The Graduate Affairs committees in the Department of Political Science are pleased to award the John W. Kingdon Award in recognition of outstanding teaching to the following graduate students:

Jonathan Fuentes (American Government and Politics)

Alex von Hagen-Jamar (World Politics)

Justin Williams (Political Theory)

Ben Peterson (Political Theory)

Tim Ryan (American Government and Politics)

Logan Casey (American Government and Politics)

The Kingdon Award is given annually in the Department of Political Science to graduate students who are chosen based on their exceptional ability and creativity as a teacher, effective interaction with students outside the classroom, and their potential as a teacher/scholar.

Any Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) who has completed two semesters of teaching in good academic standing, who has not won a previous award, is eligible for nomination. The committees look at the records of those who were nominated by undergraduates, fellow GSIs, faculty mentors and teachers of large classes. The Directors of Graduate Studies, Placement and Admissions review nominations solicited from faculty as well as students.

Award Winners

Jonathan Fuentes taught students in Political Science 489: Law and Social Change for two semesters and then Political Science 300: Contemporary Issues in American Politics last semester. He is interested in American institutions and their interactions, political representation (especially issues of under-representation), and local and state politics and policy.

Alex von Hagen-Jamar taught as a GSI for PS 160: Introduction to World Politics, PS 339: Introduction to Chinese Politics, and PS 381: Honors Research Design. Alex also taught his own version of PS 160 during Spring, 2011 as an instructor. Alex’s primary interest is the acquisition and use of power, particularly military power, in world politics. Military alliances, arming, and the causes and consequences of war are all topics that interest him. In the future, Alex plans on doing more work on information and war, culture and political institutions in international conflict, and the role of political institutions in shaping the response to threats more broadly.

Justin Williams is currently teaching three sections of PS 309: Population, Equity, and Environmental Change. In the past, he taught as a GSI for PS 101: Intro to Political Theory (twice) and PS 307: Topics in American Political Thought. His research interests concern political visions concerning cities and environmentalism.

Ben Peterson taught three semesters of POLSCI 101 - Intro to Political Theory, and is currently a GSI outside the department for UC (University Courses) 256: "22 Ways of Thinking About the Games We Play," which is an LSA interdisciplinary course. His research concerns classical political thought. His major thematic areas of study include issues of rhetoric, imitation, representation, and citizenship (both in contemporary and ancient Athenian contexts).

Tim Ryan taught as a GSI for PS 312: Persuasive Politics (three times), Comm/PS 484: Mass Media and Political Behavior (twice) and PS 327: Politics of the Metropolis. Tim’s general interests include moral psychology, evolutionary psychology, race politics. His dissertation uses recent insights from cognitive psychology to understand the conditions under which voters respond to issue cues from elites. He is also completing a book manuscript on race politics with James M. Glaser (Tufts University).

Logan Casey taught as a GSI for PS 111: Intro to American Politics, PS 300: Contemporary Issues in American Politics, and PS 312: Persuasive Politics. His research interests concern the intersections of identity/minority groups, public opinion, and institutions -  how identity-based categories construct and are constructed by public opinion, legal and political institutions, and of course the identity group itself and its politics.

Congratulations to all for a job well done!