Cultivating classes on constitutions, democracy

How do you win a war?

A new course taught by Michael Horowitz uses theories of war fighting and highlights factors that contribute to victory or defeat in an attempt to answer that question.

Horowitz, who specializes in political theory, is one of three new hires in the Political Science department.

He is joined by Jeffrey Green and Matthew Levendusky, who have brought their prowess in international relations and political behavior, respectively, to the department.

The new hires are part of the School of Arts and Sciences' Strategic Plan, developed by SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell, to address academic areas in need of improvement.

One of those areas, democracy and constitutionalism, was labeled a "primary concern" for the Political Science department.

According to the official plan, "Faculty appointments that further strengthen our expertise in [democratic politics and constitutional design] are a priority for SAS. . We must also resolve the facilities needs of the department of Political Science, which plays a central role in research and teaching in this area."

Democracy and constitutionalism, for example, was labeled a "primary concern" for the Political Science Department, while the area of genes to brains to behavior was one for the Psychology Department, which hired three faculty members for this year in that sector.

Levendusky, who is currently teaching an introductory statistics course for Ph. D. students and will teach two undergraduate courses in the spring, wrote in an e-mail that "it's particularly exciting to help shape a department that will hopefully be a leader in the years to come."

Horowitz's current undergraduate course, entitled "War, Strategy and Politics," filled to its 102-student capacity almost as soon as it was listed on the course registrar, which Political Science department chairman Avery Goldstein called "pretty unusual".

Horowitz humbly denied credit for the class' popularity, citing the syllabus' appeal.

"The topic sort of sells itself, given we live in a world in which, unfortunately, war is in the news everyday," he said.

Green is currently not teaching classes - he is finishing up work in Sweden - but he will teach an undergraduate course on political theory in the spring.

Hiring of new faculty and expanding some departments will not stop here.

"We are conducting searches [for new faculty members] again this year and hope to be just as, if not more, successful in recruiting people," Goldstein said.

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