Ira Carmen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ira Carmen (born December 3, 1934) is an American Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he has taught since 1968.
Renowned for his intensity, Socratic approach, colorful vocabulary and theatrics as a lecturer, Carmen is also a co-founder of the social science subdiscipline of genetics and politics. The first political scientist to be elected to the Human Genome Organization, he is a member of two research teams at the University of Illinois, one exploring sociogenomics and the other stem cell research.
He has authored four books, the latest of which is titled "Politics in the Laboratory: The Constitution of Human Genomics." It predicts "the birth of a new political science informed by evolutionary theory and DNA propensity."
From 1990-1994 he served as a member of the National Institute of Health's Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, the federal governmental agency that regulates human genetic engineering experiments in the United States.
He is married to artist Toni Putnam.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and education
- Born: Boston, Mass., December 3, 1934
- B.A., University of New Hampshire, 1957
- M.A., University of Michigan, 1959
- Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1964, Political Science
[edit] Career
- Assistant Professor, Ball State University, 1963-1966
- Associate Professor, Coe College, 1966-1968
- University of Illinois, 1968 to present.
[edit] Recognition
Holds the University of Illinois record for awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching.
[edit] Issues
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] Due process
Carmen opposes the notion of substantive due process. He believes in the power of procedural due process.
[edit] Abortion
Carmen argues Roe v. Wade was a diasastrous decision for the United States judicial system, although he is not categorically opposed to abortions.
[edit] Equal protection
Sexual orientation cases that have come before the Supreme Court ...
[edit] Free speech
With respect to flag burning...
[edit] Death Penalty
Carmen favors the death penalty for violent murderers.
[edit] Freedom of religion
Carmen reserves special sensitivity for religious minorities, especially in the public school setting. When Pope John Paul II died in 2005, Carmen opposed U.S. Government agencies' decisions to lower flags to half staff.
[edit] Enemy Combatants
With respect to Guantánamo Bay prisoners, Carmen opposes granting habeus corpus to non-citizen enemy combatants and does not believe the Geneva Conventions apply to them. He claims that he specifically advised the Bush administration to respect the rights of American citizens in this context.
[edit] War on Terror
[edit] Other books authored by Carmen:
- Cloning and the Constitution, University of Wisconsin Press, 1986.
- Power and Balance, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978.
- Movies, Censorship, and the Law, University of Michigan Press, 1966.
[edit] Trivia
- Carmen has ranked all 110 U.S. Supreme Court justices. Number #110 on his list is Justice James Clark McReynolds.
- He expresses admiration for independent-minded politicians cut from the mold of the "McCain-Lieberman party."
- He has never used heroin, cocaine, marijuana, tobacco, or eaten at McDonald's, but does consider himself a liquor connoisseur.
