The wrapped Reichstag, July 1995

                                            SCOTT ERB

Professor of  Political Science, University of Maine at Farmington.  Research Specialization: European Politics.   Book: German Foreign Policy: Navigating a New Era, published May 2003, Lynne Rienner Publishers.  Recent journal articles: "Transformation and Assessment of the Introductory International Relations Course," Political Science Educator, Vol. 11, No. 1, August 2006,  "Political Parties and German Economic Policy," German Politics,  December 2001.  "Political Science and General Education Assessment," chapter in Assessment in Political Science, 2008.  I also recently had a chapter "A Brave New World: German-American Relations in the 21^st Century" published in India, EU and US: A Trialogue by Pondicherry University, India (2008).  

Current research veers away from German foreign policy to consider the current crises of American militarism and economic collapse/consumerism, beginning with a critique of rational/enlightenment thought, building from the early Frankfurt School (Adorno and Horkheimer).  The current emphasis on materialism and rational thought in social science neglects the importance of sentiment, psychological drives, and ideas about religion, art, and spirituality.  That creates a gap in our thinking, especially in academia where anything outside 'enlightenment rationality' is suspect.  This research is a stretch for me, but one I take out of personal interest and motivation.   I have a sabbatical in Spring 2010 to work on this, and am currently developing my research strategy.   My summer 2009 course "Consumerism, Politics and Values" was a great way to work with students to think about how to approach this issue..