Department of Political Science

The Political Science Faculty

Chair, Larry T. Aspin, Ph.D.

Office: 426E Bradley Hall
Phone 309-677-2496
Email aspin@bradley.edu
Profile:

Professor Aspin earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University specializing in international politics, comparative politics, political methodology and American politics. Since joining the department in 1982 he has taught a variety of courses. He currently teaches International Law (PLS 317), International Organization (PLS 318), Political Research Methods (PLS 209), Senior Seminar (PLS 492) on various international topics (e.g., Global Environmental Politics), and other topics in PLS 302 the international relations topics course (e.g., Security in the 21st Century). Dr. Aspin's record of scholarly publications spans three fields within political science: international politics, political methodology, and American politics. In addition to pursuing long term research projects, Dr. Aspin has served the university in numerous capacities through the years (e.g., President of the University Senate).

Craig Curtis, Ph. D.

Office: 486 Bradley Hall
Phone 309-677-2492
Email rcc@bradley.edu
Profile:

Dr. Craig Curtis came to Bradley in the Fall of 1991, after earning his Ph.D. from Washington State University. His substantive interests in political science include public administration, criminal justice and public law. He also has his law degree from McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific) in Sacramento, California. He teaches several courses in the department, including Introduction to American Government (PLS 105), Introduction to Public Administration (PLS 419), Public Management (PLS 420), The Politics of Regulation (PLS 421), as well as his senior seminars. He also teaches Topics in Theory (PLS 300) on an occasional basis. More information about all of these courses can be obtain ed by accessing Dr. Curtis's home page.

In addition to his regular teaching responsibilities, Dr. Curtis supervises the internship program (PLS 480) in Political Science. There are lots of opportunities locally in Peoria as well as in your own home towns. See Dr. Curtis, or his Home Page, for more information.

Dr. Curtis also works with a team of experts in running Bradley's growing Mock Trial team. In Mock Trial, teams of students compete against teams from schools from all over the nation. The goal is to do a better job of trying a hypothetical case than your opponents. Team members develop legal advocacy skills, poise, self-confidence and the ability to perform under pressure.

Charles R. Dannehl, Ph.D.

Office: 426F Bradley Hall
Phone 309-677-2478
Email dannehl@bradley.edu
Profile:

Professor Dannehl joined the Department of Political Science in the Fall of 1993. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis, specializing in the fields of international relations, comparative politics, and American government and politics. Professor Dannehl currently teaches the following courses for the Department: PLS 105, Introduction to American Government, PLS 208, Fundamentals of International Relations; PLS 305, a special topics course on comparative political film; PLS 319, International Political Economy; and PLS 492, Senior Seminar in International Relations. He also teaches CIV 100 in the University's Western Civilization Program and LAS 101, a one-credit seminar on African film. Professor Dannehl is an advisor to students completing a minor in the Latin American Studies Program and the Russian and East European Studies Program. Professor Dannehl's current research interests include the empirical relationship between liberal democracy and the justness of war, and the portrayal of political dictatorship in film.

Emily R. Gill, Ph.D.

Office: 426D Bradley Hall

Phone 309-677-2493

Email gill@bradley.edu

Profile:

Emily R. Gill, Professor of Political Science, came to Bradley University in 1972 from California State University, Long Beach. She received her B.A. in literature from Scripps College, Claremont, California, in 1966, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in government from Claremont Graduate School in 1968 and 1971 respectively. Between her M.A. and Ph.D. work, she spent a year in Sacramento in the California State Assembly's Legislative Internship Program, working first in a research office for the minority party and then as a staffer for the Assembly Education Committee.
At Bradley, she has taught courses in American national government, state and local government, urban politics, introduction to political thought, classical political philosophy, modern political philosophy, American political thought, seminar in advance political philosophy, and western civilization, both the one-semester course and the two-semester variant that fulfills freshman composition requirements. She has served on a variety of committees, a sampling of which would include the late Board for Research and Creativity; Women's Studies; Black Studies; American Studies; Academic Review Board; and Senate Committees such as Faculty Review, Tenure and Promotion, Grievance, Retirement, and University Resources. She has also served several terms in the University Senate.
Her research interests involve various aspects of liberal political theory, including democratic theory, pluralism and groups, citizenship, and feminist theory. She has published a number of articles in these areas, and has received three National Endowment from the Humanities grants to support her professional development, in 1975 (Tufts University), 1976-1977 (Vanderbilt University), and 1981 (Wellesley College). She has been active in a number of professional organizations, both holding offices and making scholarly contributions. For two years she was President of the American Section, International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy. She is the 1995 recipient of the Samuel Rothberg Award for Professional Excellence and was name a Caterpillar Professor in 2004.

William K. Hall, Ph.D.

Office: 426C Bradley Hall
Phone 309-677-2495
Email: hall@bradley.edu
Profile:

Dr. William K. Hall came to Bradley in the Fall of 1969, after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. He earned his B.A. in History and Political Science from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. He earned his M.A. from the University of Kansas in 1966.

After graduating from Baker in 1964, he ran for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives. Surviving a three-way primary election battle and after defeating an incumbent legislator in the general election, he took his seat in the Kansas House, the third youngest Kansas legislator in history.

At Bradley, Dr. Hall teaches a variety of Political Science courses, including Introduction to American Government (PLS 105), State and Local Government (PLS 202), Topics in American Politics (PLS 301), Political Behavior (PLS 310), Political Parties (PLS 311), and a senior Seminar in American Politics (PLS 494).

Professor Hall's current research interests include judicial retention elections, Peoria electoral politics, and voting behavior in judicial and local elections. He has been working (for a lengthy period of time) on a book on the U.S. Senate career of Harry S. Truman.

Mark Gobeyn, Ph.D.

Office: 426B Bradley Hall
Phone 309-677-2497
Email mjg@bradley.edu
Profile:

Professor Mark Gobeyn received his Ph.D. from Washington State University, and he has been with the Department of Political Science at Bradley since 1990. He teaches the following comparative government courses: "Introduction to Comparative Politics" (PLS 205); "Governments of West Europe" (PLS 304); "Comparative Public Policy" (PLS 306); and "Seminar in Comparative Politics" (PLS 491). His primary research interests include state-labor relations, economic policy making institutions, and other issues of political economy in the western European democracies. His recent book and most recent academic journal articles focus specifically on the role of organized labor in the formation of economic policy in such countries as Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Austria. His current research projects include examinations of the institutions of economic policy formation in the European Union and the recent policy strategies of western Europe's socialist parties.

Paul Lermack, Ph.D.

Office: 488 Bradley Hall
Phone 309-677-2494
Email pnl@bradley.edu
Profile:

Professor PAUL LERMACK teaches the department's courses in law and courts, as well as some sections of the introductory course and a variety of other courses in American government and political theory. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and is the author of Juries and Jury Research...; Rights on Trial: The Supreme Court, Federalism and the Criminal Law, 1959-1969; How to Get Into The Right Law School, and numerous articles and essays.

Page Manager: Larry Aspin

Last update: 2/14/08