MPSA Annual National Conference
Section Descriptions
Click on a section below to read a full description.
Section 1. Program Co-Chairs
Section 2. Comparative Politics: Industrialized Countries
Section 3. Comparative Politics: Developing Countries
Section 4. Comparative Politics: Transitions Toward Democracy
Section 5. Comparative Politics: Political Institutions
Section 6. Comparative Politics: Political Behavior
Section 7. European Politics
Section 8. Latin American and Caribbean Politics
Section 9. Asian Politics
Section 10. African Politics
Section 11. Politics of the Middle East
Section 12. Canadian Politics
Section 13. Politics of Communist and Former Communist Countries
Section 14. International Political Economy
Section 15. International Relations and Domestic Politics
Section 16. International Security
Section 17. Conflict Processes
Section 18. Foreign Policy
Section 19. International Cooperation and Organization
Section 20. Ethnicity and Nationalism
Section 21. Political Psychology
Section 22. Voting Behavior
Section 23. Electoral Campaigns
Section 24. Representation and Electoral Systems
Section 25. Public Opinion
Section 26. Political Participation and Turnout
Section 27. Mass Media and Political Communication
Section 28. Gender and Politics
Section 29. Race, Class, and Ethnicity
Section 30. Foundations of Political Theory: Ancient
Section 31. Foundations of Political Theory: Pre- and Early Modern
Section 32. Liberalism and Democratic Theory
Section 33. Contemporary Political Theory
Section 34. Political Philosophy: Approaches and Themes
Section 35. Formal Modeling
Section 36. Methodology
Section 37. Information Technology and Politics
Section 38. Political Parties and Interest Groups
Section 39. Presidency and Executive Politics
Section 40. Legislative Politics: Institutions
Section 41. Legislative Politics: Campaigns and Elections
Section 42. Judicial Politics
Section 43. Law and Jurisprudence
Section 44. International and Comparative Law
Section 45. State and Intergovernmental Politics
Section 46. Urban and Local Politics
Section 47. Public Policy
Section 48. Economic Policy
Section 49. Environmental Politics and Policy
Section 50. Public Administration
Section 51. Politics and History
Section 52. Political Geography
Section 53. Political Sociology and Culture
Section 54. Politics and Religion
Section 55. Political Anthropology
Section 56. Teaching Political Science
Section 57. Undergraduate Research
Section 58. Midwest Women's Caucus
Section 59. Society for Greek Political Thought
Section 60. Caucus for LGBT Political Science
Section 61. Leadership and Politics
Section 62. Caucus for New Political Science
Section 63. Midwest Latino Caucus
Section 64. Midwest Caucus for Public Administration
Section 1. Program Co-Chairs
Lee Epstein, Northwestern University
Bradford Jones, University of California, Davis
Section 2. Comparative Politics: Industrialized Countries
The section invites proposals on a variety of topics related to industrialized polities such as electoral politics, political economy, political culture, individual behavior, and political institutions. Theoretically driven studies of substantive topics, and studies involving comparisons are particularly welcome. Proposals employing any methodological approach are welcome.
Section Head: Lanny Martin, Rice University
Section 3. Comparative Politics: Developing Countries
This section welcomes papers and
panels on a broad range of topics, including the study of institutions
(institutional effects, endogenous institutions, and institutional weakness),
processes of democratic transition and consolidation, political behavior
(participation, voting, and social movements), and political economy.
Section Head: Marcus J. Kurtz, The Ohio State University
Section 4. Comparative Politics: Transitions Toward Democracy
This section welcomes panel and paper proposals on democratic transitions in all geographical regions. We are particularly interested in research that 1) examines whether economic development increases the likelihood of transitions to democracy, or 2) focuses on the role of mass beliefs in the process of transition to democracy. We also strongly encourage proposals that subject theoretical models to empirical testing.
Section Head: Sebastian Saiegh, University of California, San Diego
Section 5. Comparative Politics: Political Institutions
This section welcomes papers and
panels dealing with all aspects of the role of institutions in structuring
politics, policy making, and policy outcomes. We are particularly interested in
research that 1) examines how institutions channel preferences, or 2) focuses on
the politics of and constraints on institutional change. We also strongly
encourage proposals that subject theoretical models to empirical testing.
