Stephen Skowronek
Encyclopedia
Stephen Skowronek is an American political scientist, noted for his research on American national institutions and the U.S. presidency, and for helping to stimulate the study of American political development.
Skowronek grew up in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where he graduated high school
in 1969. He attended Oberlin College
, completing a B.A.
in 1973, and earned his Ph.D.
in political science
from Cornell University
in 1979. His doctoral dissertation was revised and published as his first book, Building a New American State (1982).
Skowronek taught at Cornell
and UCLA before becoming a fellow
at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
in 1985. Skowronek joined the political science
faculty
of Yale University
in 1986, and has been Pelatiah Perit Professor of political and social science at Yale since 1999. He has also been a visiting professor at several American and European universities, including as Chair in American Civilization at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
in Paris
in 1996-1997.
Skowronek has collaborated with Karen Orren
on several projects, including founding the academic journal
Studies in American Political Development
in 1986, and writing the book The Search for American Political Development (2004). Through their work, Skowronek and Orren have significantly fostered the growth of American political development (or APD) as a distinct subfield within the discipline of political science
.
The first edition of Skowronek's book The Politics Presidents Make (1993) won two awards from the American Political Science Association
(APSA): the J. David Greenstone Prize for best book in politics and history and the Richard E. Neustadt Prize for best book on the American presidency. Skowronek served as President of the Politics and History Section of APSA for 1994-1995.
Skowronek grew up in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where he graduated high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in 1969. He attended Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, completing a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1973, and earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1979. His doctoral dissertation was revised and published as his first book, Building a New American State (1982).
Skowronek taught at Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and UCLA before becoming a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
in 1985. Skowronek joined the political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
faculty
Faculty (university)
A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1986, and has been Pelatiah Perit Professor of political and social science at Yale since 1999. He has also been a visiting professor at several American and European universities, including as Chair in American Civilization at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1996-1997.
Skowronek has collaborated with Karen Orren
Karen Orren
Karen Orren is an American political scientist, noted for her research on American political institutions and social movements, analyzed in historical perspective, and for helping to stimulate the study of American political development....
on several projects, including founding the academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
Studies in American Political Development
Studies in American Political Development
Studies in American Political Development is a political science journal founded in 1986 and presently published by Cambridge University Press....
in 1986, and writing the book The Search for American Political Development (2004). Through their work, Skowronek and Orren have significantly fostered the growth of American political development (or APD) as a distinct subfield within the discipline of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
The first edition of Skowronek's book The Politics Presidents Make (1993) won two awards from the American Political Science Association
American Political Science Association
The American Political Science Association is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journals...
(APSA): the J. David Greenstone Prize for best book in politics and history and the Richard E. Neustadt Prize for best book on the American presidency. Skowronek served as President of the Politics and History Section of APSA for 1994-1995.
Publications
- Building a New American State: The Expansion of National Administrative Capacities, 1877-1920 Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
(1982) ISBN 0-521-28865-7 - The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton, Belknap Press (1997) ISBN 0-674-68937-2
- The Search for American Political Development, Cambridge University Press (2004) ISBN 0-521-54764-4 (with Karen Orren)
- Formative Acts: American Politics in the Making, University of Pennsylvania PressUniversity of Pennsylvania PressThe University of Pennsylvania Press is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(2007) ISBN 978-0-8122-4012-2 (co-edited by Matthew Glassman) - Rethinking Political Institutions: The Art of the State, New York University Press (2007) ISBN 978-0814740569 (co-edited with Ian Shapiro and Daniel Galvin)
- Presidential Leadership in Political Time: Reprise and Reappraisal, University Press of KansasUniversity Press of KansasThe University Press of Kansas is a publisher that represents the six state universities in the US state of Kansas — Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University...
(2008) ISBN 978-0-7006-1574-2