Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In recent years a significant body of work has emerged on the role of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues in U.S. politics. How can mainstream public policy studies and policy analysis inform and improve gay political science research?

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Historically, the lawyer, the diplomat, the teacher, and the political scientist were one and the same. Aristotle, Cicero, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Gentili, Grotius, Locke, Montesquieu and even Wilson were all scholar-statesmen largely responsible for creating, interpreting, and applying existing laws on behalf of their states. The views of these scholars on what international law was and what position states should take on international law were extremely influential. These scholar-statesmen were largely responsible for the development of modern international law, and it was their efforts which initiated such concepts as state sovereignty, the laws of war and diplomacy, the recognition of a universal standard of human rights, and freedom of international economic enterprise. Today, however, the role of the scholar in the development and recognition of international law has become more varied. In some countries, such as the United States, the scholar is not considered a source of law. In other countries, such as France, however, the scholar has retained a significantly more active role as a source of law, shaping the approach the country takes to international law and influencing the state’s recognition and compliance with international legal principles. In still other countries, for example Egypt, the role of the scholar has been active in shaping attitudes towards international law, but in a much more conservative vein as these scholars also serve to protect the traditional religious approach to law. In this paper I consider the scholar as a source of law, and examine whether those states which retain this historical practice have a different approach to international law than those states in which scholars are not a source of law. Stemming from a broader project which examines the role of a state’s legal tradition in determining how states arrive at different interpretations of recognized principles of international law, this paper focuses on one component of legal tradition – the sources of law – and the specific role that scholars have in shaping a state’s approach to international law. An initial examination of both sources of law within 133 states and state ratification of international treaties indicates that in those states where scholars are a source of law, the state is more likely to support international law through treaty ratification.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Theories of urban politics have long addressed the marginal position of poor people. Some theories focus on the marginal representation and voice of the poor within city government, examining the mechanisms that exclude the poor from influence, as well as the moments when some degree of voice has been achieved. Other theories focus on the control of urban land and other forms of capital, examining how private and public sector actors together exclude or displace the poor from urban space and urban planning processes. Research also focuses on institutions and movements to resist this exclusion, whether through grassroots-based community development or cooperative ownership arrangements. In the past decade, social exclusion has emerged as a concept through which to study and to describe aspects of urban life, drawing attention to the multiple dimensions along which poor people are marginalized. This concept guides the formation of public policies, which aim to move toward a more inclusive city, both in material and political terms. In this paper I review the components of three theoretical approaches to the poor in urban politics, consider some cross-cutting themes, and offer suggestions for further development of urban politics theory.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper presents the results of qualitative telephone interviews with ten leading authors in the family. The aim was to assess the views of the scholars about their careers and changes in the family field in the past 20 to 40 years in which they have been active. The authors were selected for study based on being the most published authors in the 1990s in Family Relations, Journal of Marriage and the Family, and Journal of Family Issues. The top eight males from the list were interviewed. Two widely published women were added instead of the last two males of the top ten publishers. No authors who were members of racial or ethnic minorities were among these top ten. These researchers, who have become identified with many of the important directions in the family field, primarily collected their own data or applied a distinctive approach to already gathered data. Contrary to earlier decades when symbolic interactionism was the most commonly used perspective, five of the ten authors identified themselves as using the life course perspective in their work. The majority did not feel that theory had developed much in recent years nor did they feel that theory was used as much as a focus for the research of others. The authors identified new directions and approaches that they felt were becoming important in the family field.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Feminist scholars have a long and rich history of forging intentional connections between theory/scholarship and practice. Despite the many challenges associated with activist scholarship, feminists continue to count among their goals reducing gender inequality in the “real world.” In this paper, I consider both the contributions of and the obstacles faced by feminist scholar-activists, and address critical questions in the current disciplinary context. I articulate a vision for feminist sociology, and argue that feminist sociologists have a unique opportunity to lead the effort to advance scholar-activism for the benefit of women transnationally.