Blog Quietude

I heard on the radio that the week between Christmas and New Years is the time in which the least work gets done in the US. So allow me to be part of that great tradition. Blog posts will begin in earnest in the New Year; until then, content yourself with some amazing political posters at Chisholm Larsson Poster Gallery in NY and at the International Poster Gallery in Boston.

Happy Holidays from Politics and Government

1912

USAID Paid Summer Internships

Summer 2007 Internships

USAID has fifteen Summer 2007 paid internships available in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia located in Washington, D.C. This is an excellent opportunity for outstanding students interested in pursuing careers in international development. Interested students are encouraged to visit the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia website (http://www.usaid.gov/locations/europe_eurasia/) to familiarize themselves with USAID’s work in the region and identify areas of particular interest.

The criteria for selection are:

• Students must be U.S. citizens. Selected students will be required to undergo a security clearance process and sign a personal services contract.
• Students must be university or college students (juniors, seniors or graduate students).
• Application requirements are:
• A Letter of Interest
• A resume or Curriculum Vitae
• Two letters of reference
• Verification from the university or college of current enrollment
• Applicants should be studying relevant disciplines (public policy, international relations, economics, journalism, agriculture, public administration, law, political science, health, science, finance, etc.).
• Flexibility, initiative, enthusiasm, good interpersonal skills and lots of energy are desired. Computer skills are a necessity.

Normally, the internships range from eight to ten weeks in duration and commence from late May through mid-June. Due to the large number of applications received, we may be unable to respond to all of the applicants individually. We hope to contact candidates under consideration by late-February or early-March.

USAID is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

For additional information on these internship positions and instructions for applying, view this solicitation in either: Microsoft Word (181kb) or Adobe Acrobat PDF (137kb).

Tags:

• Internships

Blogroll, Please...

If you look to your right, you'll see an addition to the site: An alum blogroll. There were enough PG alums with blogs I thought it best to gather them up in one place. If you've got one and want to share it, let me know.

UW to EU

Not cheap by any means, but UW's Center for West European Studies is offering a summer program at the EU:

"The EU Studies Summer Program in Brussels offers US students the opportunity to study the emergence of a united Europe in its dynamic heart. Running from July 16 to August 10, the program will consist of two courses plus an EU simulation for a total of 12 quarter credits (or 8 semester credits). The Program is co-administered by the European Commission-sponsored EU Center of Excellence at the University of Washington (Seattle), the European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), and is hosted by the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). The four-week program features lectures and seminars by leading experts on the EU from both sides of the Atlantic, as well as site visits to major EU institutions and organizations involved in European integration. In addition, the program is supplemented by cultural and social events in and around the city, as well as a field trip to Luxembourg. Brussels’ central location allows students to easily explore the area’s rich history and culture at their own pace. The city is famous for its excellent dining, and the program will start and end with group dinners. Field trip costs and both welcome and farewell dinners are included in the program fee. Discover the new Europe through the EU Studies Program in Brussels!"

I feel like this is something we should be putting together here on campus for our own students. The university is interested in shorter study abroad programs, and Professor Fields, Share and I have been talking about proposing one in the next couple of years that would take in India and China. Keep you posted.

Tags:

• studyabroad
• summerprograms
  

Video Killed The Economic Star

Two lessons to be learned from the following article:

1. Don't make "informational videos" if they just make you look even geekier than you already are;
2. Beware the remix/upload to YouTube.

You have to appreciate the fact that the parody was done by a graduate student in the same department, though.

Professor Weinberger in the Media--Again...

Professor Weinberger's blog Security Dilemmas has attracted the attention of Slate for the second time this year:

"Former Marine officer Westhawk notes that Sistani vetoed this same proposal last spring. He hopes that a coalition could shuffle the warring factions: "It would realign it into a moderate versus extremist fight. This would be Iraq's last best hope for political reconciliation, something which still seems to be a long shot. This coalition would also likely be Iraq's last best hope for a unified state."

But Seth Weinberger, a political science professor, believes that this coalition will cause more fighting, not less. "[T]he US leadership must prepare itself and the American public for the inevitable results of this new strategy: increased violence," he writes at Security Dilemmas. "Splitting the Shiite ruling bloc and challenging the militias will lead to much higher and more intense levels of fighting, especially when the US troops take on al-Sadr's Mahdi Brigade directly."

Check it out here; read Professor Weinberger's analysis in its entirety here.

