Faculty Profile
Ed Webb
(he/him/his)Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies (2007)
Contact Information
on sabbatical Spring 2025
Denny Hall Room 202
717-245-1009
Bio
His teaching and research activities are mainly in Middle East politics, comparative politics and international relations. He contributes to Middle East Studies and Security Studies. He has particular interests in the interaction of religions and politics and the politics of education, as well as authoritarianism and empire. His interest in pedagogical applications of new technologies, including simulations, games, and social media, has led to him being appointed to the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education. A former diplomat, he has lived and worked in the Middle East and Europe. Recent publications: Professor Webb contributed a chapter on “Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism” to 21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook, edited by Ishiyama & Breuning (2011) and a chapter, “Should the Daleks Be Exterminated?” (with Mark Wardecker) to Doctor Who and Philosophy, edited by Smithka & Lewis (2010). His article “Engaging Students with Engaging Tools” was published in Educause Quarterly in 2009.
Education
- B.A., Cambridge University, 1992
- M.A., University of Pennsylvania, 2003
- Ph.D., 2007
2024-2025 Academic Year
Fall 2024
INST 170 International Relations
Cross-listed with POSC 170-02.
POSC 170 International Relations
Cross-listed with INST 170-02.
MEST 200 Relig & Pol in Mid E & N Afr
Cross-listed with POSC 290-02. Class participants will study aspects of how religion and politics interact in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a focus on the period from the First World War to the present. Each week or pair of weeks will address a new theme. Participants should look for connections between assigned texts across as well as within themes, building understanding cumulatively. The class will: consider varied perspectives on selected issues in the interactions of religions and politics in MENA; look for the interconnectedness of the local and the global; and help participants to develop skills to assess critically how we create knowledge about other peoples and cultures.
POSC 290 Relig & Pol in Mid E & N Afr
Cross-listed with MEST 200-04. Class participants will study aspects of how religion and politics interact in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a focus on the period from the First World War to the present. Each week or pair of weeks will address a new theme. Participants should look for connections between assigned texts across as well as within themes, building understanding cumulatively. The class will: consider varied perspectives on selected issues in the interactions of religions and politics in MENA; look for the interconnectedness of the local and the global; and help participants to develop skills to assess critically how we create knowledge about other peoples and cultures.
INST 401 Empire
Empires may seem to belong to history, but they have shaped today’s political order and globalizing economy. Few parts of the world have been untouched by empire. Some argue that the United States is or should be an empire, whether they see it as benign or malign. What does empire mean today? Participants will critically assess diverse materials to come to their own conclusions about the analytical utility of the concept of empire, and how they can best apply it to understand issues that matter in world politics and economics today. Students will produce research papers examining how empire affects their areas of specialization, in preparation for discussion at the oral examination in the spring.