Section Head: Jeff Staton, Emory University
Section 6. Comparative Politics: Political Behavior
The field of comparative political behavior seeks to explain how and why people
become involved in politics by examining evidence across different political
systems, countries, and groups. This section welcomes papers on comparative
political behavior understood in the broadest possible sense, including, but not
limited to, public opinion, voting behavior, and political mobilization and
protest. Papers that feature African, Latin American, South Asian, and Southeast
Asian political behavior are particularly encouraged.
Section Heads: Andy Baker, University of Colorado
Section 7. European Politics
This section welcomes panel, roundtable, and paper proposals on
various aspects of European politics. We are especially interested in panels
comparing themes across the "old" and "new" Europe, such as EU integration,
institutional development, welfare state policies, party competition, and the
like.
Section Head: Georg Vanberg, University of North Carolina
Section 8. Latin American and Caribbean Politics
Latin American and Caribbean Politics This section welcomes papers, panels, and roundtable proposals focused on Latin American and Caribbean Politics. Broadly speaking, papers on institutions (both formal and informal); political economy; mass political behavior; democratization and consolidation of democracy; or other salient topics using data from one or more of the countries of the region are appropriate for this section. Papers with a comparative focus as well as those utilizing new or original data are especially welcome.
Section Head: Maria Escobar-Lemmon, Texas A&M University
Section 9. Asian Politics
This section welcomes panels and papers on political issues
relevant to East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Possible topics include
political institutions and informal institutions, economic development and
reform, democratization, the politics of national identity formation, and larger regional issues. The section also invites
proposals for special roundtables on the methodological and theoretical complexities in the
comparative study of Asian states.
Section Head: Allen Hicken, University of Michigan
Section 10. African Politics
This section welcomes both panel and paper proposals on all
Africa-related topics. Of particular interest are contributions on political
economy, basic service provision (primary education and health), and political
institutions. Particular interest also will be given to submissions using newly
collected data (whether quantitative or qualitative) and to submissions using
innovative theoretical methods.
Section Head: Emmanuel Uwalaka, St. Louis University
Section 11. Politics of the Middle East
The Middle East Politics section welcomes panels, papers, and roundtables on all aspects of Middle East politics. The section encourages submissions from those who specialize in comparative politics and/or international relations. Possible comparative paper topics include, but are not limited to, political economy, Islam, political Islam, democratization, authoritarian persistence, resource curse, civil society, and civil wars. Possible IR topics include war and peace, security, terrorism, democracy promotion, deterrence, nuclear proliferation, human rights, Iraq, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The section encourages submissions that address cross-regional themes and concerns as well as region-specific issues. All theoretical and methodological approaches are welcome.
Section Head: Ellen Lust-Okar, Yale University
Section 12. Canadian Politics
The Canadian Politics Section welcomes papers and panels on a broad set of topics related to Canada. We are particularly interested in studies examining the results of recent federal elections and the impact of these elections on areas of Canadian politics such as political parties, parliamentary government and its reform, and federal-provincial relations.
Section Head: Kelly Saunders, Brandon University
Section 13. Politics of Communist and Former Communist Countries
This section welcomes
panels, papers, and roundtables on political issues relevant to all
post-communist countries ranging from those already in the European Union
through Russia to Central Asia, as well as countries that remain
communist in name or in practice. Work engaging broader theoretical debates in
the discipline is especially encouraged, and both papers and panels involving
comparisons between communist and post-communist politics and politics in other
regions of the world are welcome. Topics can include but are not limited to:
democratization, democratic consolidation, authoritarian consolidation,
electoral revolutions, state building and state capacity, political economy,
poverty and inequality, elections and voting, parties and partisanship,
legislatures, courts and judicial independence, social movements, public opinion
formation, and methodological consideration in studying communist and
post-communist politics.
