Current Position:
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Professor of Political Science |
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Education:
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B.A.
(cum laude)
Univ. of MD, Baltimore County (UMBC)
M.A., Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University |
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Doctoral Fields:
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Four major fields: Political Theory, American Politics, Philosophy, Empirical Theory & Methods |
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Selected Activities:
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Author of over 20 reviews and over 30 articles, papers and columns; contributor to C-SPAN’s Guide to the 96 Elections; news analyst and political consultant; past officer in several regional professional organizations; recipient of several grants including a Lecture Grant from the PA Humanities Council to develop and present a series of public lectures on the Constitution. My current research involves the study and measurement of professionalism as well as a manuscript in the area of state and local government and politics. I received a grant from the Institute for the Study of Applied and Professional Ethics during the Summer of 2005 to study bioethics and the human genome project at Dartmouth College. |
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Experience |
I have been teaching at York College since 1976. Prior to that, I was an Instructor of Social Science and Humanities at Penn State (main campus) and a Lecturer in Political Philosophy at Bucknell University. I served as Chairman of the History and Political Science Department from 2003 to 2007. |
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Hometown:
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Baltimore, Maryland |
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Self-Portrait:
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Ironic, loyal and bemused by the absurdity of much of the world |
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Personal:
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Married, with 2 adult daughters |
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Motto:
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He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave. [Branch Rickey] |
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Deep Concern:
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The coarseness and mediocrity of modern culture |
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Favorite Movies:
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Any Laurel and Hardy film and the early Marx Brothers |
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Hobbies:
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Guitar playing, music (especially jazz), NASCAR and chess |
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Luxury Defined:
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An unending supply of good magazines, an ocean view, a glass of a good pinot noir, and no deadlines. |
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Peeves*
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Constant use of
"like," "you know," and "whatever."
(I once heard an actual college student say I'm like, you know, like whatever.)
Misuse of the terms "less" and "fewer." (The following unhappy sentence was uttered by an Orioles media spokesperson: There are less persons in attendance than last year." " Fewer" refers to discrete items; "Less" to volume.) The sloppy use of the prefix "pre." For instance, to "pre-plan" is redundant--all plans are "pre." "Pre-sliced" pepperoni is un-sliced pepperoni. It is either sliced or it is not. Holes can only be drilled, not "pre-drilled." And so on and so on and so on. The death of the adverb. (For instance, McDonald's coffee should be Freshly brewed, not Fresh brewed.) [By the way, how can coffee made of 100% Arabica beans be a "blend?"] |
Return to my homepage
| * I write this section knowing that I run the risk of appearing to be a crotchety old fussbudget. My serious point is that I fear we are losing a sense of precision and accuracy in our language. Carelessness in language reflects carelessness in thought. Perhaps Orwell was right. Criticism and judgment may be impossible if language is allowed to deteriorate. Consider Plato on democracy at 563 a-b in The Republic. |
Mel Kulbicki, Ph.D.