Russell Benjamin

Russell Benjamin

Political Science

Professor; Coordinator of Global Studies

Office:  Room LWH 2079
Phone:  (773) 442-4776
Email:  r-benjamin@neiu.edu
Office Hours:  TBA
CV:  benjaminvita_0.pdf
Country:  United States

American National Government
African American Politics and Social Change
Minority Economic Development
Minority Politics in the United States
State Government and Politics
The Politics of Poverty
Foundations of Africans in the Diaspora
Seminar in the American Policy-Making Process

Research Interests

Benjamin’s research focuses upon the politics of race in the United States, especially as they intersect with entrepreneurship, consumerism, colonialism, and the U.S. policy toward the Caribbean. Benjamin has presented his research on the mainland U.S., Hawaii, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and in the Caribbean. He has published several book reviews and a journal article. In early 2010, Benjamin, along with Dr. Gregory Hall, co-edited a book, "Eternal Colonialism," with the University Press of America. Benjamin will soon publish a book manuscript, "African Americans and Recent Policies Toward the Caribbean: Haiti, Cuba, and Puerto Rico," with Caribbean Studies Press.

Education

Ph.D., University of Flori­da, 1996
M.A., University of Florida, 1991
B.A., University of South Caroli­na, 1985

Selected Publications

African Americans and Recent U.S. Policies Toward the Caribbean: Haiti, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Forthcoming with Caribbean Studies Press.

“Layle Lane.” 2014. Entry in African American National Biography Online. (Oxford University Press.) Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, editors-in-chief.

Sprague, Jeb. 2012. Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti. (Monthly Review Press). Forthcoming book review in New Political Science.

“Fifteenth Amendment.” 2010. Entry in The Frederick Douglass Encyclopedia (Greenwood Press). Julius E. Thompson, James L. Conyers, and Nancy J. Dawson, editors.

Eternal Colonialism. Russell Benjamin and Gregory O. Hall (eds). 2010. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.

“Introduction.” With Gregory O. Hall. 2010. In Eternal Colonialism, Russell Benjamin and  Gregory O. Hall (eds). Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.

“The American Internal Colonial Environment.” 2010. In Eternal Colonialism, Russell Benjamin and Gregory O. Hall (eds). Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.

“Conclusion.” With Gregory O. Hall. 2010. In Eternal Colonialism, Russell Benjamin and Gregory O. Hall (eds). Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.

Selected Performances

“Problems With American-led Industrial ‘Development’ in Haiti.” Paper Presentation at the 2014 Conference of the Caribbean Studies Association, Merida, Mexico, May 26-30.

“Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Haitian Economic `Development’.” Paper presented at the 2013 Conference of the Caribbean Studies Association, Grand Anse, Grenada, June 3-7.

“American ‘Development’ of Haiti After the 2010 Earthquake.” Paper presented at the 2nd NEIU African and African American Research Symposium, ŷϷ Illinois University, Chicago, April 11, 2013.

“Wal-Mart and the Congressional Black Caucus: Mutual Interests?” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Oak Brook, Illinois, March 13-16, 2013.

“Internal Colonialism and Black Political Support for Black Business Development.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Raleigh, North Carolina, March 16-19, 2011.