Section Head: Josh Tucker, New York University
Section 14. International Political Economy
This section invites papers and organized panels
on any subject directly related to the international political dimensions of
economic policymaking. Consistent with the traditions of MPSA, papers that
make both a theoretical and empirical contribution will be particularly welcome.
Section Head: Quan Li, Texas A&M University
Section 15. International Relations and Domestic Politics
This section welcomes papers that
address the internal-external linkages of international relations. Papers may
focus on any subfield of international relations, including (but not limited to)
international organizations, international security, foreign policy, and
international political economy. A broad mix of papers is encouraged, including
those informed by any of the major theoretical approaches in international
relations as well as papers using a variety of methodologies to approach
important questions.
Section Head: Mike Tomz, Stanford University
Section 16. International Security
The section is soliciting papers addressing any aspect of
the control and use of force in the context of international
politics. I encourage "author meets critics" or other roundtable submissions.
All methodological and theoretical approaches are welcome.
Section Head: Derrick Frazier, University of Illinois
Section 17. Conflict Processes
We live in interesting times, with some regions experiencing perpetual peace,
while nations in other parts of the globe endure seemingly perpetual turmoil. The Conflict Processes section welcomes proposals on topics related to peace and
conflict, including, but not limited to, war, contentious politics, protest,
ethnic politics, collective action, domestic conflict, secession,
international conflict, terrorism, and the study of methods and mechanisms
designed to remedy or reduce any (or all) of the above.
Section Head: Zaryab Iqbal, Penn State University
Section 18. Foreign Policy
The section welcomes papers, panels, and roundtables on the broad range of topics related to the study of foreign policy, including foreign policy decision making and the role of leadership and beliefs; domestic versus international sources of foreign policy; and paradigmatic approaches to the study of foreign policy. Of special interest are papers and panels that are comparative, either within-region or cross-regional. The section also invites proposals that seek to advance or extend foreign policy as a field of study, and those that are cross-disciplinary in nature (e.g., those that consider the intersection of foreign policy with religion, gender, law, economics, or demographics).
Section Head: Miriam Elman, Syracuse University
Section 19. International Cooperation and Organization
This section welcomes panel and paper proposals on all
aspects of international cooperation. Particularly welcome are proposals that
examine why states would delegate authority to international organizations and
how international organizations, once created, may or may not use their agency
to expand that authority. Other relevant topics include, but are not limited to,
compliance with international agreements, institutional design, institutional
effects, politics inside IOs, regional integration, norm development,
public-private relationships, peacekeeping and peace building, and the role of
multilateralism in dealing with US preponderance in power.
Section Head: Songying Fang, University of Minnesota
Section 20. Ethnicity and Nationalism
The section invites papers on all issues related to
ethnicity and nationalism. Major substantive issues include the relationship
between these variables and democracy, violence, state failure, and economic
development. Of special interest are papers on improving our conceptualization
and our methodology for the social scientific study of ethnicity and
nationalism.
Section Head: Melissa Nobles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Section 21. Political Psychology
This section seeks proposals that use a psychological lens to examine
political decision-making and behavior. Additionally, this section seeks
proposals that examine political phenomena in the service of developing
and enhancing psychological theory. Proposals that focus on information-
processing, identity formation and its consequences, the role of emotion
and affect, personality at the elite or mass level, socialization, media
and campaign effects, intergroup relations, and leadership are welcome.
Empirical tests can be grounded in American politics, comparative
politics, or international relations. Proposals that adopt newer
approaches to studying political psychology – e.g., from a biological or
evolutionary perspective – or that employ methodological innovations are
especially welcome. Finally, I encourage both junior and senior scholars
to consider volunteering as panel chairs and/or discussants.
Section Head: Cindy Kam, Vanderbilt University
Section 22. Voting Behavior
The section welcomes panels and papers on topics related to
important theoretical, substantive, and/or methodological issues dealing with
electoral behavior in the United States and in comparative perspective. Among
others, topics could include campaign effects, election forecasting, campaign
finance reforms, alternative voting technologies, voter registration,
mobilization, and turnout.
