Greetings, 2012 Capstoners

Welcome to Obamadogs, 2012 capstone members!  This blog exists as a forum for communication among an elite group of political science and international relations majors at Wartburg -- on topics pertaining to our common interests: all things political.   Since members of PS460 meet only once a week, this provides an opportunity for extending conversations on class-related matters in the intervals between class sessions.  Because we are only now getting into the Ricci volume, blog entries can deal with matters related to the book.  Or they can pertain to current events, e.g., the looming South Carolina primary, the state of play in international politics, e.g., the recent spate of "accidents" killing nuclear scientists and engineers in Iran, or proposals for the post-Ricci design of this term's 460. 

Because of last week's brief consideration of Stephen Bloom's article on Iowa and Iowans in a December issue of The Atlantic Monthly, along with the voluminous commentary and criticism his unflattering portrayal has provoked, the nature of Iowa as a "politically consequential" political phenomenon is yet another possible topic of conversation.  In fact, this piece may well serve as the basis for a class project on Iowa, where the "identity" of Iowa is subjected to scrutinty in the form of a Q methodological study, where the massive population of subjective descriptors of Iowans found in the Bloom piece and in the nearly 900 online commentaries on the piece are treated as a "concourse" from which to draw a Q sample of, say, 40 or so alleged characteristics of Iowans.  Participants could consist of class members, including those of us who are relatively new residents of the state and people with lengthy histories in the state as well.  It might be fun . . .

Best wishes for a good term,

DT