Teaching, Consulting, and Tutoring
Check out my recently published article in the Summer/Fall 2015 issue of Political Science Educator.
The article starts on page 7: PS Educator Vol19issue2
http://www.flickr.com/people/23960434@N03
Constitution Day 2015 is scheduled for September 16, 2015 at Harper College in room J 143 from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. The Harper community will be invited to attend. The format for this year’s program will be a panel presentation and discussion. The topic is “ Drones, Your Privacy and Due Process: How do we strike a balance between Personal Privacy and Public Safety”? The program will begin with an introduction by Kathryn Rogalski, Dean of the Business Social Science Division, Harper College. Professor Michael J. Harkins, Chair of the Harper History Department, will then provide an overview of Constitution Day, the 2015 topic and then introduce the panel members. Participating on this year’s panel will be Constitutional Law Professor Jerry Kendall, John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Professor Bobby Summers, Chair of the Harper College Political Science Department, and Andrew Levin, Adjunct Professor of Political Science also at Harper. Each of the three panel members will have 20 minutes to discuss the topic. At the conclusion of the presentations the audience will be able to ask questions of the panel members. Professor Harkins will moderate the discussion.
@HarperCollege students: Interested in learning more about the U.S. while pursuing their education? US POLITICS PSC101-003 CRN: 31215 #GenEd
Please take a minute to look at my Non-Western Comparative Politics students’ final projects. They have done an amazing job learning about these developing countries and really show tremendous insight into how critical challenges such as pollution and gender inequality are being addressed.
Choose Chicago, the local tourism bureau, has begun adjusting (and shrinking) its international presence. According to Crains, the bureau is closing its office in the Netherlands. It is also ending its contracts with tourist agents in London, Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, and Tokyo. Meanwhile, it will retain its offices in Mexico City and Toronto and expand its presence in China from contracted in agents in 3 cities to 4. For a complete look at the new configuration, click here.
The map really visualizes some of the changes of modern globalization on many levels. Europe will no longer have a single contract agent (except on specific projects). This seems to parallel Europe’s economic challenges and reduced strategic importance. Also losing out are Japan and Brazil. This too seems to parallel the countries’ recent challenges: Japan with near constant recessions and aging and Brazil with crime and finances.
Meanwhile, once again China is the jewel of the crown. The four offices with contracted sales agents will attempt to wow Chinese tourist groups into visiting our beautiful town. They are especially important given that visitors tend to be part of the growing wealthy segment of the country’s population. Here, even Chinese students, are being courted by iconic brands – something that would have been unheard of under the socialist regime of the 70s and before.
Now admittedly, we can’t say these moves are a be-all, end-all of what is happening globally, but it does indicate a symptom of globalization from the US perspective. Choose Chicago is looking for value, and they are finding it in North America and China.
It’s not every day that important negotiations take place outside of national capitals. The The US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade summit is no exception. Today’s negotiations in Chicago are just the second time in a quarter of a century that they have been held outside of Washington or Beijing. And the stakes are quite high.
As you can see from my infographic, Illinois relies highly on exports and China is our 4th largest destination. But they import just $4 billion per year which is far less than from other major states. There is a lot of room to grow.
Plus, many activities occur outside the main talks. It is at these events far from the negotiating table that many business deals actually get done. The Tribune has high hopes for these ancillary events, as do I.
Embed from Getty Images Veterans Day celebration in Naperville.
I am happy to offer two great classes next semester. I hope you all sign up. And remember that you can use transfer these classes back to almost any college/university in Illinois. Simply sign up as a ‘Student-at-Large’.
NON-WESTERN COMPARATIVE POLITICS – CRN: 65065 – PSC 280 – W01
Most of the world’s economic growth and political power over the next few decades is likely to come from the Non-Western World. In this course, we will review the history of these diverse, yet intriguingly similar, regions. Then we will use the comparative method to better understand these countries today. We will end with a look towards the future. We will be studying China, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, Mexico, and Nigeria in a greater depth. This class is entirely online, which may be easier for students at other schools to join in.
AMERICAN POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT – CRN: 61246 – PSC 101 – 065
This isn’t a high school civics class. On the contrary, we take the basics of US government and apply these to many topical issues that affect you today: unlimited election spending, gun rights, student loans, marijuana legalization, drone strikes, online privacy, and more. Some have referred to the US Constitution as an experiment; well you are the researchers determining how it is doing today.
There are some elections where a few votes would not make much of a difference. Today’s election is not one of that type. The governor’s race is statistically tied. One area of disagreement is on taxes – the outcome is going to affect your wallet! If you want to learn more about the candidates, check out their websites. You can also check out vote411.org for more information on Gov. Pat Quinn, neither of the other two candidates responded to the questionnaire.
Then vote by 7pm tonight.
According to WBEZ thousands of girls and boys are trafficked into the sex trade each year in Chicago. World-wide, this number jumps to between 600,000 to 2 million children and young adults. Luckily, the tide may be beginning to ebb in Illinois. The state has decriminalized prostitution and then shifted law enforcement resources to catching the pimps who capture these vulnerable people. For more on that check my earlier post on International Chicago.
And now another great positive for Illinois, we are hosting Safe Conference. This international conference is bringing experts to the Chicagoland area to help devise better solutions and cooperation. It is survivor-focused showing how victims can have agency in their lives and help others. I wish the conference all the best.
Andrew Levin 
