Most Recent Speaker
11 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Red, white and blue times two: A lifetime lived under two flags
The flags of both the United States and the Netherlands are often referred to as the “red, white, and blue.” Professor Galen A. Irwin has lived his life under these two flags. In this presentation, he will reveal the seemingly innocuous decisions that led him from Joplin Junior College to Leiden University. He will discuss the joys and frustrations of living in a country that you were not raised in and will investigate what the Dutch think of Americans. Finally, he will make comparisons of some of the strong and weak points of the democratic systems of the two countries.
Galen A. Irwin studied at Joplin Junior College and the University of Kansas for his undergraduate degree. His M.A. and Ph.D. degrees were earned at Florida State University. His first teaching position was at the University of Iowa. In 1973 he moved to Leiden University in the Netherlands, where he is now emeritus professor of political science. After his official retirement in Leiden, he served for one year as adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and five years at Duke University. Throughout his career at Leiden, he was heavily involved in leadership roles with the Dutch Parliamentary Election Studies. Much of his research has centered on the study of voting behavior. He is also co-author of Governance and Politics of the Netherlands (six editions).
