduate students involved in research for publication, thesis, or dissertation are encouraged to apply. Interested undergraduates and lay researchers are also invited to apply. The Center evaluates each research proposal based upon its merits, and funding for a variety of topics is expected.

No standardized form is needed for application. Instead, a series of documents should be sent to the Center, including:
(1) a description of the research proposal in fewer than 1000 words;
(2) a personal vita;
(3) an explanation of how the Center's resources will assist the researcher;
(4) a budget proposal; and
(5) a letter of reference from an established scholar in the discipline attesting to the significance of the research.
Applications are accepted at any time.

For more information, please contact Archivist, Carl Albert Center, 630 Parrington Oval, Room 101, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019.  Telephone: (405) 325-5401.  FAX: (405) 325-6419.  Email: channeman@ou.edu

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