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Jerold Duquette
Making Ideas Matter
 The air in Jerold Duquette’s political science classes crackles with
questions: What would the Framers of the Constitution think of the
federal government in the year 2003? Why do we need a government? What
is the role of interest groups in American politics? Can one be moral
and political?
To a Big Question—What is politics? —in Dr. Duquette’s Introduction to
American Government class, one student ventures, “Everyone knows
politics is just a struggle for power.” A more tempered voice counters,
“Isn’t it how we are ruled?” As viewpoints flash back and forth,
Duquette, associate professor of political science, joins in, “Weren’t
the Framers politicians?” Now a student takes umbrage, “They were
statesmen.” Duquette replies, “Yes, and they were no more scoundrels,
liars, cheaters, or thieves than our politicians today.”
His goal, the ebullient Duquette explains, is not to diminish the
stature of the Framers as great and learned leaders but to encourage his
students to see the founders as practical politicians, whose motives in
balancing self-interests vs. principles were not that different from
today’s leaders. Using his “Socratic method” of questioning, Duquette,
who in three years at Central has twice been nominated for the
Excellence in Teaching award, engages the class with such fervor that
students are hardly aware of what’s happened. They are becoming critical
thinkers.
“My method is about getting students to be engaged,” says Duquette.
“Interaction is crucial to developing an interest in politics. Without
that, thinking critically about it is nearly impossible. As students
become more comfortable in discussion and argument, the class gradually
assumes a larger share of the analytical burden, and students apply
practical skills gained in class to the academic writing.”
A bemused Robin Kane, junior political science major, shook her head,
“He’s my most favorite, but also most difficult, teacher. He requires
you to be there for the course. If you haven’t prepared, you could get
lost. When I took the Politics Post 9/11 class, I was a sophomore, and
this upper level course made me feel intimidated. I e-mailed him saying
I wanted to drop the class. He encouraged me to push through when things
get difficult. I did and ended up getting an A- and now I’m taking
another class with him. The best thing about Dr. Duquette is that he
helps you approach thinking in terms of ideas so you can see the
validity and truth in opposing viewpoints.”
Ideas Matter
“Ideas matter!” could be Duquette’s mantra. Teaching such courses as
American Government, Public Administration, the Budgetary Process,
Participation in American Politics After 9/11, and now two new courses
he created—Ethics, Corruption, and Virtue in Public Service and Debating
the Welfare State, Duquette stresses understanding political issues,
institutions, and processes at a conceptual level.
His research method “takes ideas and institutions seriously in the
explanation of politics.” His book Regulating the National Pastime:
Baseball and Antitrust explains the persistence of Major League
Baseball’s anomalous regulatory status as more than the result of
powerful lobbyists and pliable politicians. “My book describes the roles
of ideas, institutions, and culture, in addition to power politics.” In
his most recently published case study of the Massachusetts Clean
Elections Law, he employs his “historical institutionalist” methodology
to refute the notion that the law’s enactment and implementation is
merely “a story of intrepid reformers battling entrenched politicians
bent on re-election at all costs.”
Actively sought by the news media to provide commentary on politics,
Duquette stubbornly affirms in scores of interviews his ideas-matter
position: “While candidates and reporters stress personal issues, or
issues that are really just universally accepted values, like honesty
and independence, I refocus reporters on the fact that a candidate’s
party affiliation and ideological assumptions are much more useful in
predicting performance than any of the so-called issues that dominate
campaigns.”
On campus, he spurs cross-fertilization of ideas, and this past year
organized and chaired three panel discussions on intellectual diversity
and the war in Iraq. He has recently been invited to serve as an
academic panelist and present research by the American Political Science
Association at its national and regional meetings.
Checks and Balances In the Classroom
“What Jerold has brought to our students is a good-humored, highly
competent, generous, and energetic teaching style,” observed colleague
Antonia Moran, associate professor of political science. “He
demonstrates that politics and learning about politics can be fun, even
while it is deeply serious.” Duquette honed his teaching skills from
1997–2000 at George Mason University in the Washington, D.C., area,
where he earned a master’s of public administration at George Washington
University. Prior to that he taught at the University of Massachusetts,
from which he holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science. Duquette
exercises careful objectivity in his instruction to allow students of
all opinions to join discussions. Alexis Fedorjaczenko, senior political
science major, observed, “On the last day of my Introduction to American
Government class, he took a poll asking students to guess which
political party had his support. About half thought he was a Republican
and half said Democrat. I was amazed. I was wrong in my assessment of
his personal politics. He understands and can argue all sides of an
issue.”
With his gregarious personality, Duquette is often asked if he
entertains personal political ambitions. After all, he has been immersed
in practical politics since he was a small child, holding signs,
“dropping” leaflets and campaigning for numerous candidates in his
hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts. He’s been an elected delegate
for the past three years to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention and
was heavily involved in Tom Birmingham’s race for governor last year in
Massachusetts.
Was there a hint of an answer this summer when Duquette and his wife,
Kara, who is an attorney and major in the U.S. Marine Corps, along with
their three young children, hosted a “Fun” raiser picnic? The invitation
said the “event will kick off a 15-year listening tour by the
‘candidate.’” Duquette roars with hearty laughter. “Being a professor is
a great job. Teaching, writing, speaking, and thinking about politics is
what I do whether in the class or before a local civic association. The
survival of stable American politics requires ongoing debate and
argument. I love keeping the argument going and getting my two cents in,
loudly.”
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