I always find it amazing how quickly the semester goes by. This Winter has been especially political with a prime minister resigning, Liberal leadership race, provincial election, and now we are in the middle of a federal election! These were the themes of the POLS 3200 Elections course where students had to run election campaigns during the semester. Pictured in the header is the whole class who turned out on the last day to vote. We ended up with a tie between the NDP and Liberals. More on the simulation below.

This month’s newsletter features Professor Stephen Brooks who teaches a variety of courses. One of the few courses offered by the department this summer is the EU Study abroad, which he developed and continues to teach. Students often tell me how life-changing the course is and that it is often their best experience of university.

We continue to have a number of events in the department. Tickets are selling fast for the Pre-law/Moot Gala sponsored by the department. Check out their information and be sure to purchase your tickets early to avoid disappointment. In March the students organized an Ontario election watch party, which was so successful that they will be organizing a Federal election watch party later in the month. Check your email and Brightspace later in the month for more information.

For those of you who asked about Tulip, she’s doing great. She just passed her second training course and is getting better at recall and waiting. However, there are a lot of bunnies in our neighbourhood, which tend to distract her so we need to continue to work on impulse control.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter and find it useful. As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our community!

Table of Contents

• Q&A with Stephen Brooks

• WINMUN Conference a Success

• University raises First Nations flags

• Students take stage in simulated federal election

• Pre-law Students’ Society Gala

• UWill Discover Awards and Papers

• Academic Calendar

Q:   What inspired you to become a professor?

A: Well, I wouldn’t say that it was exactly inspiration that led me to a career as a university professor. It just wasn’t on my radar screen until I was already in the doctoral program at Carleton University. When I started as an undergrad student I decided to major in political science, not because I found the subject especially fascinating—I preferred English literature and ended up with a minor in English—but because I thought that I would be going to law school and that political science, I believed, was a good background for law. I was accepted to law school a couple of times, but each time I decided to continue in political science. Then, during my MA program, a couple of my profs who were part of the Canadian National Election Study team suggested to me that I do a Ph.D at Carleton, where the other two members of the National Election Study team taught. So I did. But it wasn’t until my second year in the program, when I had a chance to teach a course as a sessional, that I thought seriously about becoming a professor.

Q: What is your area of research?

A: Canadian politics has always been one of my main research and teaching areas. I had the opportunity to teach American politics in Belgium when I was on sabbatical leave in 1992-93 and that turned out to be a major transition point in my career. Since then, American politics and particularly America’s foreign relations have been the focus of most of my research and teaching.

Q: What projects are you working on?

A: I’ve just finished revisions for the 10th edition of my textbook on Canadian politics, and I’m now starting a project on transatlantic relations with a colleague at McMaster University, Donald Abelson. We’ve worked on this subject before, but the current challenges, we think, are of a nature and on a scale far beyond those that existed when we finished our previous book. So, revisiting the subject seems warranted. After that I’ll finally get around to a project on the American roots of Canadian identity that I’ve had in mind since a colleague at UBC published “The European Roots of Canadian Identity” back in 2005. I know that the idea that there have been and continue to be important aspects of Canadian identity that have American roots is sure to cause the neck hairs of many Canadians to stand on end. But the subject is much more nuanced than might appear to be the case.

Q; What courses are you teaching this semester and what are you excited about teaching?

A: This semester I’m teaching Intro to Canadian Politics and Government and also a course on United States Foreign Policy that I teach as American Foreign Relations, which is a much broader canvas than US foreign policy. I like both of these courses. But my favorite course, which I’ll be teaching this spring, is our European Study Abroad Program.

Q: Do you have any tips for students on how to succeed in university?

A: Be a serious student. By this I don’t mean that you shouldn’t have fun or work on your university studies to the detriment of other things that are important in your life. I simply mean attend your classes, do the readings and other work expected of you, and be prepared to put in the work if you want to earn grades that will get you where you want to go. But on top of that, be someone who reads and discovers the world through books. And I don’t mean just the books assigned for your courses. I mean reading for pleasure and as something that can steal away some of your time from screens. I mean no disrespect to anyone to whom this does not apply—there are always exceptions—but I’ve found that my best students tend to be those who are intellectually curious and who read novels, maybe poetry, The Atlantic or The New Yorker—stuff like that—and for whom reading is an important part of their lives.

Q: The annual EU study abroad trip is approaching! Could you give a brief overview of the program for those unfamiliar with it, along with typical destinations you bring the students while abroad? Is there an overarching theme surrounding the meetings this year?

A: Well, as I said above, the EU program is my favorite course. I’d add that creating the program back in 2009 is, for me, hands-down the most important thing that I’ve done in my academic career. Over 300 students, most of them from the University of Windsor, have participated in the program since it was launched. We currently have a partnership with Western University. About two-thirds of the May 2025 cohort will be from Windsor and the other third from Western.

We visit the places that you’d expect in view of the program’s name, including the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council, the External Action Service, and the Committee of the Regions. We also visit several country missions to the EU. This year the list will include those of China, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, and Turkey. We always spend the better part of a day at NATO’s political headquarters in Brussels and the head of Europol always meets with us in Brussels. We also do a lot of other stuff, hearing from journalists (this year, the NYT’s European correspondent), meetings at various NGOs, a visit to the College of Europe in Bruges, and several cultural activities too. The two weeks in Belgium are quite busy.

Q: Do you have a favourite activity or meeting that you enjoy the most throughout the whole two-week program?

A: That’s a tough question. I suppose that the highlight is spending the two weeks at the Irish College in Leuven, a university city just outside of Brussels. The College was established in 1607 by Franciscan monks and has a fascinating history. For me, the place has a vibe that is a sort of bridge between the Early Modern Era and our own times. I think the students like it too. I also enjoy tooling around Leuven on a Belgian friend’s 1973, and very rusty but totally reliable, Raleigh 3-speed bicycle

Tickets for The Pre-Law Students' Society Gala (in collaboration with the Department of Political Science) are selling quickly! This event is open to everyone, so invite your friends and reserve your seats by clicking here!