BLOGS
Straight Talk
by Khoo Kay Peng
by Khoo Kay Peng
I-VOTE participant blogs about his observations of the U.S. Presidential election.
PARTICIPANT / ALUMNI PROFILES
PARTICIPANT / ALUMNI PROFILES
Frédérick Gagnon
Considered by many to be Quebec’s foremost expert on American politics, Fulbright American Studies Institute* alumnus Frédérick Gagnon is recognized for his insight into the current U.S. presidential campaign and for provoking thoughtful discussion on U.S. elections in Canada.
A university professor, Gagnon brings to light the nuances in each candidate’s campaign for the presidency. Gagnon also serves as deputy director of the Center for U.S. Studies at the University of Quebec at Montreal, an institution cited as one of the most active and prominent U.S. studies centers in Canada, which publishes a variety of literature and hosts a number of conferences and other media appearances regarding the upcoming elections in the United States. At such events, Gagnon makes a point of inviting American professionals, often including colleagues he met during his Fulbright program, to share their opinions and to inspire discussion that transcends the boundaries between the United States and Canada.
During an election year that has generated unprecedented international attention, Gagnon has focused his efforts on understanding the political campaigns of both John McCain and Barack Obama. His most recent inquiry focuses on the “Obamania craze,” examining how Obama’s campaign has captivated American youth (“De ‘l’Obamanie” à l’Obamarasme”). In another analysis, he examined the style and performance of both candidates during the final presidential debate, lauding John McCain’s strategy (“Analyse du dernier débat présidentiel, La Presse Montréal, October 17, 2008). His research on the race in general, as well as on the impact of this year’s U.S. elections on Quebec, has encouraged sophisticated discourse in the Canadian press and among his colleagues at the university level.
Gagnon’s interest in the 2008 U.S. elections stems from his lifetime dedication to understanding and evaluating U.S. political systems. Since his participation in the 2005 Fulbright American Studies Institute, Gagnon has gone on to lecture at several institutions in the United States, including the University of Massachusetts, Western Washington University, the University of Washington, and more recently, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. In 2006, Gagnon published a French language textbook on the U.S. Congress (Le Congrès des États-Unis, Presses de l’Université du Québec, October 5, 2006), the first such text released in Quebec. In 2008, he received honors for his doctorate dissertation on four U.S. senators who have chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Joseph Biden, the running mate of presidential hopeful Barack Obama (The Senators Who Change the World, Vandenberg, Fulbright, Helms, Biden and the Transformation of the Role of the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee After World War II). He has published dozens of articles in the Montreal press and participated in a variety of conferences that pertain to the 2008 U.S. elections and more broadly, on the inner workings of the three branches of the U.S. government.
As a professor, author, and intellectual, Gagnon has received recognition from both Canadian and American academics, diplomats and media for encouraging a more sophisticated discussion on U.S.-Canadian relations and on the perceived outcome and impact of the upcoming U.S. elections. In May 2008, at a conference held at Western Washington University on the 2008 election, the question was posed: “Will It Change Anything?” Gagnon said, “Yes.” And he has the intellectual expertise to explain why.
* The Fulbright American Studies Institute program was administered by the Study of the U.S. Branch of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Considered by many to be Quebec’s foremost expert on American politics, Fulbright American Studies Institute* alumnus Frédérick Gagnon is recognized for his insight into the current U.S. presidential campaign and for provoking thoughtful discussion on U.S. elections in Canada.
A university professor, Gagnon brings to light the nuances in each candidate’s campaign for the presidency. Gagnon also serves as deputy director of the Center for U.S. Studies at the University of Quebec at Montreal, an institution cited as one of the most active and prominent U.S. studies centers in Canada, which publishes a variety of literature and hosts a number of conferences and other media appearances regarding the upcoming elections in the United States. At such events, Gagnon makes a point of inviting American professionals, often including colleagues he met during his Fulbright program, to share their opinions and to inspire discussion that transcends the boundaries between the United States and Canada.
During an election year that has generated unprecedented international attention, Gagnon has focused his efforts on understanding the political campaigns of both John McCain and Barack Obama. His most recent inquiry focuses on the “Obamania craze,” examining how Obama’s campaign has captivated American youth (“De ‘l’Obamanie” à l’Obamarasme”). In another analysis, he examined the style and performance of both candidates during the final presidential debate, lauding John McCain’s strategy (“Analyse du dernier débat présidentiel, La Presse Montréal, October 17, 2008). His research on the race in general, as well as on the impact of this year’s U.S. elections on Quebec, has encouraged sophisticated discourse in the Canadian press and among his colleagues at the university level.
Gagnon’s interest in the 2008 U.S. elections stems from his lifetime dedication to understanding and evaluating U.S. political systems. Since his participation in the 2005 Fulbright American Studies Institute, Gagnon has gone on to lecture at several institutions in the United States, including the University of Massachusetts, Western Washington University, the University of Washington, and more recently, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. In 2006, Gagnon published a French language textbook on the U.S. Congress (Le Congrès des États-Unis, Presses de l’Université du Québec, October 5, 2006), the first such text released in Quebec. In 2008, he received honors for his doctorate dissertation on four U.S. senators who have chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Joseph Biden, the running mate of presidential hopeful Barack Obama (The Senators Who Change the World, Vandenberg, Fulbright, Helms, Biden and the Transformation of the Role of the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee After World War II). He has published dozens of articles in the Montreal press and participated in a variety of conferences that pertain to the 2008 U.S. elections and more broadly, on the inner workings of the three branches of the U.S. government.
As a professor, author, and intellectual, Gagnon has received recognition from both Canadian and American academics, diplomats and media for encouraging a more sophisticated discussion on U.S.-Canadian relations and on the perceived outcome and impact of the upcoming U.S. elections. In May 2008, at a conference held at Western Washington University on the 2008 election, the question was posed: “Will It Change Anything?” Gagnon said, “Yes.” And he has the intellectual expertise to explain why.
* The Fulbright American Studies Institute program was administered by the Study of the U.S. Branch of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
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