NEW FACULTY

Political scientist studies history of social movements

by Joy Poliquin

For Dr. Matt James, finding his niche in the academic world was simple: he let it find him.

In university, he did a double major in political science and history, but couldn’t decide between the two subjects. It wasn’t until he’d committed a few more years of grad school to political science that he realized he was hooked. “I felt like I had invested enough into it that it was a part of me, and now it’s what I love to do.”

In fact, the new assistant professor of political science can’t wait to continue learning about his field. Over the next year, in between teaching a lecture in Canadian politics and a seminar on social movement politics, he hopes to immerse himself in writing and reading.

“I’m sufficiently old-fashioned to believe that you can’t understand the present by fixing your eyes only on what’s here,” he says. “So I’m particularly interested in the history of social movements and progressive politics. When you look at social change you can understand what it is about our time and place that’s different, and you can appreciate the way things have developed.”
James hopes to challenge his students to consider the past and the future of political science. “I’m a big believer in the term paper,” he says, although he admits it’s not always popular with students. “I think learning how to write and present your thoughts is what people ought to be doing here.”
Above all, however, James hopes that students will leave his class with the ability to consider other points of view, and to argue passionately and fairly for their own. “There are so many questions,” he says. “We’re living with the changes from the 20th century, and continue to see them percolate. Being curious about why things happened keeps you coming back for more.”