Alex Haskins '11, Assistant Professor of Political Theory at Wheaton College (IL), on "Leaders Fit for the Masses: Du Bois and Japan's Transnational Democratic Leadership

Please join the Government Department as we welcome Alex Haskins from Bowdoin’s class of 2011 and currently an assistant professor in the Department of Politics & International Relations, Wheaton College (IL).

Professor Haskins will speak on “Leaders Fit for the Masses: Du Bois and Japan’s Transnational Democratic Leadership” on Thursday, April 6, at 4:45pm in the Beam Classroom, VAC.

Bio:

After graduating from Bowdoin with a double major in Asian Studies and Government (with honors), Haskins went on to earn an MA in Political Science from the University of Chicago and an MA in Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School. He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 2020. Born in Okinawa, but a native of St. Louis, Haskins first discovered the field of political theory at Bowdoin, and his teaching and research interests in the field have been sustained over the years by a deeply felt need to grapple with the complex histories of imperialism, colonialism, and Christianity in the modern world – particularly in Africa, the Americas, and Asia – and what implications such grappling might have for global justice, international law, multiculturalism, and global missions. He is currently revising his book manuscript on transnational approaches to non-domination in the political thought of Montesquieu, Wei Yuan, and W.E.B. DuBois.

Talk abstract:

Haskins will discuss Du Bois’ commitment to a vision of transnational leadership accountable to the masses, and the ways in which Japan provided an important leadership model for him, distinct from a Western-centric focus – and what he saw as Western democratic despotism (on racial issues, for instance). Ultimately, Japan lost the mantle of democratic leadership altogether, frustrating Du Bois. But even so it provided a basis for him to develop his vision of accountable leadership to other actors – whether in Asia, Africa, the United States, or elsewhere – who better embodied a commitment to the masses.

Sponsored by the Department of Government & Legal Studies with support from the John C. Donovan Lecture Fund.  Free and open to the public.

File Attachments: Government_Poster_Haskins_2023