CONWAY, Ark. (June
29, 2020) — Hendrix faculty member Dr. Kiril Kolev recently became a member of
the Democratic Erosion Consortium, a collaboration of academics from more
than 50 colleges and universities working to understand threats to democracy in
the U.S. and abroad.
Led by Dr. Robert
Blair at Brown University, the consortium seeks to promote a just and peaceful
world through research, teaching, and public engagement. Its other members
include more than 50 colleagues
from the U.S. and abroad.
This fall, Kolev
will teach his POLI 100 course, New Authoritarianism, using a consortium-wide
syllabus. In addition, students in that class will participate in multiple engaged learning assignments:
- Attending
a campaign rally of their choice, then writing about the experience on a
consortium-wide blog;
- Engaging
in assessment of the state of democracy in the U.S. at the beginning and the
end of the semester, based on the readings and resources that the consortium
provides;
- Participating
in the Democratic Erosion simulation, which immerses
students in a fictional country undergoing challenges to its democratic model;
- Using
a state-of-the-art repository of data and narratives on the state of democracy
around the world.
“Democratic
erosion is a complex process that requires us to put the country we know best
in comparative perspective,” Kolev said. “What the consortium offers is a
blueprint for understanding what the United States is experiencing currently by
learning about the broader world and the social-scientific theory and evidence
we use to track governance and accountability. Perhaps more importantly, it
pushes students to engage with their immediate communities, as well as peers at
other campuses that are learning the same material. It is an excellent approach
to raising awareness and interactions both locally and globally — something
that defines the socio-economic and political reality of our time.”
Kolev, an
associate professor who currently directs the Hendrix Odyssey Program and
chairs the Hendrix College Department of Politics, joined the Hendrix faculty
in 2011. After graduating from Whittier College with a degree in economics, he
earned his Master of Science and Ph.D. in comparative politics at Duke
University. He has taught courses on political economy, democratization,
elections, research methods, and contemporary global issues. Between 2017 and
2019, he held the James and Emily Bost Odyssey Professorship, which funded his
recent research on election quality, electoral systems, and political
clientelism.
“In the
classroom, I tell students that the best skill they can develop in college is
being evidence-oriented and balanced ‘translators’ of academic knowledge for a
broader audience,” Kolev said. “We often get one or the other: opinions in the
numerous echo chambers on ideological right and left; rigorous but inaccessible
analysis in academic journals. I believe this course will strengthen my ability
to teach how we can narrow the gap between the two.”
About Hendrix College
A private liberal
arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns
recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is
featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think About Colleges.
Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix
as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876,
Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To
learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.