Section Head: Jonathan Nagler, New York University
Section 23. Electoral Campaigns
This section welcomes panels and papers on topics related to
campaigns and electioneering in the United States and in comparative
perspective. Topics could include campaign effects writ large, TV and broadcast
advertising, mobilization and get-out-the-vote efforts, direct mail, phones
calls, canvassing, targeting and strategy, absentee and early voting
outreach, web-based campaigning, campaign finance and reform, primary election
campaigns, and news media coverage of campaigns. Papers employing innovative
data and designs are especially welcome.
Section Head: Regina Branton, Rice University
Section 24. Representation and Electoral Systems
Papers are invited that fall into the "usual suspects" categories of
representation and electoral systems. This year the section especially welcomes
papers that draw on comparative (i.e. non-US) experience, as well as those
examining the origins of electoral systems and electoral system change and the
politics of mixed electoral systems.
Section Head: Brian Crisp, Washington University
Section 25. Public Opinion
The section welcomes proposals that are related to political
perspectives and preferences among members of the public. This includes but is
not restricted to investigations of the sources of public opinion, processes of
opinion formation, the relationship between social context and public opinion,
and the relationship between public opinion and elite behavior and decision
making. Proposals for roundtables on public-opinion-related topics also
are welcome.
Section Head: Byron D'Andra Orey, University of Nebraska
Section 26. Political Participation and Turnout
The section welcomes paper and panel
proposals that examine electoral and non-electoral forms of participation. Among
other topics, proposals might examine the effects of elite-mass interactions on
citizen participation, participation in comparative or historical perspectives,
conventional and unconventional forms of participation, and biases in
participation. Proposals that apply innovative theoretical and methodological
approaches to the study of political participation and turnout are particularly
welcome.
Section Head: Betsy Sinclair, University of Chicago
Section 27. Mass Media and Political Communication
The section invites proposals to present innovative and original research or to
encourage intellectual exchange on any aspect of the origin, transmission, and
influence of political messages. The organization of panels will reflect the
interests of those whose proposals can be accommodated. Preference will be given
to proposals that connect research with fundamental questions about politics.
Section Head: Johanna Dunaway, Louisiana State University
Section 28. Gender and Politics
The section welcomes papers and panels that examine the
interaction of gender and power both inside political institutions and in
society. We are particularly interested in papers that explore the impact and
experience of women as political leaders and candidates in the United States and
in comparative perspective, historical analyses of gender-related trends in
public opinion, the evolving role of women’s groups and the women’s movement in
society, and the development of public policies related to women.
Section Head: Heather Ondercin, Louisiana State University
Section 29. Race, Class, and Ethnicity
The section invites panels and papers that focus on
the critical role that race, ethnicity, and class -- or the intersection of these
categories -- play in U.S. politics or in comparative perspective. Especially
welcome are papers that emphasize new theoretical insights and those that
represent innovative methodological approaches to the topic of race, class,
ethnicity, and politics.
Section Head: Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, Northwestern Unviersity
Section 30. Foundations of Political Theory: Ancient
Ancient political thought provides extraordinary critical and imaginative resources for theorists grappling with the persistent conflicts and opportunities of political life. We understand “ancient political thought” in a geographically and generically inclusive way, as a category that ranges from Greece and Rome to the Near and Far East, and that includes oral poetry and ancient history as well as Platonic dialogues and Ciceronian speeches. We particularly welcome proposals that bring the ancient thinkers into dialogue with later traditions of thought. How do the ancient thinkers provide an education in politics as such? Do the ancients have the capacity to unsettle modern certainties or to expose the limitations of later thinkers? How do the ancients’ typically alien perspectives – on ethics, religion, economy, culture, gender, warfare, and technology, among other things – offer critical resources to modern theorists and citizens? With these as our guiding questions, we invite individual papers and panel proposals from scholars of all methodological and disciplinary commitments, with a view to stimulating awareness of the theoretical promise which ancient political theory holds.
