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|Current Courses| |Education| |Biography| |Professional Organizations| |Assorted Favorite Links| |Schedule| |
Current Courses Traditional Offerings
Education
Biography It is only fair that, before seeking to instruct (i.e. influence) others, a professor should at least prepare his students for that which they will be faced with. In this respect, a reasonably short biography might be in order. Born, raised, and initially schooled in Santa Barbara (till the age of 13), my life took an interesting turn at that point, off the beaten path. At that time, the U.S. was considering going metric (using a more universal form of measures of distance, weight, and volume), and working in closer cooperation with the rest of the world. As a result, my family moved to Evian, in France, where I had the good fortune of being integrated into the French public school system for the next 7 years. After graduating with a French baccalauréat, and many good memories, I began attending Heidelberg University in Germany, where my interest in international politics and Japanese culture (I know, go figure...) began and developed. After 2 pleasurable years, with most of my prerequisites accomplished, I returned to California and a year at California State University, Long Beach, where I completed my B.A. Homesick at last, I returned to Santa Barbara and spent several years at the University of California (with a relatively long leave of absence taken in Japan),completing my M.A. and my Ph.D. in the fields of Comparative Politics (Europe & Japan), International Relations, and American Government. Finally, as is the case with most part-timers, I am presently looking for a local Political Science Department to call home... As former students will (I hope) tell you, I enjoy teaching immensely. A good deal of this comes from my students, many of whom prove to be quite able scholars (given a good deal of insistent prodding.) Should you wish to take on one of my classes, however, I believe it only fair to warn you that my time spent abroad (nine years in Europe, and five in Japan) has definitely given me a rather unique outlook on our current educational as well as our political system. As you will soon find out, this outlook is far from always favorable. I believe that our system has definite faults, which I will not hesitate to bring up, and criticize. Critical thinking, and thinking in general are things that I will attempt to incorporate into our lectures, course-work and our classroom discussions. In order for this approach to work, we will need your input and willingness to provide your views and your opinions. Don't hesitate to jump in. While the water may not always be warm and relaxing, I think we can at least avoid boredom, and you might even learn something. Welcome to the real world, and prepare to be challenged!
Professional Organizations
http://www.whitehouse.gov U.S. Government Economic and Social Data http://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr Legislative Information on the Internet http://thomas.loc.gov
http://www.un.org http://www.france.diplomatie.fr http://www.auswaertiges-amt.government.de
http://www.cnn.com News of Japan: Japan Times Online http://www.japantimes.co.jp http://www.msnbc.com
Schedule
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