Department of Political Science

KENNETH R. HOOVER
Professor Emeritus of Political Science

BOOKS

  • Economics as Ideology: Keynes, Laski, Hayek and the Creation of Contemporary Politics, 2003, Rowman and Littlefield – ISBN 0-7425-3113-9. An analysis of identity formation and ideological attachment in the lives of the 20th century’s most influential liberal, socialist, and conservative thinkers. Tells the story of their profound influence in shaping contemporary views of government, the market, and the role of elites in both institutions.
  • The Future of Identity: Centennial Reflections on the Legacy of Erik Erikson, Lexington Books, 2004 – Essays on who Erikson was, surveys of research on identity, a discussion of identity and choice, applications of identity relations analysis to democracy, globalization, and Islam. Includes K. Hoover, “What Should Democracies Do About Identity?” (see below). 
  • The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking, 8th ed., 2004, co-author: Todd Donovan, Thompson / Wadsworth Publications – ISBN 0-312-208-626. A primer on constructing and testing hypotheses, and on fitting social scientific approaches with other strategies for developing knowledge about society and politics.
  • Ideology and Political Life, 3rd ed., 2001, with John Miles, Vernon Johnson, and Sara Weir, Thompson / Wadsworth Publications  - ISBN 0-534-20814-2 - A text on contemporary ideological movements, and how new issues are changing the conventional left-right spectrum. Chapters on feminism, race and national liberation, and environmentalism by scholar/activists in those fields.
  • The Power of Identity: Politics in a New Key, 1997, with James Marcia and Kristen Parris, Chatham House Press, Chatham, N.J., 1997 (now CQ Press) - ISBN 1-56643-051-8 - Based on empirical research on identity formation, this book explores the "politics of human development" -- a framework for understanding contemporary political movements and public policy innovations.
  • Conservative Capitalism in Britain and the United States: A Critical Appraisal, with Raymond Plant, Routledge, London and New York, 1989, ISBN 0-415-01584-7 - An examination of the ideas behind the revival of conservatism, the consequences of those ideas for public policy, and the splits that are undermining the movement.
  • A Politics of Identity, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois, 1975, ISBN 0-252-00436-1 - A normative interpretation of the work of Erik Erikson, B. F.. Skinner, G. H. Mead, and Sigmund Freud oriented toward establishing a fresh basis for progressive politics.

RECENT ARTICLES, PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS - AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET

OTHER RECENT ARTICLES AND PAPERS

  • "Conservatism and Neo-Liberalism," article in The Routledge Encyclopedia of Government and Politics, Vol. One, 2cd ed. by Maurice Kogan and Mary Hawkesworth, Routledge, 2004, pp. 149-162.
  • "Identity, Ideology and Politics: from Practice to Theory," Keynote Address, Conference on Understanding the Social World 2, University of Huddersfield, U.K., September, 2000.
  • "The American Political Science Association," Encyclopedia USA, Supplement, Vol. 2, 1999, Academic International Press, 181-184.
  • "The Future of Conservative Capitalism"; conference sponsored by the Centro de Investigaciones Sobre América del Norte of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, February, 1996.
  • "Identity and the State: Coercion and Developmental Freedom," conference of the International Political Science Association Research Committee on Political Philosophy co-sponsored by the African Political Science Association, Harare, Zimbabwe, August, 1995
  • "Identity and Democratization," World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Berlin, August, 1994
  • Review of Visions of a New Industrial Order: Social Science and Labor Theory in America's Progressive Era, Clarence Wunderlin (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992) in Utopian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1994.
  •  Utopian Studies 3 (Summer, 1992) 2, 1-22
  • "The Rise of Conservative Capitalism in Great Britain and the United States," Comparative Studies in Society and History: an International Quarterly, Cambridge Univ. Press, Vol. 29, No. 2 (April, 1987), pp. 245-268 and "Response to King on New Right Ideology," CSSH, Vol. 30, No. 4 (Oct., 1988), pp. 792-803.

HONORS

  • The Robert J. Olscamp Distinguished Research Award, Western Washington University, 2004
  • Academic Visitor, Nuffield College, Oxford, Spring, 2001
  • Academic Visitor, The London School of Economics, Spring, 1997
  • Member, Senior Common Room, St. Catherine's College, Oxford University, Spring, 1997
  • Visiting Professor, University of Washington, Fall, Winter, 1996-1997
  • Eugenio Battisti Award for the best article published in Utopian Studies, Vol. 3, 1992.
  • Senior Fellow, Center for Twentieth Century Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Fall, 1988 (on leave from Western Washington University)
  • University of Wisconsin Parkside Distinguished Teaching Award, 1984
  • Chair, Department of Political Science, Western Washington University, 1988-1995
  • President, Faculty Senate, Western Washington University, 1995-1996

COURSE LIST

  • PS 360 - Introduction to Political Theory
  • PS 461 - Renaissance and Modern Political Theory
  • PS 462 - The Rise of Modern Political Economy
  • PS 466 - Identity, Ideology, and Politics
  • PS 560 - Political Theory

DEGREES

  • Ph.D., 1970, M. Sc., 1965 Political Science, University of Wisconsin Madison
  • B.Sc., 1962 Government, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin , Junior year at the London School of Economics and University College, London