A belated thank you to Matt Spangler, producer/director of Out of Obscurity (2000), a documentary about the 1939 Queen Street Library Sit-in organized by Samuel W. Tucker, for joining members of my Policy Analysis class recently for a viewing and discussion of the film. The interview footage in Out of Obscurity is fascinating – it’s some of the only footage you’ll find of Tucker and the participants in this too-little-documented moment in American history.
A friend says the headline for this article in the VT Research Magazine about our ongoing study Senate-confirmed political appointees suggests perhaps I’m running the country. Not so, but I appreciate the great article and the photo (which makes me look studious). Previous posts about the appointees project here and here . Here’s an article with an overview of the dataset we’ve developed.
This summer Derek Hyra and I are co-teaching the Virginia Tech Washington Semester program – which combines a summer internship in the DC area and one day a week dedicated to coursework and site visits. Here’s a copy of the course syllabus. I’m also the self-appointed Washington Semester 2011 staff photographer. A few pictures from the summer so far:
Roosevelt Island Junket Read the rest of this entry ?
Every few years Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies (CAUS) holds a research symposium featuring College faculty. I’m Blacksburg-bound tomorrow with several (mostly pre-tenure) colleagues. My presentation is based on a paper I presented at last September’s APSA meeting. “A Century in Search of Results: Publicity, Professionalism, and Reform in the Progressive Era” – here’s a copy of the pdf of the presentation, if you’re interested. As students and colleagues can attest, the paper is basically an ode to William H. Allen’s 1907 book Efficient Democracy (1907) and the remarkable but disastrous story of Efficient Citizenship, a printed by the New York Bureau of Municipal Research under Allen’s direction between 1908 and 1914. Allen’s story is useful because it highlights tensions basic in the search for reform in numbers, and – if someone is looking to do archival research – simply digitizing the Efficient Citizenship series would be a big contribution. I found the design and visualization in these cards genuinely fascinating. If I hadn’t been so busy trying to finish the paper, I was tempted to take a day and do some photography (but as Rachel says that’s a good post-tenure project).
Mayor Euille & Alexandria's City Council
I recently mentioned CPAP’s participation in a developing community indicators initiative in Alexandria. At the Tuesday’s Alexandria City Council meeting we had a chance to make the case for the City’s support of the initiative. It’s an exciting project – and certainly my first time on the City Council docket. The Council members were surprisingly engaged – asked a number of thoughtful questions – but after reviewing the meeting webcast (twice) my primary conclusion is that I should have gotten a haircut.
It may not look like spring, but it’s that time of year again – last week was the first for my PAPA 6224: Policy Design, CPAP’s introductory policy analysis course, which I’m teaching this year for the sixth(!) time. Here’s the syllabus if you’re interested. And, if that’s not enough, a copy of the first week’s slides. Fun!
Ayse Zarakol
A belated thank you to Ayse Zarakol of Washington & Lee University, who towards the end of last semester came to Alexandria to give a fascinating talk about her new book After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West (Cambridge University Press, 2011). It was a packed house!
Washington, DC - December 1941 - John Colliear (FSA)
Fall again, so soon! This semester I’m offering a new course PAPA 6254 – Observing Public Organizations. The title seems a little self-explanatory, but check out the syllabus if you’re curious.
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