Section Head: Christina Tarnopolsky, McGill University
Section 31. Foundations of Political Theory: Pre- and Early Modern
This section welcomes proposals from scholars who consider how medieval, renaissance, and early modern thinkers formulate and respond to political problems. Proposed papers and panels may involve the reappraisal of canonical figures, the reassessment of lesser known texts, problems, and thinkers, the elucidation of cross-cultural, cross-national, or inter-religious influences in political theories, or the re-examination of the relationship between works of this period and either classical, modern, or contemporary theories. Papers may include studies in the history of ideas, comparative studies, genealogical analyses, or meditations upon particular themes or issues. They may also approach political theoretical questions from any among a variety of philosophical, chronological, geographic, cultural, or religious perspectives. Papers sensitive to the complicated terrains of gender/sexuality/biology/theology, race/nation/empire, or social class/caste in this broad historical period are also encouraged.
Section Head: John T. Scott, University of California, Davis
Section 32. Liberalism and Democratic Theory
This section invites paper and panel proposals that explore the current controversies in the theory and practice of liberal democracy. We welcome critical treatments of particular theorists of democracy in the history of ideas, but we are especially interested in papers that tackle problems of liberalism in the contemporary context. Thus we solicit investigations of the tensions between liberal ideas, capitalist economics, and democratic politics; explorations of liberalism's theoretical and actual relation to nationalism, neo-imperialism, or cosmopolitanism; studies of the limits to classical theories of popular sovereignty, and conceptions of new forms of political agency, in an age of mass migration, environmental degradation, and other border-crossing aspects of globalization. We also welcome critical accounts of particular conceptions of democracy — minimal, aggregative, deliberative, participatory, or some other; and reflections on the possibilities for democratic governance in ethnonational, multicultural, transnational, or authoritarian settings.
Section Head: Joan Cocks, Mount Holyoke College
Section 33. Contemporary Political Theory
This section welcomes submissions in contemporary theory, broadly defined. Possibilities include essays that: 1) treat works by 20th and 21st-century political thinkers (who may or may not identify themselves as political theorists or political scientists); 2) bring works of political theory from any period to bear on contemporary political questions and problems; 3) employ a contemporary approach to textual analysis (such as feminist, rhetorical, or hermeneutic analysis—to name just a few) to interpret a political theory text from any period. Single paper proposals are welcome. If you choose to propose an entire panel, I encourage those that bring participants together from more than one institution and/or include both graduate students and faculty members.
Section Head: Mika LaVaque-Manty, University of Michigan
Section 34. Political Philosophy: Approaches and Themes
Political theory, while sometimes treated as a discrete field of inquiry,
is deeply indebted to and in conversation with scholars from a variety of
disciplines. Panels and papers that explore questions, concepts, and approaches
that cross disciplinary boundaries (i.e., boundaries drawn between subfields of
political science or between the study of politics and, say, the study of
literature or biology) will be given special consideration. I particularly
encourage panels that bring together scholars and scholarship situated in
different academic disciplines as well as panels that bring together
self-identified political theorists who draw on very different traditions (e.g.,
liberal democrats, postmodernists, and Straussians). Also of interest are papers
that explore disciplinarity, boundaries, and border-crossings.
Section Head: Sharon Krause, Brown University
Section 35. Formal Modeling
The section welcomes submissions covering the entire range of
political science scholarship, distinguished by approach rather than topic.
Theoretical and empirical analyses of substantive political science questions
based on game theory, social choice theory, decision theory, behavioral decision
theory, laboratory experimentation, agent-based or other computational
techniques, and other formal methods -- or papers advancing the frontiers or
critiquing the use of these approaches -- are especially appropriate.
strong>Section Head: Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, University of Chicago
Section 36. Methodology
This year we are especially interested in methodological papers that highlight
areas where political science has made distinctive contributions rather than
just imported techniques. A central focus is on political methodology as a
well-developed and productive field in its own right. Papers that feature
contributions in statistical and mathematical computing are highly encouraged.
We particularly welcome full panel proposals around these or any other relevant
themes that fit into the sub-discipline.
