Alan Arwine, PhD
Office: 520 Blake
Teaching and Research Interests
I was a KU student in the 1980s when I met William Fowler, a Nobel Laureate in Physics. Professor Fowler told me he taught introductory physics each semester because he learned a tremendous amount from his freshman students who saw physics from a fresh perspective. I agree. My students come from a great many different backgrounds and bring with them myriad perspectives. They help me see political issues from points of view I never imagined. I also feel that sense of success when a student “gets it,” or when they see me while I am shopping or dining and tell me how much they enjoyed my course and how that course has positively impacted their lives.
My students have been quite successful academically including three students who were Truman Scholar finalists, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, a Truman Scholarship winner and a Churchill Scholarship winner. Along the way, they have honored me with departmental, campus-wide and national teaching awards.
One of the benefits of studying at a national research university, such as KU, is that students have the benefit of learning the latest knowledge directly from the professors who discover it.
My latest book links cultural changes in Western democracies to patterns of party system change. Ronald Inglehart of the University of Michigan hails it as “a landmark in the study of political party conflict.” An anonymous reviewer writes “This is an incredibly timely book that should receive a great deal of scholarly and practical/political interest throughout Europe and the USA.” Brian Gaines of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign asks rhetorically “What more could you ask for in a timely book on a topic whose importance grows more obvious with each new general election?”
My latest project examines tolerance. Tolerance of religious, ethnic, racial and philosophical differences constitutes the essence of an open society, which is the foundation of Western democracy.
My latest project, which grew out of the politics of identity, examines tolerance. Tolerance of religious, ethnic, racial and philosophical differences constitutes the essence of an open society, which is the foundation of Western democracy.
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