Faculty & Staff
Mary Caprioli
Head and Associate Professor of Political Science
Director, International Studies Program
Office: 302A Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-7612
E-mail:mcapriol@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: 10 a.m. - Noon, Wednesdays and Thursdays and by appointment.
Dr. Mary Caprioli came to UMD from the University of Tennessee in 2005. She earned her PhD and MA from the University of Connecticut and her BA from Marist College. Dr. Caprioli has come full circle after her first tenure track position at the “other” UMD -- the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Caprioli is a native New Yorker, nine-year resident of New England, three-year resident of Tennessee, who is now proud to be considered a Midwesterner. Dr. Caprioli’s research focuses broadly on conflict and security studies, including interstate and intrastate violence. She is fundamentally interested in understanding why states, societies, and individuals engage in violent behavior and more specifically in assessing the role of gendered structural inequality in predicting violence. Her recent articles have appeared in International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, and Journal of Conflict Resolution.
Geraldine Gomes Hughes
Executive Administrative and Office Specialist
Office: 304 Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-7534
Fax: (218) 726-6585
E-mail: polumd@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: M-F: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Geraldine joined the department as office administrator in June 2006. Prior to that, she worked in the Department of Women's Studies. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Her interests range from art, reading, writing, riding her motorcycle, travelling, music and world cultures. Born and raised in Malaysia, she has lived in the United States since 1994.
Bruno Anili
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Office: 178 Edu E
Telephone: (218) 726-7472
E-mail: banili@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: Mondays: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Wednesdays: 1-2:30 p.m., and by appointment.
Bruno Anili locates the main focus of his academic research at the intersection of political theory and comparative politics. In particular, he is interested in exploring the contributions of contemporary continental political philosophy to the analysis of the ideological coordinates of societies such as those of Western Europe and North America. Recent publications discuss the concept of hospitality as an alternative to the liberal principle of toleration, and the possible implications of this for the politics of multiculturalism and migration. His teaching experience reflects these interests, as well as his background in communication (with a focus on semiotics and the philosophy of language).
A native Italian, Bruno Anili enjoyed spending time on the West Coast (he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 2010) and on the East Coast (he taught for a year at Susquehanna University, in central Pennsylvania). He is now eager to discover the Third Coast, and values the opportunity of teaching at the University of Minnesota, Duluth campus. Though a bit nervous about spending the winter on the shores of Lake Superior, he is committed to being active in the outdoors (or to learn how to knit while some hot tea is brewing).
Cindy Christian
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Office: 109 Cina Hall (Alworth Institute)
Telephone: (218) 726-7493
E-mail: cmchrist@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Cindy M. Christian holds a PhD in Political Science from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Her areas of interest include international relations, international political economy, Latin American politics, and women and politics. She has taught both political science and women's studies courses over the past fifteen years. She has traveled to Honduras and Mexico to study development programs and the impact of global economic policies. She is currently the Program Associate for UMD's Royal D. Alworth, Jr. Institute for International Studies. She enjoys reading fiction and spending time with her family which includes her partner, originally from Iran and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin Superior; her five-year-old daughter, Isabel (named after Isabel Allende); and her West-Highland Terrier, Miss Jean Brodie.
Mary Currin- Percival
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Office: 309 Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-8629
E-mail: mcurrinp@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: 1-2:30 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays and by appointment.
Mary Currin-Percival completed her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of California, Riverside in 2006. Her research and teaching interests focus primarily on public opinion, polling methodology, and voting behavior. She has taught courses in American Government and Politics, Voting, Campaigning, and Elections, Public Opinion and Polling Methods, and Senior Seminars on Campaign Advertising and Public Opinion and Elections. Every spring, her Public Opinion and Polling Methods course conducts an original survey—the Duluth Community Survey. Her research has examined voter turnout in state elections, opinions about U.S. electoral institutions, and factors affecting public perceptions of public opinion polling methodology. Her work has appeared in Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties, PS: Political Science and Politics, State and Local Government Review, Newspaper Research Journal, and International Migration. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching political films, and walking by Lake Superior.
Runa Das
Associate Professor of Political Science
Office: 303 Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-7484
E-mail: rdas@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: 2-3 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays and by appointment.
