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KU professor talks politics across globe

By Brandon Sayers

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Since the beginning of 2008, Burdett Loomis has been a very busy man.

Loomis, professor of political science at the University of Kansas, has spent more than two months overseas speaking on behalf of the U.S. State Department in seven different countries.

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Contributed photo

KU professor Burdett Loomis chats on one of his speaking trips. Loomis said that the global interest in Barack Obama’s presidential run had been the main topic of his presentations.

Loomis said he hoped his students could benefit from all he learned during his trips.

“You learn a lot on these trips,” Loomis said. “I feel like I’m much more a citizen of the world now.”

Loomis has had a relationship with the State Department’s Public Diplomacy Program that goes back almost two decades. During his time with the program, he has taken more than 10 trips to countries all over the world to speak about things such as U.S. politics and its place in the world. He returned from his most recent trip a few weeks ago.

The State Department has asked him to take five trips in the last 18 months alone, and Loomis said he thought this was because of the international attention the United States received after Barack Obama announced his bid for Presidency.

OBAMA OVERSEAS

President Obama had been the main subject for most of his overseas presentations, Loomis said, and that most of the questions he received involved Obama in one way or another.

“It was so easy to follow this past election,” Loomis said. “A lot of people had the information, but they didn’t have the context. So that’s what I tried to provide, the context.”

Loomis said during his trips before the election, the competition between Obama and Hillary Clinton for the democratic nomination was a popular subject. Now, the people living in countries besides the U.S. are impressed that Obama nominated his former competitor as Secretary of State.

“From 10,000 miles away, where you have these political factions that often can’t stand each other, the idea that two people who contested bitterly can come together is very impressive,” Loomis said.

Loomis said he was glad he had the opportunity to speak about such a historical election at every step of the way.

“I feel like in some minor way I’ve been on the same trip that Obama has been on,” Loomis said.

THE RECENT TRIPS

In his most recent trip on behalf of the U.S. State Department, Loomis spent the first two weeks of August speaking in Nepal and Bangladesh. Loomis also had the opportunity to blog about this trip on the University’s Web site.

Loomis said he enjoyed this trip especially because he felt like he could have a positive effect on those who listened to his words.

“You feel like going there you might have a chance to make a difference,” Loomis said.

In May, Loomis also spoke on behalf of the U.S. during a trip to Taiwan.

Loomis said many people there had a hard time understanding the opposition that a seemingly popular president like Obama has faced on some of his policies.

“They think of Obama getting a big electoral victory, so they wonder why can’t he accomplish other things,” Loomis said.

Loomis also had the opportunity to travel to Iraq, Malaysia, Singapore and China. Of all his trips. Loomis said he preferred speaking with the smaller communities because he felt he could have a greater effect.

“Going to China is great, lots of people attend the lectures and their English is good,” Loomis said. “But you know, what am I really going to do in such a large country?”

Loomis said he planned to tell students all about these five trips and the lessons he learned when he speaks on campus sometime this fall.

Juliet Kaarbo, professor of international politics, is helping Loomis organize the event and said she thought University students could learn a lot from his experiences.

“I think how others view U.S. politics would be something that people could learn a lot from,” Kaarbo said. “It’s a great way to think about both international politics and U.S. politics.”

Loomis said one of his favorite parts about speaking on behalf of the State Department was being able to travel and see new parts of the world.

“You know, eighteen months ago I had never been to Asia. Now I’ve been there five times,” Loomis said.

Loomis said he was glad he had an opportunity to take part in the program and speak across the globe, especially at such an influential time in our world. He said he would like to take more trips in the future, should the State Department ask him.

Andrea Vieux, Lawrence graduate student, has known Loomis for a few years both inside and outside the classroom. She said she thought Loomis’ experiences would be especially beneficial to students because of his storytelling abilities.

“He has a much more modern and wordly perspective because of his experiences,” Vieux said. “He will let the students know that there are other places outside of America.”

— — Edited by Tim Burgess

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