SIUE Department of Political Science

09/16/2026

On Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 6 PM, join us on the 1st floor of Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for a conversation that cuts through the surface‑level myths of race and confronts the lived realities of Black Americans.

Do You Know That You Have Black Friends? by Dr. Timothy Elijah Lewis reeducates its readers through direct questions, historical analysis, public opinion data, peer‑reviewed research, and exclusive interviews with transgenerational Black Americans whose lives span multiple legal racial regimes. Their narratives reveal what biology cannot: race is not a set of physical traits but a system that assigns real, unequal experiences.

Timothy Lewis, Ph.D. is the Dean of the College of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities at Harris‑Stowe State University. We're welcoming him back to SIUE for one night as he brings his nationally recognized scholarship on race and systemic inequality for an evening of truth‑telling, learning, and collective reflection.

This event is sponsored by SIUE's Department of Political Science and Lovejoy Library.

05/13/2026

Dr. Sophia Wilson was interviewed about her book, Maidan: Ukraine's Democratic Revolution, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as part of the REEEC New Directions Lecture series, commemorating the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou8kKvO6B40

Earlier, on the same UIUC podcast, she had the honor to interview Maksym Butkevych, Ukrainian human rights defender, who was kept in captivity by the Russian forces. In this conversation, Mr. Butkevych discussed the meaning of freedom and justice, his lifelong work defending human rights on and off the battlefield, survival in Russian captivity, the Russian judicial theater, and his family's story during the Soviet repressions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxK5luYB43o

A human rights defender and former POW, Maksym Butkevych, visited t...

05/11/2026

Congratulations to all the Political Science majors and minors who graduated this weekend, including those pictured here: Michael Taylor and Emma York, Chloe LeBlanc and Lucia Knapp, and Valentine Kenyon!

We're proud of all of you and can't wait to see what you'll do.

05/01/2026

It's one of our favorite times of year when students present their senior projects!

17 students completed projects this Spring where they conducted original research to test hypotheses related to timely and pressing political issues in the U.S. and around the world. With so many great projects, we found ourselves wishing the event was longer.

Thanks Eli Kaul, Ph.D for teaching the senior assignment class and to all the faculty mentors who provide guidance to our students along the way.

Thanks also to all our students in Dr. Suranjan Weeraratne's Research Design in Political Science class for coming and asking such good questions. It's great to see political science majors supporting each other!

Recognize a student in the pictures? Please join us in recognizing them for a job well done by tagging them in a congratulatory comment.

04/24/2026

Thanks Chloe LeBlanc for representing at this year's Undergraduate Scholars Showcase and providing a great example of the high quality research projects our students produce!

04/21/2026

Dr. Sophia Wilson presented her research at the University of Copenhagen. First, at the University's Centre for Military Studies, participating at a public seminar on the role of civil society in the Russo-Ukrainian war. And secondly, at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Anthropology lecture series, presenting her new book, Maidan: Ukraine’s Democratic Revolution.

04/08/2026

Thanks to the generous support of donors, we were able to recognize some of our outstanding students with awards and scholarships at last night's College of Arts and Sciences' Celebration of Student Excellence.

Congratulations to:
Samantha Angelo, recipient of the Political Science Senior Project Award

Bay Baltayev, recipient of the Lloyd "Curly" Harris Award in Government

Barrvone Bonner, recipient of the Study of Diversity in Politics Award

Jackson Burge, recipient of the Gordon D. Bush Political Science Scholarship

Vance Hays, recipient of the Gordon D. Bush Political Science Scholarship

Destiny Hughes, recipient of the Pi Sigma Alpha Award of Excellence

Valentine Kenyon, recipient of the Political Science Association Community Service Award

Lucia Knapp, recipient of the Evelyn Bowles Public Service Scholarship

Marcell Scurlark, recipient of the Charles W. Chapman Memorial Scholarship in Pre-Law