Bruhn, Jodi
Assistant Professor
- Phone
- (403) 329-2573
- jodi.bruhn@uleth.ca
Office Hours
About Me
My academic training in political theory and Canadian/American public institutions is enhanced by twenty years of practical experience working in Indigenous-Crown relations in Ottawa.
I was thrilled to return to southern Alberta in 2025 to teach political science at the University of Lethbridge.
I teach upper-year political theory courses and the introduction to political science, with an emphasis on facilitating lively student conversations.
Biography
I completed a PhD in political science at the University of Notre Dame (2005), enhanced by SSHRCC-funded research on totalitarian regimes at the University of Munich. After returning to Canada in 2006, I served as lead analyst for the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, Parliament of Canada; research manager for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada; and private consultant working with governments and Indigenous organizations.
Current Research
I am also completing a shared research project with the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, investigating the impacts of world-class Indigenous-owned tourism operations in revitalizing Indigenous communities and regional economies.
Previous Research
Publications
Books:
1. Editor, with Jerry P. White. Exploring the Urban
Landscape: Aboriginal Policy Research, Vol. 8. Toronto: Thompson
Educational Press, 2010.
2. Translator. Hans Maier, ed. Totalitarianism and Political Religions: Concepts for the Comparison of Dictatorships, vol. III—Theory & History of Interpretations. Abingdon: Routledge, 2008.
3. Editor, with Barry Cooper. Voegelin Recollected: Conversations on a Life. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2007.
4. Translator. Hans Maier and Michael Schaeffer, eds. Totalitarianism and Political Religions: Concepts for the Comparison of Dictatorships, vol. II. Abingdon: Routledge, 2007.
5. Translator. Hans Maier, ed. Totalitarianism and Political Religions: Concepts for the Comparison of Dictatorships, vol. I. Abingdon: Routledge, 2004.
6. Editor and translator, Jodi Cockerill with Barry Cooper. The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin, vol. 13, Selected Book Reviews. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2002.
B.
Refereed Articles & Chapters:
1.
“Redeeming
the Secular: A Review of David Walsh, The Invisible Source of Authority: God
in a Secular Age,” Perspectives on Political Science (forthcoming
2027).
2. “Chapter 5: The Role of Jurisdiction.” In Gabrielle Lindstrom, Steve Pomeroy, Nick Falvo, and Jodi Bruhn, Understanding the Flow of Urban Indigenous Homelessness. Prepared for the Calgary Homelessness Foundation. Belzburg Foundation, Mar 2020.
3. “Do Tripartite Approaches to Reform of Services for First Nations Make a Difference?” Aboriginal Policy Studies, vol. 7/1 (Apr 2018).
4. “Identifying Useful Approaches to the Governance of Indigenous Data.” International Indigenous Policy Journal, vol. 5/2 (April 2014).
5. With John Graham. “In Praise of Taxes: The Link between Taxation and Good Governance in a First Nations Context.” Jerry P. White et.al., eds, Voting, Governance and Research Methodology: Aboriginal Policy Research, Volume 10. Toronto: Thompson Educational Press, 2010.
6. “In Search of Common Ground: Reconciling the IOG Governance Principles with First Nations Traditions.” Institute On Governance (May 2009).
7. With Roger Gibbins. “Reluctant Citizens? First Nations in the Canadian Federal State.” J. Rick Ponting, ed., First Nations in Canada: Perspectives on Opportunity, Empowerment, and Self-Determination. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1997.
C. Op-Eds and Book Reviews:
1. “Redeeming the Secular: A Review of David Walsh, The Invisible Source of Authority: God in a Secular Age,” Perspectives on Political Science (forthcoming 2027).
2. “Three Myths that Shape Canadian Politics,” Law & Liberty, Mar 24, 2025.
3. “The
Arc of a Viral Panic,” Law & Liberty, Jan 17, 2024.
4. “The
Freest Country on Earth?” Law & Liberty, Aug 16, 2023.
5. “The Ways of Ottawa.” Law & Liberty,
January 30, 2023.
6. “Indigenous Women to the Barricades,” Review of Politics, vol. 82/2 (Spring 2020), 355–58.
7. “How spring break could promote Indigenous reconciliation,” Ottawa Citizen, Mar 9, 2017.
8. “Munich, 1933: The Good Bureaucrat, Josef Hartinger,” Law & Liberty, June 29, 2015.
9. “The words that were weapons,” Ottawa Citizen, Dec 8, 2014.
10. “Toast to those who showed courage in public life,” Ottawa
Citizen, Dec 8, 2014.
11. “In Quest of an Introduction,” Review of Politics, vol. 62/4 (Fall 2000), 817–20.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Political Science 2005
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Dissertation: Polity and Cosmogony: A Study of Three Myths
- M.A. Political Science 1996
University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Thesis: Enduring the Trap of Existence:
A Study of Three Novels by Milan Kundera
- B.A. (Honours) Political Studies 1993
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK
Research Interests
Political theory
Canadian/American institutionsIndigenous-Crown relations
Totalitarian movementsDissent and resistance
Politics and literature
Creative Works
Personal Website
In The Media
I have contributed op-eds and articles to online journals, daily newspapers, and podcasts, most notably Law & Liberty, The Ottawa Citizen, and Concepts with Shawn Whatley.