Loading
|
Loading
|
Studies in African Politics - Foreign Relations
Dunn specializes in the politics and development in Africa, theories of international relations and United States foreign policy. His research in African politics concerns the Great Lakes region of Africa (comprised of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania) and the security and development of this area.
Of particular interest to Dunn is the area of Africa now known as the Congo (formerly Zaire). Dunn's dissertation Imagining the Congo: Constructing and Contesting Identity in International Relations discusses the constructed identity of this region and how it is shaped by both internal and external attitudes. He discusses Western attitudes regarding this region and African resistance to those attitudes.
"On a rather simplistic level," says Dunn, assistant professor of political science, "I love what I do. It brings me a great amount of joy to have the opportunity to research questions that I think are of vital importance to today's world."
Dunn strives to help his students "gain a better understanding of the complexities and nuances of Africa's political condition. "The history of Africa and Africa's relations with the Western world is characterized by exploitation engendered by racist stereotypes and misunderstanding grounded in ignorance," Dunn says.
Dunn has recently published on African guerrilla movements, such as Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army.
At the intersection of these attitudes is the issue of international relations and United States foreign policy. Dunn has investigated how theory and practice in International Relations differ-with particular attention paid to United States Foreign Policy towards underdeveloped nations and how development in those nations is addressed.
Dunn is very active regarding current events in international relations. With HWS colleague Political Science Professor Virginia Tilley, Dunn has written critiques of two of the recent speeches given in regard to the situation in Iraq. One is a critique of President Bush's press conference on March 6, 2002 and the other is a critique of Colin Powell's remarks to the UN Security Council on February 5, 2003.
Dunn is also very knowledgeable about the effects of tourism in international politics and how the international tourism industry affects the experience of travel and affects the image of foreign nations. He cites manipulation of land and indigenous areas to meet visitors' expectations as an example of how tourism makes physical spaces into charicatures suitable for presentation.
Publications:
Author of:
Imagining the Congo: The International Relations of Identity
Palgrave Macmillan, 2003
Co-editor of:
Africa's Challenge to International Relations Theory
St. Martin's Press, 2001
African Guerrillas: Raging Against the Machine
Lynne Reinner,
Identity and Global Politics: Theoretical and Empirical Elaborations
Palgrave Macmillan,
Interview opportunities and additional background information may be requested through the Office of Communications, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York. Phone: (315) 781-3540. After business hours, Communications staff members are accessible through contact information on their answering machine at that number.
Kevin C. Dunn joined the faculty in 2001, having previously taught at Hartwick College, Boston University, Boston College, St. Anselm College, Appalachian State University and Tufts University. He received his B.A. at Davidson College, his M.A. at Dalhousie University and his Ph.D. at Boston University.
Dunn's published works include Imagining the Congo: The International Relations of Identity, and Africa's Challenge to International Relations Theory (co-edited with Timothy Shaw). He has also been published in the journals Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Geopolitics, Journal Of Third World Studies, Africana Bulletin, African Studies Review and International Insights.
Dunn currently serves as the chair for the global development section of the International Studies Association and is a visiting professor at Mbarara University in Uganda. His other professional affiliations include: the African Studies Association; the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars; the International Studies Association; the Association of Third World Studies; the Society for Women in International Political Economy; and the American Political Science Association.