The American Political Science Review has a special Centennial issue with 24 essays covering the varied developments in the discipline since the publication began in 1906. Some of you may know that I went to grad school, getting an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois and another masters in political philosophy from The Catholic University of America in D.C., so it is interesting to see these types of discussions that I am generally (and thankfully) removed from. I'm still working through the essays, or I should say the dozen or so essays that peak my interest, but I see the authors have come more to praise Ceasar than to bury him. That's fine I suppose....but it might have been nice to see an essay that dealt with some of the less savory aspects of the story that is American Political Science; for example, the early advocation of eugenics and even the use of psychopharmalogical agents to "control" the masses. (There is a veiled reference to some of this in an essay by John Dryzek, "Revolutions without Enemies: Transformations in Political Science" , but the early days of the discipline are largely left in a murky light.)
More to come?
(Thanks to Daniel Drezner for pointing this APRS pub.)
No comments:
Post a Comment