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Shelley L. Hurt, Ph.D.

Photograph of Professor Shelley Hurt

Fields

  • International Relations
  • U.S. Foreign Policy
  • International Law & Organizations
  • Science & Technology Policy
  • American Political Development

Contact Information

Bio

Shelley L. Hurt joined the Political Science Department as an Assistant Professor in 2009. She specializes in International Relations, Science & Technology Policy, and American Political Development. Hurt's scholarship aims to bring the study of science and technology policy back into the center of political science scholarship. Her dissertation, "Science, Power, and the State: U.S. Foreign Policy, Intellectual Property Law, and the Origins of Agricultural Biotechnology, 1969-1994," reexamines the historical origins of the World Trade Organization by drawing upon extensive, and newly declassified archival material. Her dissertation received "Honorable Mention" for the Virginia M. Walsh Award for Best Dissertation of the STEP organized section of the American Political Science Association. In addition, a paper based on her research won the 2007 Carl Beck Award from the International Studies Association and she's presented her research findings at the U.S. Department of State for a conference on détente. Her research has been supported by fellowships from the Miller Center of Public Affairs and the New School for Social Research. Before arriving at Cal Poly, Professor Hurt spent a year at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College as a Research Associate and she spent two years in the Department of Political Science at Vassar College as a Visiting Instructor.

While revising her dissertation into a book manuscript, Hurt is working on two additional book-length projects. The first collaborative book project, "Hybridization of the 21st Century State," challenges the dominance of neoliberalism in explaining the rise of public-private partnerships during the past four decades (with Ronnie D. Lipschutz). The second collaborative book project investigates the role of the national security state in fostering U.S. innovation policy and commercial development (with Linda Weiss). A chapter based on Hurt's research is in State of Innovation: The U.S. Government's Role in Technology Development, Fred Block and Matthew Keller, eds (Colorado: Paradigm Publishers, 2011).

At Cal Poly, Professor Hurt teaches the following courses: U.S. Foreign Policy, International Organizations and Law, Technology and Policy, Global Political Issues, and Introduction to International Relations.

Publications

The first collaborative book project investigates the contemporary emergence and implications of public-private partnerships in the 21st century (with Ronnie D. Lipschutz).

The second collaborative book project investigates the role of the national security state in U.S. innovation policy and commercial development (with Linda Weiss). A chapter based on her research is forthcoming in State of Invention, Fred Block and Matthew Keller, eds. (Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2010).

Classes Taught

At Cal Poly, Professor Hurt teaches the following courses: Introduction to International Relations, U.S. Foreign Policy, International Organizations and Law, Technology and Policy, and Global Political Issues.