M. Crawford Young
Encyclopedia
M. Crawford Young is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
.
from the University of Michigan
and his PhD
from Harvard in 1964, where his advisor was the famed scholar Rupert Emerson
, the only person ever to serve as president of both the African Studies Associaion and the Asian Studies Association.
by the African Studies Association
. His 1994 book, The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective, won the Lubbert Prize from the American Political Science Association
as the best book written that year in the field of Comparative Politics
.
He has held chairmanship of the UW–Madison political science department twice (1969–72; 1984–87), and was between 1973-75 Dean
of the Faculty of Social Science at the Université Nationale du Zaire. Young served as president of the African Studies Association
in 1983. He retired in 2001 as a full professor but remained active in his field, publishing "The End of the Postcolonial State in Africa?" in the journal
African Affairs in 2004.
(and later, African) state and on the politics of cultural identity in the third world, which was theoretically innovative and presaged the conteporary "instrumentalist" and "constructivist" approaches to political identity.
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
.
Education
He received his 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...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Harvard in 1964, where his advisor was the famed scholar Rupert Emerson
Rupert Emerson
Rupert Emerson was a professor of political science and international relations. He served on the faculty of Harvard University for forty-three years and served in various U.S government positions.After serving in the U.S. Navy from 1917-18, he received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1922, then...
, the only person ever to serve as president of both the African Studies Associaion and the Asian Studies Association.
Academic career
Young became an Assistant Professor at Wisconsin in 1963, and published his first major work, Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence. He became prominent as the author in 1976 of the highly influential The Politics of Cultural Pluralism, which was awarded the Herskovitz PrizeHerskovitz Prize
The Herskovits Prize is an annual award given by the African Studies Association to the best scholarly work on Africa published in English in the previous year and distributed in the United States....
by the African Studies Association
African Studies Association
The African Studies Association is an association of scholars and professionals in the United States and Canada with an interest in the continent of Africa. Started in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North America. The associations headquarters are Rutgers...
. His 1994 book, The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective, won the Lubbert Prize 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...
as the best book written that year in the field of Comparative Politics
Comparative politics
Comparative politics is a subfield of political science, characterized by an empirical approach based on the comparative method. Arend Lijphart argues that comparative politics does not have a substantive focus in itself, but rather a methodological one: it focuses on "the how but does not specify...
.
He has held chairmanship of the UW–Madison political science department twice (1969–72; 1984–87), and was between 1973-75 Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Faculty of Social Science at the Université Nationale du Zaire. Young served as president of the African Studies Association
African Studies Association
The African Studies Association is an association of scholars and professionals in the United States and Canada with an interest in the continent of Africa. Started in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North America. The associations headquarters are Rutgers...
in 1983. He retired in 2001 as a full professor but remained active in his field, publishing "The End of the Postcolonial State in Africa?" in the 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...
African Affairs in 2004.
His work's emphasis
Professor Young's primary contributions to political science have come from his work on the ZairianZaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
(and later, African) state and on the politics of cultural identity in the third world, which was theoretically innovative and presaged the conteporary "instrumentalist" and "constructivist" approaches to political identity.
Major publications
- Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence, 1965
- Issues of Political Development (with Charles Anderson and Fred von der Mehden), 1967
- The Politics of Cultural Pluralism, 1976, University of Wisconsin Press
- Cooperatives and Development: Agricultural Politics in Ghana and Uganda (with Neal Sherman and Tim Rose), 1981
- Ideology and Development in Africa, 1982, Yale University PressYale University PressYale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
- The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State (with Thomas Turner), 1985, University of Wisconsin PressUniversity of Wisconsin PressThe University of Wisconsin Press is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It primarily publishes work by scholars from the global academic community but also serves the citizens of Wisconsin by publishing important books about Wisconsin, the Upper Midwest, and...
- The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism: The Nation-State at Bay?, 1993, University of Wisconsin Press
- The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective, 1994, Yale University Press