Section Head: Gisela Sin, University of Illinois
Section 37. Information Technology and Politics
Information technology continues to have a widespread influence on politics, but
we have yet to achieve a general consensus on even the meanings of such terms as
"e-voting," "e-government," and "e-democracy." How has information
technology most influenced political actors and institutions? How has
information technology changed the ability of actors to influence politics? How
does such technology affect the status quo? What theories and methods are most
useful for the study of information technology and elections? The Information
Technology and Politics (ITP) section welcomes paper, panel, roundtable, and
poster session proposals that contribute to our understanding of the impact of
IT on politics and policy (and vice-versa). We also welcome proposals that apply
or evaluate IT in innovative ways as an instrument for teaching, data collection
and dissemination, and statistical/information visualization and analysis.
Section Head: Burt Monroe, Penn State University
Section 38. Political Parties and Interest Groups
Proposals that examine the impact of parties and interest groups on the
democratic process and the ways in which they affect equality and participation
are particularly welcome. Especially important would be proposals that focus on
a comparative perspective between parties and interest groups or
cross-national studies.
Section Head: Kira Sanbonmatsu, Rutgers University
Section 39. Presidency and Executive Politics
The section welcomes papers from any
methodological approach dealing with intra-executive politics and/or the balance
of power between the branches of government. Proposals for papers or panels
addressing the scope, scale, and techniques of executive authority in a
historical or comparative context are of particular interest. These could
include, but are not limited to, analyses of executive staffing and
appointments, relations with legislative bodies, war and emergency powers, and
control of policy implementation.
Section Head: Will Howell, University of Chicago
Section 40. Legislative Politics: Institutions
The section welcomes papers on any related
topic. Among others, topics might include congressional parties, committees,
representation, leadership, rules, procedure, reform, policy making, budgeting,
floor behavior, and historical development. The section encourages papers
analyzing the influence of lobbyists and the executive branch. Both American
and comparative politics scholars are welcome to submit proposals. Although
both panel and individual paper proposals are welcome, individual paper
proposals are generally easier to accommodate.
Section Head: Jason Roberts, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Section 41. Legislative Politics: Campaigns and Elections
The section welcomes proposals
from scholars in American and comparative politics on any topic related to
legislative campaigns and elections. The section particularly encourages
proposals that focus on the role of campaigns and elections in fostering
representation. Proposals that highlight the effects of electoral institutions
on candidates and their campaigns, as well as proposals that link electoral
institutions and campaigns to legislative behavior, would be especially welcome.
Section Head: Rodolfo Espino, Arizona State University
Section 42. Judicial Politics
The section welcomes papers or panels investigating the role of legal actors and legal institutions in either the United States or comparative contexts. Although papers on litigation and decision making in the U.S. Supreme Court are always welcome, I encourage proposals for research on issues such as 1) litigation and decision making in other courts or institutions that resolve disputes, 2) the concrete and symbolic impact of court decisions, 3) judicial interactions with other political and legal actors, institutions, and movements, and 4) novel methodological and epistemological approaches for studying significant questions about law and courts. I encourage proposers of full panels to organize their panels to encompass diverse approaches for researching particular questions and topics.
Section Head: Eileen Braman, Indiana University
Section 43. Law and Jurisprudence
Papers, full panels, roundtables, and author-meets-critics proposals are all welcome with an emphasis on legal institutions, legal ideas and legal arguments that shape and constrain politics, political choices and political behavior. Papers in this section will range from jurisprudence to institutional design, with an emphasis on trying to bridge the classic divide between normative and empirical study of law and jurisprudence. Proposals that bridge to other sections, considering for example, constitutional design, law and jurisprudence from a cross-national and cross-disciplinary perspective are particularly welcome, as are proposals that break into and consider important new areas of law such as intellectual property, corporate governance. Innovative approaches to the more traditional areas of interest are equally welcome.
Section Head: Nancy Scherer, Wellesley College
Section 44. International and Comparative Law
The section invites panel, paper, and roundtable proposals on
all aspects of international law. Proposals are encouraged that connect
international law with international relations research and, thus, might be
sponsored jointly by more than one MPSA section. Particularly welcome are
proposals that examine why various aspects of international law have evolved the
way they have and proposals that specify when and how international law may
generate behavioral effects.