Tags:

• SethWeinberger

Get Paid: Teach For America Summer Institute Training Positions

Many thanks to Jess Box '06 who is currently working for Teach for America in DC. She emailed me to let me know about summer positions with TFA to help run the summer training programs that prepare new TFA members for their teaching positions. In other words, this is a summer job with TFA, as opposed to joining TFA itself. Here's their blub:

"In the summer of 2007, Teach For America will run five institutes in Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York City. Across the five institutes, about 2,700 new Teach For America corps members will come together for an intensive five-week, pre-service training program. The purpose of the institute is to prepare corps members to assume full-time teaching responsibilities in the fall and produce significant academic gains with their students. Each institute team also works closely with local school districts so that new corps members can deliver a rigorous academic summer school program to more than 1,500 children in that school district."

Deadline is January 21. Find out more and apply here:
http://www.teachforamerica.org/careers/cm_alum/

Tags:

• Employment
• Summerprograms

Internship Closer to Home: Congressman Brian Baird

I've been posting all kinds of things in DC; of course, some of our students aren't necessarily interested or able to do a jaunt to the Beltway. Indeed, A number of our majors have been doing internships with members of Congress in their local offices, and of course such an opportunity can be found wherever you might want to hang your hat. To that end, I got an email from PG alum Page Paulsen Phillips '92, who has been working for Congressman Brian Baird on natural resource issues. She writes that was an intern in Norm Dicks' office when she was a senior at "and it is, in large part, responsible for my career in politics...I have been fortunate enough to work for some fantastic Members of Congress, not only here in the Pacific Northwest but also around the country." Congressman Baird has internship opportunities in his Vancouver, WA or Olympia office. Here's the info:

Job Title: Congressional Intern
Organization Name: District Office of Congressman Brian Baird

No of Openings: 1-3
Work Schedule: Varies based on individual
Hours per Week: 15-20
Wage/Salary: unpaid
Employment Start Date: ongoing
Employment End Date: ongoing
Supervisor: Amanda Dotson
Job Description:
Interns working in the district office in Vancouver are responsible for a variety of activities vital for day-to-day operations. Tasks vary depending upon office needs and the academic focus of the selected intern. Interns will often be assigned projects to assist staff members in preparing for specific outreach assignments. Interns also are required to provide critical support assistance in the office. Duties include answering the phone, clipping newspaper articles, filing and researching. Opportunities to accompany staff members or Congressman Baird at various events within the district also often arise. Internships are unpaid and negotiated on an individual basis, so as to structure time availability and potential projects around each student’s needs and interests.

Qualifications: Applicants should be an undergraduate or graduate student with excellent public relations, research, and writing skills. Must have a background or interest in politics and public policy. Applicants should also have a professional attitude and a positive outlook.
Educational Component
Interns will gain:
-Professional office skills
-Public relations skills
-Research skills
-Excellent grasp of current events
-An understanding of the federal government

Application Instructions:
Mail or Fax your resume and cover letter to:
Congressman Brian Baird
General O.O. Howard House
750 Anderson Street, Suite B
Vancouver, WA 98661
Fax: 360-695-6197

Please also include this information:
-Major
-Expected Date of Graduation
-GPA
-Will you receive credit for this internship?
-How many credits?
-Contact information for 2 Personal References
-If you plan to intern during Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer
-The days of the week and the hours for which you would be available to intern.

Please include answers to the following questions in a cover letter:
-What issues are you interested in?
-What prompted you to seek an internship with Congressman Baird’s office?
-What do you want to be doing in five years and how do you think an internship in Congressman Baird’s office will benefit those goals?

Tags:

• Internships

National Endowment for Democracy Internships

NED is an impressive organization. Worth looking into.

http://www.ned.org/employment.html

International Forum for Democratic Studies Internship

The International Forum for Democratic Studies, the research arm of the National Endowment for Democracy, is a leading center for analysis of the theory and practice of democratic development worldwide. It is also a clearinghouse for information on the varied activities and experiences of groups and institutions working to achieve and maintain democracy around the world.

The International Forum offers internships to advanced undergraduate and graduate students during the fall and spring semesters and during the summer. Forum internships, which are unpaid, provide students an excellent opportunity to improve their knowledge of democratization and international affairs and to develop and improve their research, writing, and computer skills.

Forum Research and Conferences Internship

Interns work with Forum staff to monitor important developments in the democratizing world and help plan and administer a busy research and conferences program.

