A political mainstay retires
In the early 1990s, the Boston College Political Science Department faced a quandry: Because it was such a popular major—and remains perennially in the University’s top 10—sophomores often had a difficult time getting into some of the intro-level PoliSci classes.
So the department chair at the time, Associate Professor (later Professor) Dennis Hale, asked his colleague, now-retired Moakley Professor of American Politics Kay Schlozman, to design and teach a sophomores-only seminar, Rights in Conflict, that would examine American political controversies hinging on one side (or multiple sides) asserting a claim on the basis of rights.
The class wasn’t necessarily intended as a long-term solution, but “it’s been going ever since,” noted Hale.
For Hale, who retired recently after 47 years at BC, the decision was an example of what he considered a department chair’s major responsibility: putting “multi-talented people in the right places to help students separate the peripheral from the essential.”
Serving variously as his department’s chair, director of undergraduate studies, and honors program director, Hale has been a steadfast member of the PoliSci faculty and accomplished scholar whose research interests include local government, law and politics, citizenship, modern states, and American political thought.
Among his many publications are The Jury in America: Triumph and Decline, which examined how the American jury system has reflected changing ideas about various political and social issues, and last year’s Keeping the Republic: A Defense of American Constitutionalism, co-authored with longtime collaborator, departmental colleague, and friend Professor Marc Landy.
He also produced a volume containing papers and responses presented at the 1981 symposium held to inaugurate the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Chair in American Politics, an event that brought more than 500 political scientists, politicians, journalists, and other attendees to the University.
“The first word in Aristotle’s Politics is ‘observation.' That, of course, is key to understanding anything—certainly politics. What’s fascinating is how Aristotle describes the ‘political community’ as a natural place for people to discuss, and argue about, justice and other important facets of life. Politics, essentially, allows people to grow into the person they’re meant to be.”
In an era when the act of discussing politics seems to necessitate body armor and ear plugs, Hale points to the long history of thoughtful, well-crafted political writing and discourse—all the way back to Aristotle, whose book on the subject remains a must-read for political scientists.
“The first word in Aristotle’s Politics is ‘observation,’” he said. “That, of course, is key to understanding anything—certainly politics. What’s fascinating is how Aristotle describes the ‘political community’ as a natural place for people to discuss, and argue about, justice and other important facets of life. Politics, essentially, allows people to grow into the person they’re meant to be.”
Helping students achieve that kind of intellectual and personal growth has been central to the mission of BC’s political science program and its faculty, according to Hale. “The people who have taught here look outside the box, beyond simply ‘best practices.’ I think of people like the late Chris Bruell: He would teach the real stuff. That’s what I tried to do, both as a teacher and occasional administrator.”
Over four-plus decades, he said, BC has become an increasingly national—and international— university, and the profile of its undergraduates has changed, as has the nature of their interest in political science.
“Students of past generations who took political science had a more practical view of it, and part of that was because they came from families active in local politics—a relative who held office or worked in campaigns—or they were themselves: It was not unusual to have a student in class who wound up running for, say, the New Hampshire state legislature.
“Now, we’re seeing polisci students who want to work for the State Department, or a foundation, or go into law, so they want a more holistic, theoretical approach to political science. This has forced us, as a department, to rethink some of what we do. For example, I dropped courses in urban politics and spent more time in classes taking a global view and comparing politics in different countries.”
But Hale says the ground-level view of politics is valuable, and thought provoking. In fact, Massachusetts makes for a fascinating study, given how many of its laws are specific to towns, in areas such as zoning, taxes, and firearms. “I was discussing this once with some campus visitors from Ireland,” he recalled. “They were shocked to learn that people here can own firearms; in Ireland, they explained, you could only use them for hunting game.”
As he settles into retirement, Hale said, he will miss the students (“Not all of them, obviously,” he quipped) and, in particular, the people with whom he has close connections—especially Landy, whom he befriended when they were undergraduates at Oberlin College. He’ll be fine without some of the routines, like grading or “the general minutiae of semester deadlines,” but will miss others: chatting with department administrator Shirley Gee or students who stop by with questions or ideas.
“And I will miss this beautiful campus. One thing I realized, belatedly, is that there are some buildings I’ve never actually been in, so I’ve been making sure to visit and walk around in them. I want to be familiar with the new as well as the old.”