Section Head: Jide Nzelibe, Northwestern Unviersity
Section 45. State and Intergovernmental Politics
The section welcomes panels and papers that focus on issues of American
federalism and state politics. Of special interest are papers that develop
and/or test general theories of political behavior, institutions, or
policy making using the methodological advantages arising from the substantial
variance found across the U.S.
Section Head: Dennis Grady, Radford University
Section 46. Urban and Local Politics
The section welcomes papers and panels with a strong
theoretical motivation focusing on various aspects of public policy and politics
as they impact local government, metropolitan areas, or regions. This year we
are especially interested in papers that examine how processes of conflict and
cooperation shape policy and political outcomes in communities and regions. This
section has a long tradition of studies emphasizing conflict in urban areas, but
patterns of cooperation in service delivery, public finance, emergency
preparedness, regional cultural assets, and other areas are also present. We
encourage proposals that seek to understand one or both of these processes of
broad interest to the discipline.
Section Head: Karen Mossberger, University of Colorado
Section 47. Public Policy
The section invites paper proposals in any area of public policy, especially policy-relevant empirical research that examines
the impact of government actions on conditions in society. Traditional studies
of the policy process are welcome, as are studies outside of the American
context.
Section Head: Ann Chih Lin, University of Michigan
Section 48. Economic Policy
The section welcomes panels and papers that investigate the
domestic, comparative, or international aspects of economic policy. Of
particular interest, are proposals that pertain to the systematic analysis
involving the causes and/or consequences of economic policy making and
outcomes. Topics include, but are by no means limited to, research questions
centered on: institutional design or procedures; political, policy, or
socioeconomic structural differences; and exogenous and endogenous events
of a political or economic nature. Highest priority will be given to
paper proposals that advance our scholarly knowledge by providing a novel
substantive theoretical lens to analyze these relevant economic policy topics
and/or entail innovative empirical analyses by applying new data and/or methods.
Section Head: Brandice Canes-Wrone, Princeton University
Section 49. Environmental Politics and Policy
The section invites papers that focus on the politics of environmental problems and/or the processes by which they are addressed. Proposed papers and panels that emphasize comparative environmental politics are encouraged, as are papers that emphasize theory building and empirical testing with cutting-edge political methodology. Of particular interest are papers that use environmental policy as a critical research setting to address core questions in political science and public policy.
Section Head: Mark Lubell, University of California, Davis
Section 50. Public Administration
The section welcomes papers on a variety of topics related
to the administration of public policy within a political environment. Of
special interest for this conference are proposals in the areas of public
administration as "governance," the New Economics of Organization, performance
management, networks in administration, information technology, and civil
service reform. Papers with strong analytic and empirical foundations are
especially welcome.
Section Head: Jeff Gill, University of Alabama
Section 51. Politics and History
The section
welcomes proposals for papers or panels covering the broad scope of the study of
politics and institutions using historical perspectives to address issue areas
of contemporary concern. In particular, the section encourages submissions from
scholars whose work focuses on developmental themes related to major political
processes and concepts, such as democratization, citizenship, political
representation, and political parties. We especially encourage research that
locates American political development in comparative and historical frameworks
and that addresses the intersection of major group identities, such as race,
class, gender, and religion.
Section Head: Phil Klinker, Hamilton College
Section 52. Political Geography
The section welcomes paper, panel, and roundtable proposals on topics related to
geography and politics from all subfields in political science using diverse methodological approaches. Topics may include, but are not limited too, the
impact of geographic context on political behavior, institutions, and policy
making.
Section Head: Brady Baybeck, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Section 53. Political Sociology and Culture
The section welcomes panels and papers
that address the social bases of politics, political values and attitudes, and
other topics that relate to the study of these subjects. Papers from a variety of methodological approaches are welcome.
Section Head: Alexander Hicks, Emory University
Section 54. Politics and Religion
The section welcomes papers that address the interaction
between religion and politics from all subfields in political science using
diverse methodological approaches, especially submissions
that use religion to address broader theoretical questions in political science
that would be of interest to non-specialists.
Section Head: Elizabeth Oldmixon, University of North Texas
Section 55. Political Anthropology
The section invites papers that rely on anthropological
approaches and ethnographic methods in the analysis of political problems.
