KU Political Science News
Article from Dr. Anton Shirikov "Rethinking Propaganda: How State Media Build Trust Through Belief Affirmation"
Shirikov said how in authoritarian regimes such as Vladimir Putin’s Russia, “Instead of persuasion or intimidation, propaganda can satisfy public demand for political ideas and narratives, crafting its message around regime supporters’ core beliefs.”
Dr. Clay Webb presents talk in Taylor Swift Speaker Series
KU Political Science professor, Clayton Webb, presented the talk "Sexy Baby, Monster on a Hill or Something Else? Using the Eras Tour to Understand the Effects of Culture on Public Opinion" on Dec 12, 2024 as part of a series of talks about the influence of the pop icon, who is highly popular among college students.
KU expert says a second Trump term 'will be a difficult 4 years for Europe'
Dr. Robert Rohrschneider studies European politics and political movements at the University of Kansas. He tells KCUR's Up To Date that a second term of President Trump will bring uncertainty to U.S.-European relations at a challenging time for the continent..
KU receives new intelligence community funding, awards 34 new scholarships
Ashley Urban, ICCAE education program manager, said, “We are excited that some of these scholarships were awarded to students who transferred from our consortium partners. These scholarships are critical in supporting these students in their transition to KU.”
Welcoming new professor!
We are excited to be starting the Fall semester adding new professor, Anton Shirikov to the Political Science Department faculty! Anton earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2022. In 2022-2024, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in Russian Politics at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University. His research investigates how propaganda helps authoritarian leaders maintain public support and undermine the influence of independent media. In related research, he studies how we can teach citizens to treat propaganda and disinformation more critically and how Russian propaganda spreads in the United States. His other work examines political elites and institutions in Russia and Ukraine and the legacies of communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. His research has been published or is forthcoming in The Journal of Politics, Political Communication, The Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Problems of Post-Communism, The Journal of Legislative Studies, and East European Politics and Societies. His analysis and commentary have appeared in The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, The Financial Times, Newsweek, Huffington Post, USA Today, Euronews, and other media outlets. Before his PhD studies, he worked as a journalist and an editor in Russian independent media.
Dr. Kevin Mullinix's research spotlighted on Kansas Public Radio's When Experts Attack
Associate Professor, Undergrad Director, Alum, Policy Expert, Kevin Mullinix on KPRs When Experts Attack
Professor Don Haider-Markel on panel of No Place Like Home film screening with Director Kevin Willmott
KU Political Science Professor Don Haider-Markel was part of a panel discussing the documentary film No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas, at the Jayhawk Welcome Center, along with the film's Director Kevin Willmott and Associate Producer CJ Janovy. Moderated by Nicole Hodges-Persley and Ash Wilson. The event was sponsored by KU Political Science, the Alumni Association, the Office of Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging, and The Center for Gender Diversity The film explores the challenges for acceptance and compassion that LGBTQ people face.
KU Conference Commemorating 100 Years of The Turkish Republic
Dr. Mike Wuthrich was one of the scholars and experts speaking on the broad scope of Turkish politics and society over the last century. Dr. Mike Wuthrich is Associate Professor from Political Science and the Center for Global and International Studies. Also speaking at the one day conference, Dr. Hale Yilmaz, from History Southern Illinois University, Mehmet Gurses, from Florida Atlantic University, and Dr. Sabri Cifci from Kansas State University, with event introduction by KU College Dean Arash Mafi.
Professor Britton interviewed at ICCAE event
KU Political Science Professor Hannah Britton was interviewed at this year's KU ICCAE launch event, Women in the U.S. Intelligence Community. She was interviewed about "Sex Trafficking in the Heartland" Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer was also on hand to introduce the days conference which included speakers and a roundtable and students interested in the program.
Partnership with the Dole Institute!
We have an ongoing partnership with the Dole Institute of Politics! Our Ketzel Speaker, Dr. Robert Ross, Boston College and Associate of John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard, discussed "A New Cold War? America, China, and Russia after the Ukraine War"
A Post-Election conference also at the Dole Institute of Politics included in it's panel Associate Professor Patrick Miller, and PhD alum Dr. Alexandra Middlewood, now a professor at Wichita State University.
Post Election Conference at the Dole, December 2022!
