Political Science Research
As a political science student, you have access to many resources, perhaps none more important than our leading faculty. Experts in their fields, our faculty members are actively engaged in scholarship. Here are their stories.
Regina S. Axelrod, PhD, Professor
Dr. Axelrod was Chair and Discussant at the panel “The Future of Nuclear Energy,” and Chair of theroundtable: “Innovative Teaching of International Environ-mental Governance and Policy,” at the International Studies Association (ISA) conference in San Francisco on April 4th, 2018. She has also spent the year continuing her research on problems of global nuclear energy and completed the 5th revision with her book with Stacy D. VanDeveer, The Global Environment: Law, Institutions and Policy, with an anticipatedfall publication date. Dr. Axelrod’s recent course offeringsinclude: Introduction to Politics, Environment and Politics, Hate and Conflict, and the Seminar in Public Policy.
Margaret Gray, PhD, Associate Professor
Dr. Gray continues her research on New York State farmworkers and her latest publication is “Food and Labor,” a chapter in Twenty Lessons in the Sociology of Food and Agriculture, edited by Maki Hatanaka and Jason Konefal for Oxford University Press (2018). Dr. Gray was honored to be named an Adelphi Teaching Fellow for the 2017-2018 academic year and to immerse herself in pedagogical theory and instructional techniques. She also received a 2018 Summer Professional Development Grant to focus on academic writing practices. In November 2018, she gave a keynote address at a conference titled “Pastures of Plenty? Food, Justice and Labor in the Hudson Valley,” hosted byMohonk Consultations at the Mohonk Mountain House. In January-March 2019, she spoke on a farmworker panel at the Museum of Food and Drink, SUNY New Paltz, LIU Post, and the Yonkers Public Library. She also gave a talk on dairy workers in February 2019 at Montclair State University. She presented on her research at the University of Toronto in March 2019, including a cooking demonstration based on recipes by NYS farmworkers. Dr. Gray serves as Secretary of the Adelphi AAUP faculty union and in the summer of 2018 she volunteered with the New Sanctuary Coalition to help asylum seekers complete and submit their applications. Dr. Gray’s most recent course offerings in-clude: Introduction to the American Political System, Race and Politics, and Research Design and Methods. She willoffer “Food Politics” in the fall of 2019.
Katie Verlin Laatikainen, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Dr. Laatikainen’s presented a paper and participated in a roundtable at the International Studies Association (ISA) conference in San Francisco in April 2018. At that conference, she was elected to serve on the International Organization Executive Committee of the ISA for 2018-2020. In spring 2018, she was appointed to the Advisory Board of the United Nations University Institute for Comparative Regional Studies (UNU-CRIS) in Bruges, Belgium for a three-year term. She has co-authored (with Martin Palous) a research paper, “Contested Ground: The Campaign to Enhance the Status of the European Union in the UN General Assembly,” published by the Globus Research program. She also co-authored a book chapter with Knud Erik Jørgensen, “The Political Impact of the EU’s Interaction with International Institutions” which will be published in the Research Handbook on the European Union’s Engagementwith International Organizations, edited by Ramses A. Wessel & Jed Odermatt and published byEdward Elgar Publishers. She and Professor Gupta (Adelphi’s School of Business) designed the firstInternational Studies Study Abroad course which will travel to Finland in May 2019. She has helped complete a partnership with the University of Tampere in Finland which will enable student exchange for Political Science, International Studies, and Business majors between the two universities from 2019. Dr. Laatikainen’s recent political science courses include: Theories andPractices of International Relations, National Model United Nations, and European Politics.
Traci Levy, PhD, Associate Professor
Dr. Levy’s attended the 18th Annual Faculty Institute at Barnard College in June 2018 with Dr. Gray. Dr. Levy continued her pedagogical training in the Reacting to the Past approach that uses role-playing games based on key historicalmoments and primary texts. As part of Adelphi’s diversity initia-tive, she also continued her role co-facilitating the “Title IX and Gender Bias” workshops with Adelphi’s Title IX Coordinator. Together, they run workshops for Adelphi faculty, staff, and administrators as well as local middle and high school personnel. Additionally, Dr. Levy presented at a February 2019 panel at Mount Holyoke College on MaraBenjamin’s book The Obligated Self: Maternal Subjectivity and Jewish Thought. On March 1, Dr. Levy presented her article manuscript, “Caresharing and Care-Pooling: Lessons from Disabled Parents and Young Careers,” co-authored with Professor Deborah Little (Associate Professor, Sociology), at the Five College Women’s Studies Research Center’s works-in-progress seminar. Dr. Levy’s recent political science courses include: Introduction to Politics; Modern Political Theory; and Family and Sexuality in Political Theory, and Seminar in Justice and Social Policy.