Mark S. Jendrysik, Ph.D
Professor
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Office: Gamble Hall 265 C
Phone: 777-3540
e-mail:mark.jendrysik@und.edu
Education
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Areas of Expertise
• Political Theory
• Public Opinion
• American Politics
• Ethics
More
Mark Stephen Jendrysik is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. He has been a faculty member at the University of North Dakota since 1999. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His B.A. is from Providence College. He is proud to share Chicopee, Massachusetts as his hometown with famed utopian author Edward Bellamy. (Be sure to read Looking Backward someday.)
Prior to his appointment at UND he held visiting positions at Bucknell University (1996-98) and the University of Mississippi (1998-99). He also held a post-doctoral appointment at the Center for Survey Research of the University of Virginia (1995-96). He likes to say that he was “seeing America one college at a time.”
Jendrysik has published and presented papers on early modern political thought, public opinion methodology, ethnic politics in the United States, utopian political theory, and contemporary American political thought. He is the author of Explaining the English Revolution: Hobbes and His Contemporaries (Lexington, 2002, 2007) and Modern Jeremiahs: Visions of Decline in Contemporary America (Rowman and Littlefield, 2008) His recent articles include, “The Snake in the Garden: Crime and Punishment in Utopian Thought,” Topic: The Washington & Jefferson College Review Vol. 56, 2010 (1-12); “Back to the Garden: New Visions of Post-Human Futures,” Utopian Studies Volume 22.1, 2011 (34-51), and “Egalitarian Populism on the High Plains. Or, Why Are There No Parking Meters in North Dakota?” with Dana Michael Harsell. Forthcoming in The Journal of Popular Culture.
Professor Jendrysik’s teaching interests include ancient and modern political thought, utopian political ideas, ethics, public opinion, and American government. He believes, as did Friedrich Nietzsche, that “a teacher has an obligation to make himself accessible to every level of intellect.” In order to reach this lofty goal he claims to “live in his office.”
He is committed to the high ideals of universal, public education. He believes, as did Mark Twain, that “public education IS democracy.”
He is a member of a number of professional societies including the American Political Science Association, the Popular Culture Association and the Society for Utopian Studies. He also holds memberships in a number of honorary societies including Pi Sigma Alpha. He is a Renaissance member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Dr. Jendrysik credits his grandfather Stephen B. Jendrysik, with getting him interested in politics. He likes to say that, "my grandfather made me watch the Watergate hearings in 1973 this was my start as a political scientist." He also points to his father Stephen R. Jendrysik for supporting his interest. Dr. Jendrysik notes that political discussions were a staple in the Jendrysik family. Dr. Jendrysik also notes that his professors at Providence College especially, Mark Hyde and William Hudson, made him want to be a professional academic. At the University of North Carolina, Jack Donnelly, Mike Lienesch and Steve Leonard were role models.
He is pleased to note that his father has published three books on the history of Chicopee, Massachusetts. He is also pleased to note that his distant cousin, Father Walter Ciszek, SJ is being considered for sainthood. He recommends Father Walter's books With God in Russia and He Leadth Me to those seeking spiritual insight.
A lifelong Red Sox and Patriots fan, he has no time for bandwagoning Johnny-Come-Latelies. He also firmly believes that soccer is America’s sport of the future and looks forward to our boys winning the World Cup soon.