Two new faces have recently joined the faculty of the Political Science Department.
The department hired alumna Deborah Schildkraut, Ph.D. (LA '95), who came to Tufts from Oberlin College for the Fall 2004 semester, and Ioannis Evrigenis, who will arrive for the Fall 2005 semester after finishing his Ph.D. at Harvard University this June.
Schildkraut is an Assistant Professor, which is the position she held at Oberlin. She graduated from Tufts in 1995 and received her Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Schildkraut said the teaching schedule at Tufts, "allows teaching and research to co-exist in a healthy balance," whereas her previous post at Oberlin demanded she teach three classes every other semester.
Tufts students were also a draw for Schildkraut. "The intellectual curiosity and passion for politics that Tufts undergraduates possess make Tufts an especially attractive place to teach political science," she said.
Schildkraut, who specializes in American politics, taught "Introduction to American Politics" in the fall. This semester, she is teaching "Political Psychology" and "The Politics of Ethnicity and American Identity," an upper-level seminar.
Schildkraut's new book, released this month, is called "Press 'One' for English: Language Policy, Public Opinion, and American Identity."
"The central aim of the book is to examine why there is such widespread support among the American people for restrictive language policies, such as declaring English the official language," she said.
Schildkraut is currently working on a project that examines the nature of American identity and how it shapes perceptions of immigrants and ethnic differences.
Soon-to-be Assistant Professor Evrigenis expressed similar optimism.
"Tufts provides a rare combination of an environment for the study and teaching of politics that is both serious and friendly," he said.
Evrigenis will teach political theory at Tufts, as he is slated to teach "Theories of Nationalism" and a course on terrorism as well as courses on Plato and Hobbes.
While at Tufts, Evrigenis plans to continue his research into the role fear plays in politics. His dissertation at Harvard, entitled "'Carthage Must Be Saved': Fear of Enemies and Collective Action," examines how fear of enemies affects group formation and preservation in the history of political thought.
"I would also like to pursue projects on Aristotelians in modern political thought, on Hobbes, and on security," he said.
According to Political Science Department Chair Vickie Sullivan, the new professors will increase the department's strengths across the "four subfields that we emphasize at Tufts - American politics, international relations, comparative politics and political theory."
Schildkraut and Evrigenis arrive after the departure of Professor Shinju Fujihira, who resigned from his Assistant Professor position in Sept. 2004 to accept a full-time administrative post at Harvard. Fujihira remains a lecturer in the department.
