Franklin, Daniel P. 1954-

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Franklin, Daniel P. 1954-

PERSONAL:

Born December 19, 1954, in Mount Vernon, NY; son of Leonard L. (a lawyer) and Deborah W. (an artist) Franklin; married Amanda Nathan, June 8, 1986 (marriage ended, December 19, 1991). Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1976; University of Texas at Austin, M.A., 1981, Ph.D., 1984. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Tennis, fishing, golf, spectator sports.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Atlanta, GA. Office—Department of Political Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Political scientist, educator, and writer. Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, assistant professor of political science, 1985-91; Georgia State University, Atlanta, associate professor of political science, 1991—. Hamilton Democratic Nominating Committee, chair; Madison County Democratic Committee, member, 1987-91.

MEMBER:

American Political Science Association (Legislative Studies Section), U.S. Tennis Association, Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Congressional fellow, American Political Science Association, 1990-91; Distinguished Honors Professor Award, Georgia State University, 1999. Recipient of research and travel grants.

WRITINGS:

Extraordinary Measures, University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1991.

Making Ends Meet: Congressional Budgeting in the Age of Deficits, Congressional Quarterly Books (Washington, DC), 1993.

Political Culture and Constitutionalism, M.E. Sharpe (Armonk, NY), 1994.

Politics and Film: The Political Culture of Film in the United States, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Lanham, MD), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Daniel P. Franklin once told CA: "Writing on public policy issues is not only part of my job, it is one of the pleasures of my life. From my perspective, the world is structured of questions. Like a cave with any number of offshoot caverns, the examination of most of these questions leads to new, even more fascinating discoveries. I believe that I am qualified to explore only a few, small corners in this cave, but in examining controversies of public governance, I can begin to see the parameters of many of the greatest and most important philosophical questions of our time. How can society best be organized to promote the ‘good life’ for its citizens? How can justice be done? What is the motivation of humans at the most basic level, and how can we design regimes to protect us against ourselves and still allow us to reach our highest potential?

"I am fortunate to have a career and interests that feed my writing. Teaching political science at a large, state university allows me to get a sense of how a large organization is run. More than that, I try to ensure that my classes are interactive in the sense that I continue to learn along with my students. This means that, even though I may repeat certain courses year after year, I try to introduce new readings and topics that keep the course fresh and allow me to continue exploration of subjects about which I am writing at the time.

"I urge my fellow authors who are interested in public policy to pursue a career in academics. The academic environment is dynamic, stimulating, and full of fresh (and occasionally useless) ideas. Work in the academy is one of the few professions in which writing is encouraged as part of the job description. I caution, however, that the academic life is not for everyone, and not every academic job allows the time or flexibility to pursue a fruitful writing career. Nevertheless, the university is one of the best environments for the nonfiction writer."

Franklin has written extensively focusing on topics concerned with his research and teaching interests, which include legislative process, budgeting, and the U.S. presidency. In Making Ends Meet: Congressional Budgeting in the Age of Deficits, the author's goal is "to make the budget process comprehensible by tracing it through its seasons," according to Political Science Quarterly contributor Joseph White. Overall, the author follows the budget-making process over the course of a fiscal year, in this case from September 1990 to October 1991. John P. Forrester, writing in Public Administration Review, commented that the book "provide[s] the reader with timely assessments of a perplexing decision-making process and will be welcomed by students of public budgeting."

In his 2006 book, Politics and Film: The Political Culture of Film in the United States, Franklin explores film within the context of society with an emphasis on the political role of films. The author contends that American films in many ways reflect political culture in American society. In each chapter the author singles out one feature film to illustrate the chapter's primary topics. For example, he uses the film The Coneheads to illustrate the points he makes in chapter one, titled "Film, the Media, and American Tales." While most of his the films discussed in-depth are not overtly political in nature, the author does use the classic political film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as the major film in his discussion in chapter six, titled "Why They Don't Make Them Like They Used To." Among the various topics the author explores are the relationship between film content and behavior in society and film standards and censorship.

Writing a review of Politics and Film in Political Science Quarterly, Doris A. Graber noted: "This elegantly written brief volume is fun to read, full of stimulating questions and provocative answers. But it is also a serious scholarly analysis that uses cultural theories to explain why Hollywood produces the kinds of full-feature films it does."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Political Science Quarterly, fall, 1993, Joseph White, review of Making Ends Meet: Congressional Budgeting in the Age of Deficits, p. 577; winter, 2006, Doris A. Graber, review of Politics and Film: The Political Culture of Film in the United States, p. 728.

Public Administration Review, January-February, 1995, John P. Forrester, review of Making Ends Meet, p. 117.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 2006, review of Politics and Film.