Responsibilities:

* compiling a database of news and research on world events relating to democracy
* writing and editing features for the quarterly electronic newsletter of the Comparative Democratization section of the American Political Science Association
* conducting research and preparing brief reports and bibliographic essays on such issues as civil society and democracy, political finance and elections, political party reform, Islam and democracy, and the democratic response to terrorism
* helping develop the Network of Democracy Research Institutes through Internet research and writing
* writing and editing features for the research network's electronic newsletter and Web site
* assisting with administrative planning of Forum meetings and conferences

Qualifications:
Although there is no required academic major, most Forum interns have majored in political science, international relations, or contemporary history. Applicants should have a strong interest in international affairs, U.S. foreign policy, and democracy as well as excellent research, writing, and computer skills. Students with foreign-language skills are particularly encouraged to apply.


To Apply for a Forum Internship
Please send a cover letter, resume, two references, and brief writing sample to the contact below.

To receive full consideration please apply by:

Deadline for Summer 2006: March 15
Deadline for Fall 2006: July 15
Deadline for Spring 2007: November 15

Applications submitted after these dates will be considered only if positions are still available.

Intern Coordinator
International Forum for Democratic Studies
National Endowment for Democracy
1025 F Street, NW, Suite 800,
Washington, DC 20004
Fax: 202-378-9704
Forum@ned.org

Tags:

• Internships

Binding Information

Students have a plethora of tools for class, but what about all that other junk--notes on contacts, internship leads, business cards, stuff to do with the future? Ever since graduate school I have used something like the above, particularly if I go overseas. I can take notes, stuff receipts and other bits of paper in the interior pockets, and it's small enough to carry around in a purse or coat. Oh, and it only costs a couple of bucks. So students, my advice to you is get a small personal notebook with pockets and use it to collect any scrap of information related to life outside school that might be of value later.

Not Really Trevor Anthony '02

A shout from a recent alum who's got quite a online presence of his own worth checking out.

After graduating in 2002 I took a job with DuPont ("The miracles of science," formerly, "Better living through chemistry" -- hey, a miracle is clearly an upgrade from mere "better living") where I presently work in a sales capacity. I managed a sales territory in the San Francisco Bay Area for them before being moved to San Diego at the end of 2004. Although my current position is not directly linked to politics and/or government, I can still see myself moving into a field more closely linked to political science in the future.

I have traveled a bit since graduation and I have been lucky enough to visit Chile, Argentina, Germany, and Belgium, along with many other domestic locales. I stay in touch with quite a few UPS alumni all over the country and I frequently make trips to my hometown, Redwood City (Northern California), where my family still resides.

While not working, traveling, or spending time with family and friends, I may be found working on an article for my blog, "You wanna know what I think?" It is a veritable smorgasbord of my thoughts on the state of the world with the occasional "How-to" instructional on things which I pretend to know something about. I also have numerous links to other interesting things found all over the web, anyone can check it out at http://notreallytrevor.blogspot.com.

Tags:

• Alums

Some Shots From Campus

I went onto campus and took a few pictures. Power has been restored to some buildings and not others. The library is closed and took a direct hit from a fir tree, though it looks like it only knocked off a detail from the building. Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry; the battery on the camera was low.


The library; you can see the stone detail on the ground that got knocked off the building


At Jones Circle


Over by Wyatt


Behind the President's House

A few more pictures here.

Tags:

• Tacoma
• Campus

What's the Opposite of Gloaming?

Lights are still out on campus, but there's a nice sunrise in my neighborhood.

More Windy Pics

Update: Drove onto campus this afternoon, the only power appeared to be in the Student Union (on a generator), and the grove of trees between the library and the president's house was a mess. At least one big fir was toppled. According to the news the top gust here was 70 mph, closer to 90 on the coast.


After my last post I decided to go out and look around the neighborhood to see what the wind storm brought down. These trees are a block from my house.


Tags:

• Tacoma

Blown Away

Picture courtesy James over at Tacomaness.

A big wind storm here last night that cut off power to one million homes and businesses, including, it would appear, UPS (I'm at home and can't reach the university website). Three people killed across the state, lots of downed trees and general mess. You can read more at the News Tribune; sounds like it could be a while before they get the lights back on for those in the dark. Good thing most of the students are already gone.

PG Alums: Come to Campus March 26

We're planning to have a PG alum-student gathering Monday, March 26 at 5:30 pm (I had this post up for a short time yesterday with a different date, which we had to change to the current one).

The gathering will be here on campus so that our students can rub elbows with those of you who have made your way into the big world. So alums, if you're in the area and think you could attend, would you please jot it in your calendar? We'll send out more specific invitations to some of you we know are around, but if you are thinking you might be able to join us do drop me an email.