Dr. Das joined UMD in Fall 2005 after teaching for a year at Wayne State University (Michigan). She has a PhD in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. Her current research focuses on strategic culture, security issues in India-US relations, and South Asian politics. She is currently working on her book manuscript on strategic culture and international relationsunder contract with Sage Publications. Her articles have been published in International Politics; Indian Journal of Political Science; Journal of Asian and African Studies; Contemporary Politics; Asian Journal of Political Science; European Journal of Women’s Studies; Minerva Journal of Women and War; Asian Perspectives; Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics; Journal of Development Alternatives and Area Studies; Women’s Studies International Forum; International Feminist Journal of Politics; Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs; Identity, Culture, and Politics; Social Identities; Third World Quarterly; and Comparative Studies of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Shannon Drysdale Walsh
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Office: 304A Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-
E-mail: sdwalsh@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: 9:30-11 a.m., Mondays and Wednesdays and by appointment.
Shannon Drysdale Walsh completed her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2011, having spent over 18 months conducting fieldwork in the Latin America researching how countries have (and have not) appropriately responded to increasing reported levels of violence against women. Her primary field of research explains the development and variation in practices within specialized justice system institutions (police and courts) that address violence against women in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. She also produces scholarship on crime in Latin America and the impacts of women's representation. Dr. Drysdale Walsh is the recipient of several nationally competitive awards and fellowships, including a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship and a Mellon/ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies) Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Her work has been published in journals such as Latin American Politics and Society and Studies in Social Justice. She is currently working on a book manuscript entitled “Engendering State Institutions: State Response to Violence against Women in Latin America.” She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mark Jennings
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Office: 211 AB Anderson Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-7611
E-mail: mjenning@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: 9:30-11 a.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays; 12-1 p.m. Fridays and by appointment.
Mark Jennings graduated magna cum laude from UMD in 1973 with a major in political science. He earned his JD degree from William Mitchell College of Law in 1977. Jennings practiced law for more than 30 years in both the private and public sectors. For over seven years he supervised major departments of a local unit of government providing housing and other services to low-income persons. He previously taught classes in the UMD Accounting and Political Science Departments and the UWS Paralegal Program.
Garrick Percival
Associate Professor of Political Science
Office: 305 Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-7077
E-mail: percival@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: 9-11 a.m., Mondays and 4-5 p.m. Wednesdays and by appointment.
Garrick Percival’s work focuses on American politics, primarily the nexus between crime policy, racial politics, and inequality at the state and local levels of government. He is currently working on a book manuscript examining the changing nature of crime politics in the U.S. and the promises and limits of penal policy reform. His work has appeared in Social Science Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, and the Policy Studies Journal, among others. In his spare time Professor Percival enjoys watching baseball (especially the Seattle Mariners), playing racquetball, and hiking along Lake Superior.
Paul Sharp
Professor of Political Science
Department of Political Science
Office: 302B Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-6221
E-mail:psharp@d.umn.edu
Website: http://www.d.umn.edu/~psharp/main/index.php
Office Hours: 12:30-1:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment.
Dr. Paul Sharp teaches and researches on international relations, foreign policy, and diplomacy. He is working on a book on American foreign policy.
Joseph L. Staats
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Office: 307 Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-6641
E-mail: jstaats@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: On a fellowship in the Twin Cities - Fall 2011
Professor Staats began as a member of the political science department at UMD in 2008-09 after previously teaching at universities in Georgia and Texas. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2005 from the University of California, Riverside and a law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He practiced law in California for more than twenty years before embarking on an academic career. His research and teaching specialties are American and comparative constitutional law and judicial politics. He is especially interested in research relating to judicial systems in developing democracies. Professor Staats has been a consultant to the United Nations Development Program and the Supreme Judicial Courts in Ecuador and Uruguay. He has published articles in various academic journals including Political Research Quarterly and Latin American Politics and Society and is a co-author of a book being reviewed by a major university press. Among his recent research projects awaiting publication are surveys of American state trial court judges, U.S. law professors, and legal experts in 17 countries in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Before starting his academic career, Professor Staats was an avid runner, competing in marathons around the world and various locations in the U.S. including twice competing in Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. Among his many duties at UMD, Professor Staats is the pre-law advisor.
Jeremy Youde
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Office: 311 Cina Hall
Telephone: (218) 726-6908
E-mail: jyoude@d.umn.edu
Office Hours: On a single semester leave - Fall 2011
Jeremy Youde joined UMD in 2008 after teaching in California and Iowa. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Iowa in 2005. He teaches courses in comparative politics and international relations, and his research focuses on global health politics and African politics. Outside the classroom, you can find him running, biking, kayaking, skiing, doting on his dogs, and messing around in the kitchen. A native Midwesterner, he actually enjoys the winter and advocates for more food being served on sticks.