Kael Kropp and the value of a Political Science degree

Kael Kropp, Political Science graduate

Kael Kropp, who graduated from the Department of Political Science in the Spring of 2022, spent his last term working at the State University of New York (Plattsburgh) as a Fulbright (Killam) Fellow. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Kael about what first drew him to politics, why he chose the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta, what his experience with the Department was like, what skills he gained through the Department, how he ended up pursuing a Fulbright Scholarship and where he is headed.

Why did you decide to pursue the study of politics?

I became interested in the study of politics and government at eleven years old after my dad introduced me to The West Wing–the tv show about the U.S. presidency and White House staffers. From that point on, I was hooked. So much so, that when I was going into grade seven, my grandparents took me on a week-long trip to Washington D.C. to explore its museums, historic sites, monuments, and government buildings. When I found out that I was constitutionally barred from becoming President of the United States, on account of me being Canadian, I turned my focus to the study of Canadian politics. I became fascinated in areas of public policy, federalism, and party organization–all made more salient as I began to closely follow municipal, provincial, and federal politics. These political interests naturally attracted me to the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta.

What attracted you to the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta?

I was initially drawn to faculty members’ wide-ranging scholarly interests in the Department of Political Science in areas like Canadian politics and gender & politics. Before entering the Department, I was aware of scholars like Drs. Janine Brodie and Linda Trimble; I never expected in my first year that I would later get to work so closely with Dr. Trimble! Further reading faculty biographies and learning about incredible scholars like Drs. Cressida Heyes and Judy Garber solidified my excitement to begin my studies in the Department.

My first political science course was Dr. Church's Introduction to Politics course. I was invigorated by the broad scope of what constituted studying ‘politics’ and I quickly realized that I was most interested in political behaviour and ideology. These focuses would later surface in my scholarly interests and research activities.

Moreover, the involvement opportunities in undergraduate research, networking, and publication made the Department a unique and compelling place to call ‘home.’ I became involved with the Political Science Undergraduate Review (PSUR)—a peer-reviewed, student-run journal in the Department—in my first year following a recommendation from a fellow student. Extracurricular projects like the PSUR afford the unrivaled potential for personal, professional, and academic growth. In my time with the journal, I rose from a peer-reviewer position to managing two sections of the journal: Gender & Politics and Canadian Politics. Working with the PSUR led me to some of my closest friendships and developed my ability to help found and lead the first two volumes of Crossings: An Undergraduate Arts Journal—a journal in the fine arts, humanities, and social sciences at the University of Alberta—as its editor-in-chief. Throughout both pursuits, political science faculty members and administrators offered their insights and enthusiasm to support undergraduate research and publication. Choosing the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta remains one of my most fulfilling academic decisions. Its lively academic and social ecosystem made completing my honors degree an incredible experience, undoubtedly deepening my understanding of politics in the process.

How has your time in the Department deepened your understanding of politics?

The Department of Political Science deepens students’ understanding of politics through curriculum-based and experiential learning. My coursework across a wide range of subdisciplines and topics in political science broadened my understanding of international and domestic policies, problems, and current efforts to make society more just and responsible. Courses like Canadian Government and Canadian Politics developed my grasp of federalism and its influence over provincial decision-making and public policy throughout history to the present day. My International Relations course introduced me to important schools of thought like Realism and Social Constructivism. I applied these lessons to course content in higher-level seminars, like Elections in Canada and Topics in International Relations - Nationalism, to form links with my scholarly interests around marginalized 2SLGBTQIA+ peoples.

During my time as an undergraduate student in the Department, I had the opportunity to design three supervised research projects, two of which successfully received funding support from faculty and university-level initiatives. First, with the support of Dr. Cressida Heyes, I formulated a political theory project that sought to uncover why gay-straight alliances have assumed such prominence in Alberta education debates, as well as provide a framework for analyzing governmental engagement with sexual minority policies regarding youth in other provinces or jurisdictions. While this project was ultimately unsuccessful, it began my training in grant writing and articulating the value of investigating a research problem. Applying the lessons from that experience, I worked under Dr. Linda Trimble’s outstanding supervision as the recipient of a Roger S. Smith Undergraduate Researcher Award. My project relied on a content and discourse analysis of 3,985 pages of legislative transcripts to source how the Alberta United Conservative Party rationalized removing confidentiality protections from gay-straight alliance programs through their 2019 amendment to the Education Act, Bill 8, and what ideological or normative principles underpinned such policy repeal? Dr. Trimble supported me through all aspects of data collection, interpretation, analysis, reporting findings, and presenting my research at conferences. I shared my findings at the Festival of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities among other student researchers in the Department of Political Science. Finally, my undergraduate honors thesis, supervised by Dr. Siobhan Byrne, aimed to fill gaps in queer-focused parliamentary literature. Recognizing that four percent of Canadians openly identify as Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or other gender or sexual minority identities (2SLGBTQIA+), only two percent of parliamentarians identify as such. What accounts for this gap and how can we close it? Through a most-similar case comparative analysis, I extended lessons from Ireland and the United Kingdom to isolate optimal social and political conditions for improving Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ representation. Resultantly, my honors thesis proposed policies around party organization and 2SLGBTQIA+ candidate and cabinet quotas.