If you're further afield and would like to join us (maybe come over the weekend and reacquaint yourself with campus?) let me know. We're excited to see you all and, I hope, meet some of you I've only been in touch with through email.

Women's Foreign Policy Group Internship in DC

Another good opportunity to intern in DC. The deadline for summer is April 15, so there's a good deal of time to craft your application. Let the department know if you would like some help--those of you heading out to DC at Spring Break, perhaps you could set up an informational interview at WFPG in advance of applying if you're interested in this position?

The Women's Foreign Policy Group is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational membership organization which promotes global engagement and the leadership, visibility and participation of women in international affairs. Our members are mid and senior-level international relations professionals whose positions exemplify the myriad opportunities for international careers - from White House advisors to the State Department, NGOs to Wall Street, the World Bank to foreign diplomats.

Internship Description:
The WFPG is looking for a responsible and motivated intern to focus on planning and outreach for programs featuring international affairs officials and experts. Interns will research foreign policy topics with a special focus on Islam, assist in media outreach and the production of the WFPG newsletter, update the WFPG database and webpage, assist with membership renewal, and complete other office tasks as assigned.

Competitive candidates should have a demonstrated interest in foreign affairs and excellent computer skills (Windows, Access, Excel, & Internet research). Interns must possess outstanding office and phone manners, and excellent writing skills, in addition to being well-organized, punctual, dependable, flexible, attentive to detail, and able to work both i ndependently and as part of a team. Applicants must be available a minimum of 12-15 hours per week and ideally available two-full days per week.

Special Benefits:
Exposure to mid and senior-level professionals from across the international affairs field. Opportunities to learn more about international issues, leadership development and the operations of a small nonprofit. WFPG events and co-sponsored events are a great opportunity to get a feel for the way international issues are discussed, and to mingle with past and current women leaders. WFPG interns also occasionally have the privilege to attend co-sponsored and other events to which WFPG members are invited, including events at the Council on Foreign Relations and at the State Department, which are usually closed to the public. Washington, DC in general offers a variety of forums at which political and international issues are discussed, and interns are welcome to participate in those as well.

To Apply:
Please send a cover letter (including your availability), resume, two-page writing sample, contact information for three references and an unofficial copy of your transcript to:

Women's Foreign Policy Group
Attn: Ms. Kimberly Kahnhauser
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 720
Washington, DC 20009-5728
Fax: 202-884-8487
Email: execasst@wfpg.org

Deadlines:
Spring 2007 - January 5, 2006
Summer 2007 - April 15, 2007

Tags:

• Internships
  

Go Abroad: Foreign Language Fellowships

There are several great opportunities all of our students (and alums in grad school) should consider.

1. NSEP Boren Fellowships. "The National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships offer a unique opportunity for U.S. undergraduates to study abroad. NSEP awards scholarships to American students for study of world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Middle East)." These are geared toward new language acquisition, so it's great if you're interested in learning a new and understudied language like Arabic or Mandarin. Find out more here; there's also a fellowship for those in graduate school. January 30th deadline.

2. The National Flagship Language Program. "The National Flagship Language Program (NFLP) was developed to address the urgent and growing need for Americans with professional levels of competency in languages critical to national security. NFLP offers advanced language training in Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, and Russian. NFLP is designed to train participants to reach professional working proficiency in a target language, as measured by the federal Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) level 3 and/or the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) superior level." This program combines domestic and international study after graduation.

3. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships. "As part of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), a U.S. government interagency effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical need foreign languages, the Department of State Critical Language Scholarships will provide funding for U.S. citizen undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. students to participate in beginning, intermediate and advanced level summer language programs at American Overseas Research Centers...Summer 2006 language institutes included Arabic, Bangla, Hindi, Punjabi, Turkish, and Urdu. The institutes took place in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen." Find out more here; details and deadlines should appear in January.

Tags:

• studyabroad
• fellowships
  
• summerprograms
• gradschool
  

A PhD in Political Science, But Are There Jobs?

A new study from the American Political Science Association looks at the job prospects for those with PhDs in political science. Their focus is in higher education (where the majority of PhDs wind up working), and find that the market has grown by 20% in the last few years, with the highest demand for those trained in American politics. This is particularly true for undergraduate institutions, where small departments see American politics as a vital part of their political science offerings.

I would guess that this growing demand might be present in other disciplines as well, as the baby-boomer generation begins to cycle out of workforce, leaving educational slots to be filled. Read the piece here.

Tags:

• gradschool