This Week in Political Science

Events this week:

• Contemporary Film and Politics in the Czech Republic, Wednesday, 4 pm: McKinney Conference Room (Watson)
  
• John Palguta of Partnership for Public Service presents Making Public Service Cool Again: Federal Workforce Challenges and Opportunities for the Obama Administration, Wednesday, 4 pm: Salomon 101
  

Recent News Items of Interest: Richard Holbrooke, Brown alum and Professor at Large, was recently appointed US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here are a few items related to him, his new job, and his world views.

• "Obama's Mideast Policy Examined" NPR Weekend Edition: Comments from Rami Khouri regarding the Holbrooke and Mitchell selections.
  
• "The Next President: Mastering a Daunting Agenda" Foreign Affairs: This recent essay by Richard Holbrooke may foreshadow the way he will handle his new envoy position. It was written before the election so it was likely not written as an appeal to Obama for a position or even with Obama in mind at all. It covers a whole host of international issues.
  
• "A Conversation with Richard Holbrooke" Charlie Rose: Richard Holbrooke reveals many of his world views as well as his strong personality in this interview with Charlie Rose. He focuses on China and the economy, rather than Pakistan, which has been at the center of recent coverage surrounding Holbrooke due to his appointment as Special Envoy.
  

Shop 'til you drop

Welcome back! Shopping period has begun and while the political science department may not have a ton of classes to offer, there are plenty, as well as several non-departmental courses that can count for your track. Below is a recap of those out-of-department classes:

American Track:
EDUC410B (FYS), 1060, 1160, 1650
PPAI1200, 1520, 1700s (C, N,T, W, and Z), 1701s (E and F)

Theory Track:
PHIL0400
PPAI1700F

Comparative Track:
AFRI1020B, 1800
PPAI 1500, 1701C

IR Track:
INTL 1000, 1050, 1350, 1700, 1800s (J, L, Q, R, S and U)

Enjoy shopping and don't forget that if you're looking to pick up an extracurricular activity, we're still looking for people to contribute weekly news items or event recaps to this blog. Email brownpsdug@gmail.com if you're interested.

Events this week: none

Recent News Items of Interest:
Stories and opinion pieces about the inauguration and the issues that lie ahead for President Obama are abundant. Read some! Feel free to leave links to any especially good ones you find.