My overriding scholarly interests in public policy and gender & sexuality connect these three research projects, setting trajectories for my future scholarly activities. My coursework in Canadian politics, gender, sexuality, and justice prepared me to make the most of my research pursuits. My academic training in the Department prepared me to look beyond Canada’s borders to complete training and research in the United States, returning to my childhood fascination with U.S. politics.

Why did you decide to pursue a Killam Fellowship through Fulbright Canada?

While taking their Introduction to United States Politics and Government, Drs. Judy Garber and Greg Anderson notified students of the Killam Fellowship and its associated academic value and prestige. The Killam Fellowship provides an opportunity for undergraduate students from universities in Canada and the United States to spend either one semester or a full academic year as an exchange student in the other country. I decided to pursue the Killam Fellowship for several reasons; I had always been interested in completing comparative Canadian-U.S. research under the supervision of an American scholar and this fellowship made that goal attainable. Moreover, given that the COVID-19 pandemic had necessitated remote delivery for a large part of my degree, I wanted to finish my studies abroad to enhance my overall education experience. Following Fulbright Canada selecting me as the University of Alberta’s Killam Fellow, I was placed at the State University of New York (Plattsburgh) to be exchanged for the winter 2022 semester.

What have you added to your intellectual and practical toolboxes through the pursuit of a Fulbright? (Why would you recommend it to students?)

I added many intellectual and practical skills throughout my pursuit of a Fulbright, like drafting a compelling application package, managing long-term research projects, and communicating my research’s value to diverse audiences. There are countless benefits to preparing a Fulbright application. The University of Alberta International Office, my professors, and my friends offered incredible advice that allowed me to succinctly articulate my fitness for a Fulbright award. I deepened important abilities like preparing strong supporting documents and organizing them in an accessible manner, asking people for reference letters, and liaising with funding agencies. Upon receipt of the award, I further added practical skills in leading multi-institutional collaboration on designing research outlines, coordinating travel itineraries, and sourcing the relevant supplies to support my time abroad. Once in New York, my research supervisor and professor, Dr. John McMahon, met with me many times throughout each week to discuss my research project, guiding me through challenging (yet rewarding) theoretical literature. I can’t begin to tell you how much Foucault I read in four months! Nonetheless, developing that ability to more closely understand and synthesize theoretical scholarship proved invaluable when writing and presenting my research. With the support of the Department of Political Science and the Global Education Office at the State University of New York, I co-organized a panel event to share my research on comparative Canadian-U.S. medical assistance in dying approaches. Dr. McMahon’s close attention and expert guidance equipped me to answer questions from professors, students, and visitors in the panel audience. I was very fortunate to have been offered the opportunity to cover a Professor in the Department of Sociology’s course on aging and death. This opportunity to lead an undergraduate seminar of over thirty American students was beyond fulfilling and helped hone my teaching skills. Given that I one day hope to be in the classroom as a professor of political science, this experience was truly a dream come true! A major lesson that I learned: academic exchanges are what you make of them. I encourage students on exchanges to seek out new opportunities to develop their academic and professional skills; you might just find yourself experiencing the exact thing you hope to do in your life! For all of these reasons and more, I cannot recommend applying for Fulbright awards enough. My experience was life-changing and prepared me to embark on my next journey.

Where is your life journey taking you next and how did your experience in the Department of Political Science prepared you for this next chapter in your life?

My experience in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta equipped me with the confidence, methodological skills, and analytical abilities necessary to continue my graduate studies and advance my career goals. I also received outstanding training in academic professionalism, principally around grant writing and institutional service. The attention and support I received from the Department prepared me for my next academic journey. I am excited to begin my Master’s this fall in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, for which I also received a Master’s-level Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. My thesis, tentatively titled “To Out, or Not to Out? Conservative Provincial Approaches to Gay-Straight Alliance Confidentiality in Canada,” aims to first isolate how current conservative governments have proposed, amended, and defended restrictive GSA confidentiality policies, locating what semantic or discursive devices are mobilized in their policy approaches. Then, I will work to uncover why different conservative governments have approached GSA confidentiality policy in diverging ways, tracing what ideological or normative principles, as well as regional, historical, or social factors, might inform each government’s unique approach. Finally, through my comparison of these similar cases, an optimal GSA confidentiality policy will be articulated and defended, adding to emerging youth gender & sexuality and self-determination scholarship. This project builds on my Roger S. Smith research with Dr. Trimble and I am so excited to continue learning from my Master’s supervisor, Dr. Carey Doberstein, whose expertise in public administration, policy, and decision-making will undoubtedly bolster this project. My experience in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta was incredibly rewarding. I sincerely hope that the connections I formed with professors, administrators, graduate students, and fellow undergraduate students will last a lifetime.

While Kael continues to broaden his educational experience, his time at the University of Alberta has prepared him for his continuing journey and we look forward to his continuing success!