Robert Elias

American political history is far too criminal a subject to be a fit thing to teach young people.
- W.H. Auden

If the hope of the world lies in human consciousness, then it is obvious that intellectuals cannot go on forever avoiding their large share of responsibility for the state of the world.
- Vaclav Havel

The world of politics is always twenty
years behind the world of thought.
- John Jay Chapman

AS a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, I teach a variety of courses, run several programs, and participate in several others.

MY COURSES:

POLITICS OF AMERICAN JUSTICE
Evaluation of justice and injustice in the U.S. system, stressing political, economic and social issues, the legal process, crime and victimization, and the relationship between political economy and human rights. Offered every Fall.

POLITICAL POWER & CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
The politics of constitutional history and development, including the constitutional framing, Supreme Court policy-making, and the clash of constitutional rights versus political and economic power. Course will examine 19th and 20th century legal conflicts over federalism and the separation of powers, and over property, privacy, criminal justice, and the war powers. Course will also feature case studies of American political trials and the treatment of constitutional liberties during both hot and cold wars. Offered every other year.

LAW, POLITICS & THE NATIONAL PASTIME
An examination of the relationship between sports and politics, and of the evolution of the American political economy through the lens of baseball. Using the fictional and non-fictional literature of the national pastime, the course will examine the origins, history and contemporary state of the American dream. The U.S. national pastime will be used to reflect on issues of class, gender, race and ethnicity, law and society, foreign policy, labor-management conflicts, and the evolving political economy. Legal cases and debates will be used, in particular, to examine these themes.

HUMAN RIGHTS & GLOBAL CHANGE
Domestic and global human rights, and their role in a changing world order. Impact of governments, multinationals, churches, universities, and human rights advocates on political and economic development, and the level of repression in the world. Strategies for global justice and change, with a focus on human rights activists and movements. Offered every year.

THE SOCIALIST TRADITION
Seminar examines the key writings of the Socialist tradition in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere around the world. Readings will include classic works of Socialist non-fiction and fiction, Socialist biography and autobiography, and Socialist perspectives on areas such as art, music, literature, film, photography, community, work, gender, race, class, and political consciousness. Socialism's historic development and impact and its present condition will also be examined. Offered every other Spring. Must be in Honors Humanities Program or have permission of the instructor.

FIELDWORK IN PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZATIONS
Field placement with Bay Area public interest groups, including peace, human rights, legal, media, and community organizations. Students work 6 to 8 hours per week, complete common readings, and write final reports. Offered every semester.

AMERICAN REFORMERS & REVOLUTIONARIES
A people's political history of modern America as seen through 20th century political movements and through the lives and times of reformers and revolutionary leaders such as Eugene Debs, Big Bill Haywood, John Reed, Emma Goldman, Jack London, Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, Angela Davis, and Tom Hayden. Readings include a political overview, but emphasize a series of political biographies. Offered every other Spring.

THE UTOPIAN IMPULSE
This seminar provides a history and analysis of Utopian thought. It addresses questions such as: What is Utopian thinking? Why did it emerge, and why has it remained with us through modern times? How has utopian thinking changed throughout different eras? What explains the appeal and the rich tradition of Utopian writing, and particularly Utopian novels? What religious, geographic, political, social, economic and technological developments have influenced Utopian thought? What distinguishes Utopias and Dystopias? What can we learn from each? What’s the relationship between Utopias and movements such as feminism, socialism, bohemianism, and environmentalism? How do we regard Utopias in the postmodern era? What are the dangers of Utopias? What are the dangers of not having Utopias, and of the decline of Utopian thinking?

The Center for Law and Global Justice builds on the University of San Francisco School of Law’s tradition of emphasizing international legal education and involvement in legal assistance and justice-related projects around the globe. Center work is focused in the areas of migration and forced displacement, the protection of human rights, peace and democracy building, and economic development with an emphasis on corporate responsibility. The Center has worked in countries such as Cambodia, China, the Dominican Republic, East Timor, the Philippines, India, Vietnam and the United States.

The Center acquaints students, faculty, and staff with differing legal traditions and provides a perspective on the legal and economic problems brought about by globalization and its challenges to social justice. It is a resource for international programming and curriculum at the University of San Francisco School of Law. It creates opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to work on issues relating to migration and forced displacement, the protection of human rights and investigation of human rights abuses, peace and democracy building, and economic development with an emphasis on issues relating to corporate responsibility. It promotes scholarship by supporting research and writing and holding symposia on global topics. It emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of systemic global injustice. It facilitates relationships and faculty exchanges with foreign universities. And, it partners with other universities and organizations for dialogue and cross-cultural exchange to promote justice.

