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The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y
xxxxxday, mmmm wednesday, marchxx, 19,2013 2014
www.dukechronicle.com
ONE ONE HUNDRED HUNDRED AND AND EIGHTH ninthYEAR, YEAR,Issue Issuexxx 98
Cathy Davidson to leave Duke for public education
Stephanie Helms Pitch perfect Pickett to direct Women’s Center by Staff Reports
By Rachel Chason
Stephanie Helms Pickett was announced as director of Duke’s Women’s Center. Helms Pickett has served as interim director of the center since last Fall, when former director Ada Gregory stepped down in order to become executive director of the Office of Interdisciplinary Program Management. Currently in her eighth year at Duke, Helms Pickett will assume her permanent position immediately. “I hope to inspire a deepened sense of community so that women’s issues overall are not only heard, but responded to,” Helms Pickett said in a Duke News release. The first black woman to hold the position, Helms Pickett served the University in a number of roles before becoming interim director of the center—including directing Assessment and Professional Development within Student Affairs, chairing Duke’s Bias Analysis Task Force and serving on the Task Force on Gender and the Undergraduate Experience. The Women’s Center advocates for individuals and groups experiencing gender-related issues, carries out educational programming,
Cathy Davidson—a leader in digital humanities who has held various positions at Duke over 25 years—has announced that she will join the faculty of the Graduate Center at the City University of New York in order to pursue her interest in public education. Davidson, the Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of English and the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, received national media attention for her decision. Beginning in July, she will direct the Futures Initiative—a CUNY-wide program promoting collaborative innovation in higher education—and hold an academic appointment in the Graduate Center’s English Ph.D. program. “Even though I will always be a Blue Devil at heart, I am incredibly excited about this opportunity,” Davidson said. “I chose this new position because of one word: scale. CUNY is the largest public university in America, and working there will allow me to reach over 200,000 undergraduates.” Davidson, who has written or edited more than 20 books and was recently appointed to
The chronicle
See Pickett, page 4
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The Duke University Chorale performed its spring concert in Baldwin Auditorium Tuesday evening.
See Davidson, page 2
Zombie theorist explains politics behind ‘Game of Thrones’ By Stuart Reit The Chronicle
What can “Game of Thrones” teach us about politics? Quite a lot, said Daniel Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Drezner highlighted how “Game of Thrones” can be an excellent source for thoughtful political discussion and analysis while speaking at the Sanford School of Public Policy Tuesday night. The Duke chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society arranged the lecture, which was entitled “International Relations in Game of Thrones: An Analysis of the
Hit Television Show’s Relation to our World’s Politics.” Drezner noted that the first season of “Game of Thrones” provides a basic introduction to political thought. He continued to show how events in the second and third seasons bring up issues such as the nature of power, credible commitment, weapons of mass destruction and gender politics. “‘Game of Thrones’ is like majoring in political science,” Drezner said. Where other mainstream political dramas like “The West Wing,” “House of Cards” and “Scandal” can be too similar to reality or too focused on idealism, Drezner argued that
genre television is one of the best places to see politics discussed in a meaningful way. “It’s easier to talk about politics [in genre television],” Drezner said. “When you talk about real politics, people get uncomfortable.” Drezner linked political theory to mainstream television in his book, “Theories of International Politics and Zombies.” In the book, Drezner asks how different theories of international relations would apply in the presence of zombies. He now applies the same thought process to other genres. For example, the first three seasons of “Game of Thrones” have provided
plenty of opportunities for political analysis, he said. “There are actual political ideas that resemble ideas of the 21st century,” Drezner said in reference to the third season’s plot. Drezner cited the Wildlings—a tribe of nomadic people in the series—as a manifestation of libertarian ideals in some ways because they do not have a king or believe in having a king. Using cut scenes from the show, Drezner was able to capture pivotal moments of the series and tie them into political theory. See Thrones, page 4