Remembering Loomis
From the Chair, Professor John Kennedy, KU Political Science Dept. Re: Burdett “Bird” Loomis 1945-2021
The political science department, University of Kansas, and the Lawrence community are saddened to hear about the passing of Burdett Loomis, also known as Bird. He was a great colleague, American and Kansas political scholar, international representative, local community activist, and patron of the arts. Bird was often interviewed in national and regional newspapers, television and radio programs for his insights into national and state politics. He will be missed by his family, colleagues, his students, and everyone who knew and admired him for his work at KU, in Kansas State government, and throughout the broader Lawrence community.
In 1974, Professor Loomis completed his PhD in political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His first teaching position was at Knox College in Illinois, but he was lured to the University of Kansas by the department of political science in 1979. Early in his academic career he wrote about the incoming cohort of congressional representatives, focusing more on individual orientations and behaviors than on the broader institutional structures and processes of Congress that had previously been stressed by Congressional scholars. His particular focus was on how a new generation of congress members sought to balance their responsiblilities to the local communities that had elected them, their family obligations, the interests of their political party, the institutional norms and customs within Congress, and their future political ambitions. He interviewed numerous incoming congressional representatives and their staffs over the years. Before Congress lapsed into the polarized dysfunction that is currently widely discussed and bemoaned, Bird stressed the declining civility in Congress and the shift from deliberation in pursuit of the public interest to strategizing in pursuit of partisan advantage. His research and numerous books contributed much to both professional and public understanding of the American politics. Professor Loomis authored American politics textbooks for use in the classroom. In collaboration with Professor Alan Cigler at KU, he produced American politics readers that were widely adopted in for introductory courses in American government. In the 1980s, Loomis and Cigler organized an edited book, Interest Group Politics, that examines the rising power and changing methods used by America interest groups. This became a biannual series, published in nine distinct editions between 1983 and 2015 and was widely regarded as the most important source on interest groups in the political science discipline.
Burdett Loomis was a dedicated and committed professor who first took over the supervision of an existing KU internship program in Topeka and then developed one the most important Washington internship programs in the Mid-West. In the 1980s, he cultivated relationships with Congressional offices and federal government agencies in Washington DC that opened opportunities for many internships for political science students; these internships launched the public service careers of countless students - not only from KU but those attending other Kansas colleges and universities - over the last several decades. Bird was one of the first recipients of the Kemper Foundation Teaching Award in 1996 for his work in establishing the DC internship.
In the 1990s, he got to know Senator Robert Dole and his staff, and he spearheaded an effort to make KU the repository of Dole’s papers spanning his political career. This was the beginning of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at KU. These initiatives helped establish the Institute at KU and led to Bird becoming its interim director between 1997-2001.
Professor Loomis served as chair of the political science department from 1986-1990 and 2003- 2004. In 2005, he became the Director of Administrative Communication for Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. At this stage of his career, he focused more on Kansas politics and the relationship between state and national politics. He worked closely with the governor and legislators across Kansas. Subsequently, he became a frequent political commentator for local and regional news agencies. In 2014, Loomis received the Steeples Award for Distinguished Service to Kansas.
Although he was an American scholar, Loomis travelled around the globe as a lecturer on American government for the US State Department. Between 1990 and 2012, he visited Brazil twice, West Indies, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Iraq, Taiwan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Subsequently he became a Fulbright Scholar in Australia. He loved to visit other countries and cultures, and he incorporated his international experience into his American politics classes at KU.
Burdett Loomis was a community activist. He was one of the leaders of a community group that sought to stop various downtown Lawrence mall development projects in the 1980s; such efforts successfully saved downtown Lawrence. He was also a leader in the Old West Lawrence neighborhood association. He was involved with the development of downtown Lawrence for decades, investing in such Lawrence iconic businesses as Free State Brewery and Wheatfields Bakery.
Burdett and his wife Michel Loomis are strong supporters of the arts in Lawrence and Kansas. He served on the board of the Spencer Museum of Arts at KU and even curated a show in 2012 titled “Politics as Symbol/ Symbol as Politics.” He worked closely with the Lawrence Art Center for decades and has been a supporter of VanGo, an art-based, social service agency that employs at-risk youth. Their renovated home in Old West Lawrence is often regarded as a local “museum,” filled with works from many artists, especially those from Kansas and the Midwest. They also opened their home for resident artists to stay while they displayed their work at the Lawrence Art Center or the Spencer Museum.
Burdett Loomis had a love of life and he enjoyed his family and the arts as well as his public service, teaching, research and international travel. He is survived by his wife Michel Loomis, his son Dakota, daughter in-law Krystal, granddaughter Georgia, and their newest granddaughter, Merribelle.