The HRWG works in conjunction with the Center for Law & Global Justice in an effort to foster interaction between law faculty and the School of Law with other divisions of the University.

The Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) is a coalition of faculty from the USF College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Education, which works together to promote awareness of international human rights.

The HRWG faculty members engage in a wide variety of human rights work, both on and off campus, including courses, research, fieldwork, advocacy, film festivals, programs, student groups, academic journals, and conferences.

I Co-Chair the Center for Law and Global Justice with Jeff Brand, the Dean of the USF Law School.

The Legal Studies & Criminal Justice Studies Program considers both academic and practical aspects of the law. It examines the relationship between law and politics, what is justice, and what the law can contribute to bettering society. Students study domestic and international law and the judiciary, ranging from trial courts to the Supreme Court to international tribunals. The Program examines wide-ranging legal disputes over capital punishment, affirmative action, defendants' rights, pornography, drug testing, and so forth. Students complete internships with groups such as La Raza Centro Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Lawyer's Guild, and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. The Program offers two options, a "Legal Studies" minor and a "Criminal Justice" minor.

The 4+3 BA/BS-JD program is a joint offering of the College of Arts and Sciences and Schools of Business and Law, which provides USF undergraduate students with the necessary background for a successful law school program and admission into the USF School of Law for qualified students.

The Politics Department has made a commitment to promote experiential education and service learning. Among its contributions to that objective is the Public Interest Internship Program, which provides students with opportunities for formal internships, for credit, with Bay Area public interest organizations. The focus of the program is Politics 397, Fieldwork in Public Interest Organizations, which allows students to make connections between theory and practice, and between classroom academics and field organizations. It allows student to explore and evaluate organizations for political and social change. Interns may propose an internship of their own, or choose from our database of nearly 1000 Bay Area non-governmental organizations, in areas such as peace and disarmament, human rights, economic justice, the environment, the media, the legal system, race, sex, gender, development, health, poverty, community organization, and for regions including Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

The Honors Program in the Humanities is designated for high-achieving students seeking an integrated program of intellectual challenge. Appreciation of the classical expressions of Western civilization and skill in analysis and critical thinking are developed through the examination and discussion of major figures, works, and ideas from antiquity to the present. Students who complete at least five seminars for a total of 20 units within the program with at least a 3.30 USF grade point average and a 3.00 average in Honors seminars will be graduated from the University "In Honors." Through a comprehensive study of progressive historical periods and primary sources, the seminars explore the interrelation of achievements in the areas of science, culture, social history, and intellectual thought. Seminars encourage active participation and exchange of views. Readings, discussions, experiments, slide presentations, and performances are included within the seminar format. In the junior and senior years, there is also an alternative option for an independent, faculty-supervised research project.

The Peace and Justice Studies Minor offers an analysis of conditions that lead to war, violence and injustice as well as opportunities to develop a vision for a peaceful and just society and an appreciation of how one can contribute towards that goal. Ranging from the local to the global levels, the courses enable students to examine impediments to peace and justice-such as militarism, repression, violence, racism, sexism, underdevelopment and environmental decay-as well as ideas, strategies, social movements, and theological and philosophical approaches that seek to build a just and peaceful society. Students must also complete an internship with any of a wide range of peace and human rights groups in the Bay Area or beyond

Composed of a basic core of courses on the processes of globalization and global change, human rights, social justice, and global economic issues, the International Studies major combines courses from the humanities, social sciences, arts, and science in discipline-based 'functional' and geographical tracks of study. The goal of the program is to prepare dedicated professionals who can integrate and apply knowledge across disciplines in the interest of solving global problems and making the world a more humane and just place for all.

The International Studies Program is based on the assumption that just as it is beyond the ability of one nation, or even a few nations, to solve trade, political, and environmental problems that have become transnational in character, it is also beyond the power of simply one or two academic disciplines to provide students with the comprehensive knowledge and experience required to function and lead effectively and creatively in the highly complex and rapidly changing environment we inhabit. Students collaborate closely with their academic advisors to select the functional and area tracks to correspond to their own academic and career interests.

Students are strongly encouraged to participate in program-sponsored internships and service learning in their areas of emphasis in the major and also to complement their major with a study abroad experience in countries where they can apply and expand their foreign language competency and enrich their study of international issues.