Gerard Huiskamp
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About
Comparative Politics: African politics; Latin American politics; popular social movements and informal politics; gender politics in the global south; political development and political culture; globalization and resistance; political violence, revolution and terrorism; nationalism, patriotism and state-building; politics and film.
Political Theory: democratic theory; comparative political and social theory; critical theory.
Degrees
Ph.D., M.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A., Marquette University
Research Interests
I’ve published articles on the use of popular culture film by the US military during the Iraq War; the micropolitics of patriotism and protest; the doctrine of preemptive war at the center of post-9/11 US foreign policy; hegemonic and counter-hegemonic discourses; rural women’s organizing and identity formation in non-Western societies; democratization and social movement theory; and Marxism and religion. I continue to work on a larger project looking at the politics of patriotism.
Teaching Interests
I enjoy teaching courses in both comparative politics and political philosophy, and have taught a number of courses in each area: African Politics, Latin America Politics, Comparative Political Development, Introduction to Comparative Politics, Introduction to Political Thought, Religious Sentiment and Popular Movements, International Mediation, Inter-American Regional and Global Cooperation.
Publications
Gerard Huiskamp, Nick Dorzweiler and Eli Lovely, “Watching War Movies in Baghdad: Popular Culture and the Construction of Military Policy in the Iraq War,” Polity 48, no. 4 (October 2016), pp. 496-523.
Gerard Huiskamp, “‘Support the Troops!’ The Social and Political Currency of Patriotism in the United States,” New Political Science 33, no. 3 (September 2011), pp. 285-310.
Gerard Huiskamp and Lori Hartmann-Mahmud, “As Development Seeks to Empower: Women from Mexico and Niger Challenge Theoretical Categories,” Journal of Poverty 10, no. 4 (Winter 2006), pp. 1-26.
Gerard Huiskamp, “Minority Report on the Bush Doctrine,” New Political Science 26, no. 3 (September 2004), pp. 389-415. [Reprinted in Joseph G. Peschek, ed., The Politics of Empire: War, Terror and Hegemony (New York: Routledge, 2006), pp. 121-147.]
Gerard Huiskamp, “Negotiating Communities of Meaning in Theory and Practice: Rereading Pedagogy of the Oppressed as Direct Dialogic Encounter,” in Judith J. Slater, Stephen M. Fain and Cesar A. Rossatto, eds., The Freirean Legacy: Educating for Social Justice (New York: Peter Lang, 2002), pp. 73-94.
Gerard Huiskamp, “Identity Politics and Democratic Transitions in Latin America: (Re)organizing Women’s Strategic Interests through Community Activism,” Theory and Society 29, no. 3 (June 2000), pp. 385-424.
Gerard Huiskamp, “Structuring Political Opportunity from Below: Latin American Popular Movements Envisioning the Democratic Society,” Political Chronicle 12, no. 1 (Spring 2000), pp. 15-42.
Gerard Huiskamp and Christian Smith, “Marxism,” in Robert Wuthnow, ed., The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Books, 1998), pp. 497-501.
Student Projects
I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with a number of students as they pursue their senior honors thesis and other research projects. I have directed the senior theses of majors Morgan Kunz ’03 (Political Science), “American Exceptionalism on the Kyoto Protocol;” Lanae Ball ’04 (Political Science), “The Dangerous Intersection of Drugs and Terror: Counternarcotics and Counterterrorism Policy under the George W. Bush Administration;” Rose Jackson ’06 (International Relations), “Men as Partners in Women’s Empowerment: United States HIV and AIDS Policy in Southern Africa;” and Violet Knoll ’16 (Political Science and WGS), “Gender and the Military: Another Invisible War?” I’ve also had the pleasure of serving as a reader on the thesis committees of Libby Bixby ’02 (Anthropology), “Embodying Inequality in Ecuador: Children, Identity and Pedagogy;” Brian Donorfio ’04 (Computer Science and Political Science), “The Politics of ‘Free’ — Open Source Software in Government;” Jared Duval ’05 (Political Science and Economics), “Climate of Negligence: An Analysis of Climate Change and the US Political Agenda;” Tamar Palandjian ’05 (International Relations), “Civil Society and Human Rights Organizations in Armenia: Leading the Path to Democratization;” Scott Hafferkamp ’09 (American Studies), “Kennedy’s Disciples: The Portrayal of a Presidency by JFK’s Advisers;” Michael Latner ’10 (Economics and International Relations), “Magical Realism in Latin American Political Economy Continues: Mercosur’s Labor-oriented Development Agenda Evolves, But Slowly;” Eli Lovely ’10 (International Relations), “Islamists as Instruments of Change: The Inclusion of Mainstream Islamist Groups in Egypt and Turkey, a Study on Democratization;” Sally Dexter ’12 (Anthropology), “Consuming Coffee, Drinking Democracy: Fair and Direct Trade Coffee in Alternative Markets;” and Zach Marlay-Wright ’16 (International Relations), “Lost in a Crowd: An Investigation of Policies & Urban Refugee Health within Middle & Lower Income Countries.”
I’ve also had a couple of opportunities to pursue collaborative research with Wheaton students. Lanae Ball ’04 and I presented a paper together at the 2004 Northeast Political Science Association Meeting. The study, “Political Violence, Commerce and Stateness on the Margins of the International Order: A View on US Counterterrorism and Counternarcotics Policy from Below,” was a follow-up on some of the issues raised in Lanae’s thesis. And while Eli Lovely ’10 was working on his own senior thesis, under the auspices of a Wheaton Research Partnership grant, Eli and I also completed a study entitled, “War Goes to the Movies: The US Military’s Use of Film and Cinematic Mythos in the Iraq War.” We presented our findings to the 2010 Midwest Political Science Association Meeting, and published a revised version in Polity with Nick Dorzweiler.