James M. Lutz
Contact Info
- Name
-
James M. Lutz
- Department
- Political Science
- Campus Location
-
Classroom-Medical Building, Room 211
- Telephone
- 260-481-6688
Great scholars don’t set out to find the spotlight. They’re more interested in creating knowledge than creating a name for themselves. But often, the spotlight finds them — once others discover the brilliance of their work.
At IPFW, more than a few faculty have been recognized for leadership and achievement in their fields. One of them is James Lutz, professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science.
Lutz, who has garnered world-wide renown, is considered an authority on terrorism. It’s a timely subject, particularly in the context of 9/11 and the ensuing U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. But Lutz’s interest in terrorism began long before those events. “My research has a lot to do with the way we look at terrorism — not just the Middle East, not just Islam, and not just 9/11.” Lutz says. “All of those are part of a broader context. These are very significant political issues — not just to our government but governments around the world.”
The depth of Lutz’s insight about terrorism is revealed in his remarkable body of research. He’s the author or coauthor of six books, more than 15 book chapters, and numerous scholarly articles. He’s a sought-after speaker for both academic and political venues, and is IPFW’s first Richard Lugar Faculty Scholar, working closely with political science student-researchers. He’s often quoted as an expert on the topic of terrorism in a variety of news media. And he’s on the Advisory Board of the Homeland Security Institute at Purdue University.
Lutz and his wife, Brenda, a research associate at the IPFW Decision Sciences and Theory Institute, have completed two books about terrorism and terrorists, with another due to be published in 2007. The Lutzes’ first book, Global Terrorism, was considered a landmark textbook, and they are now updating it for a second edition. They also cowrote Terrorism: Origins and Evolution and the yet-to-be-published Terrorism in the United States. The new book focuses on terrorism in a historical context in the United States, Lutz says. “There's a surprising larger amount of examples of terrorism than we would conventionally believe. Most people think of the KKK, but there's the anti-Catholic campaigns of the 1830s and 1840s, the violent acts in the Stamp Act, and the Boston Tea Party leading to the onset to the American Revolution.”
The Lutzes have also collaborated on numerous articles about terrorism. These have focused on political violence in the Roman Empire, the conflict between the Irish Republican Army and the British government, and the treatment of gypsies in the Holocaust. They are also creating a four-volume collection of articles to be used as a library reference work.
Despite having a rigorous research schedule, Lutz greatly values his role as teacher and mentor. In fact, he believes that research and teaching go hand-in-hand. “Research has been important for me because it reinforces what I teach,” he says. “One of the things that’s intriguing about teaching is that you present to people who will leave the classroom with greater knowledge of the subject, and you never know down the road what the impact is going to be.”
Clearly, that impact has already been deeply felt — by students, by colleagues, and by the world.
