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Faculty
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Jeanette Barbieri, assistant professor of political science; B.A., Hampshire College, M.A., University of London, M.A.,and Ph.D., University of Southern California. Jeanette Barbieri received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in December 2005. She holds an M.A. in War Studies from King's College, University of London and a B.A. in History and International Relations from Hampshire College. Her research interests are in Chinese politics, visual culture in political communication, ethnicity and nationalism. Among her varied teaching interests are food and environmental politics, public health, comparative politics, Chinese cinema, and political theory. Several of these interests combine in her latest research with Li Nan of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Chinese citizenship models emerging from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake exhibitions and memorials. |
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Jon Bohland, assistant professor of international studies and political science; Director of International Studies Program; B.A., James Madison University; M.A., Syracuse University; Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Jon Bohland's academic interests include critical geopolitics; post-structural theory; Marxist theory; cultural studies; critical environmental theory; geographies of conflict; urban space; and critical examinations of heritage and national identity. His work focuses on intersections of memory, politics, and landscape, including extensive work on memory in the American south, issues of memory and immigration along the United States/Mexico border, and an examination of urban policy in relation to the destruction of an iconic stadium in Roanoke, Virginia. He is currently working on a book manuscript based on his dissertation research in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, as well as opening up new research streams on critical discourses of Caribbean travel and the economic exploitation of young African soccer players within world football. He teaches a wide variety of courses including world regional geography, global systems, environmental geography, cultural geography, tourism, urban geography, and critical geopolitics. |
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Edward Lynch, professor of political science; Director of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program (MALS). B.A., St. Joseph's University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Virginia Dr. Ed Lynch is a specialist in Latin American and Africa politics, but has wide-ranging interests and expertise. He also teaches U.S. Foreign Policy, International Relations and State and Local Politics. In addition, Dr. Lynch teaches the course in Model UN and advises the Hollins University Model UN Club. He is the author of two books on religion and politics in Latin America, and numerous articles on African politics and U.S. foreign policy toward Africa. American governors are at the top of Dr. Lynch's research interests right now. Dr. Lynch combines his academic background with hands-on experience in the real world of politics. He worked on Capitol Hill for four years, served in the White House, and is a long-time political activist, as well as a well-known commentator on state and local politics in Virginia. |
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Jong Ra, professor of political science (chair); A.B., M.S., Indiana State University; M.S.L.S., Ph.D., University of Illinois Professor Ra's interest concerns the following subfields of political science:
Professor Ra teaches the following courses at Hollins University and Virginia Tech:
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Gali Tealakh is a visiting researcher and lecturer as the Webb Bierley International Fellow for the academic year 2010-11. He holds degrees from the University of Durham, England; Temple University, Pennsylvania; Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana; and Moscow State University. Dr. Tealakh speaks extensively on a wide range of topics related to the Arab World, Central Asia, and the Arab world and the West. His publications in English and Arabic deal with contemporary Middle Eastern issues such as the Arab-West relations, the Arabs in world strategies, peace, roots of terrorism, Islam and globalization, reforms and democracy. During his career, Dr. Tealakh has translated works from English and Russian languages to Arabic. He worked as a senior researcher and analyst at the Royal Scientific Society in Amman, Jordan. He taught at Princess Sumaya University courses on Middle East System of Governance; Contemporary Issues in the Middle East; and the Arab and Islamic Civilization. He served as advisor for the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy. In addition, he joined the Hashemite Charity Organization for the International Cooperation as Director for International Relations Office. After the tragedy of 9/11, as editor-in-chief of Al-Muzn, Princess Sumaya University publication, he wrote editorials criticizing violence and extremism in Iraq. He participated in "Direct Access to the Muslim World Program," a Fulbright program aimed at promoting understanding between the Muslim nations and the United States of America. Dr. Tealakh is fluent in Arabic, English, and Russian. Currently, he is working on a new book entitled: Political Islam in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. |
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Susan Thomas (Homepage), associate professor of political science and gender and women's studies; B.A. Calilfornia State Polytechnic University, M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Riverside Susan Thomas' academic interests include queer theory; critical theories of race and subjectivity; the intersectionality of women's rights and non-human animal rights; and the state's active complicity in the abuses of marginalized women living in poverty. Her work concerns the hidden power behind 'neutral' rules, the role of male heterosexual privilege in the construction of hierarchal rules and law-making processes, and the invisibility of those subordinated by the public/private divide. While her research focuses on contemporary U.S. culture and politics and their relation to political and economic forces, she addresses, more broadly, questions of gender, race, species and sexual identity in discourses and material practices of anthropocentrism, heteroarchy, and patriarchal capitalism. She is currently researching the politics and policy of civil union laws passed or under consideration in the United States. |
