African Politics and International Relations
The BBC reports today how humanitarian aid was used to facilitate military action in the DRC. Doctors without Borders (MSF) is one of the bravest and most savvy of aid organizations. If they ever choose to leave the region, many will be worse off.
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
DR Congo army ‘used aid as bait’
The Congolese army operations [...]
Posted in General on Nov 6th, 2009
My students are doing a fantastic job in our current Introduction to International Politics.
One of their assignments for the term is to post on the course blog reactions to readings and recent news events, relevant to the course. Here are links to a few of the highlights so far this semester:
On readings:
Readings Blog Post – [...]
Posted in General on Nov 6th, 2009
Blogging and parenthood has not been a successful combination lately. I have basically put the blog on hold because I felt something had to give. But now I hope to gradually increase my blogging. Why? Well, I think Chris Blattman suggests a number of reasons why blogging has been useful for him (see “Is this [...]
My first day of classes back at Wesleyan is done. I was a little worried about my energy levels when my daughter, Sophie, woke me up this morning at 3:45 am! But the natural energy that comes with the onset of a new semester more than carried me through!
As usual, I’m very impressed by the [...]
Posted in General on Sep 3rd, 2009
Yesterday was the first day of my fall semester. They gathered us faculty together to advise us on how to advise the incoming freshmen.
This is a new experience for me. I myself was never really advised during my own college experience. I have a faint memory of advisors being available for us during my undergraduate [...]
Posted in General on Sep 2nd, 2009
Feeling old?
One of my favorite links to look at every fall is the Beloit College Mindset List. Each year, the authors attempt to capture what makes the incoming class unique and some of the signature generational divisions we may confront as their older teachers/ mentors. Some of my favorites from this year’s list:
3. The Green [...]
Posted in General on Jun 8th, 2009
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
Swedish pirates capture EU seat
Pirate Party supporters celebrate their win in the European elections
Sweden’s Pirate Party has won a seat in the European Parliament.
The group – which campaigned on reformation of copyright and patent law – secured 7.1% of the Swedish vote.
The result puts the Pirate Party in fifth place, behind the Social [...]
Posted in General on May 21st, 2009
Introducing Sophie, born May 17th!
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Posted in General on May 7th, 2009
Many of you have heard of the recent tragedy here at Wesleyan. A student was shot and killed yesterday by a man who — reportedly — harrassed her in the past. Fortunately, the suspect turned himself in this evening. Hopefully, the campus will be able to heal and recover from the tragedy.
I have only been [...]
Posted in African Politics, General on May 4th, 2009
Not sure how I missed this story last week–though I’ve been quite busy between the normal end-of-the-semester routines, a Varieties of Democracy conference, celebrating my wife’s passing the CT bar, and preparing for a new baby…
Kenyan women call for sex boycott
By Parselelo Kantai in Nairobi
Published: May 1 2009 02:42 | Last updated: May 1 2009 [...]