Papers that explicitly examine the utility of anthropological approaches in
comparison with other approaches are particularly welcome as are papers that
discuss differences between anthropological and political scientific approaches
to the relationship between culture and politics.
Section Head: Lily L.Tsai, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Section 56. Teaching Political Science
The section welcomes paper, panel, and roundtable proposals on all topics related to educating undergraduate and graduate students. Topics may include advising, assessment, civic engagement, curriculum development, diversity, educational goals, experiential learning, ideological bias, internships, pedagogic responsibilities, service learning, simulations, teaching strategies, and technology. The focus may be pedagogic practice or the scholarship of teaching and learning. Approaches may be qualitative, interpretive, quantitative, theoretical, or philosophical. For the 2008 conference, section chair Peregrine Schwartz-Shea especially encourages papers, panels and roundtables in two areas (a) graduate education and (b) faculty training: (a1) What do departments teach graduate students about teaching undergraduates? Does your department offer a for-credit course to assist graduate students in learning to lecture, develop syllabi, handle student complaints, etc.? (a2) Are departments offering more graduate courses on qualitative and interpretive methodologies? Are these courses required or optional? Do you have syllabi to share? Have graduate students been asking for expanded offerings in qualitative interpretive methods? (b) Faculty are increasingly required to attend training sessions or take on-line courses in a variety of areas, e.g., harassment; on-line training on humans subjects policy [e.g., “CITI”] that must be passed before being given IRB approval for research projects. What are your experiences? How effective is such training? Is any of it mandatory at your institution?
Section Head: Michelle D. Deardorff, Jackson State University
Section 57. Undergraduate Research
This section welcomes proposals for papers, panels, and poster sessions on the research, scholarly, and creative experiences of undergraduate students. It provides students with the opportunity to present their projects in a professional environment, and to impress upon them the importance of faculty-mentored projects to their overall education, especially for those considering graduate education. We are open to a wide range of topics and methods.
Section Head: Alfred Darnel, Washington University
Section 58. Midwest Women's Caucus
The caucus
promotes professional equity for women in the discipline of political science by
sponsoring panels at the MPSA annual meeting, working with the
association to promote the interests of women political scientists, encouraging research that acknowledges and investigates the presence and
activities of women in political life, and serving as a network for members between annual meetings. The caucus does not sponsor or accept papers for traditional research panels or roundtables.
Section Head: Brigid Harrison, Montclair State University
Section 59. Society for Greek Political Thought
The society welcomes proposals for papers or panels on the political
thought of the classical Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and
Xenophon, historians such as Thucydides, Herodotus, or Plutarch, or poets
such as Homer, Sophocles, or Euripides.
Section Head: Carson Holloway, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Section 60. Caucus for LGBT Political Science
The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Caucus welcomes proposals for papers, panels, and roundtables that examine the interaction of sexuality and politics, defined broadly. We are interested in papers that treat LGBT people as political actors as well as in papers that treat LGBT people (and issues) as sites of political contestation. While papers and panels that discuss LGBT politics in the U.S. context are always welcome, explorations of LGBT politics beyond the American context are especially encouraged.
Section Head: Ellen Andersen, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Section 61. Leadership and Politics
This new
section welcomes papers, panels, roundtables, and
workshops from all subfields that explore issues involving leadership and
politics. Submissions might include leadership as it relates to current
political problems, structures and institutions, political thought,
globalization, community action, dissidence, gender, and student development.
Section Head: Heather McDougall, Christopher Newport University:
Section 62. Caucus for New Political Science
The section welcomes panels and papers on topics that reflect a commitment to
progressive social change. Submissions might include the analysis of social
movements, globalism, class structure, race, gender, elitism, the environment,
imperialism, critical theory, radical thought, and the foundations of the
discipline.
Section Head: James Simmons, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Section 63. Midwest Latino Caucus
The caucus seeks proposals
for papers and panels related to the beliefs and activities of Latinos in the
United States. Topics might include the Latino vote, pan-ethnicity and
perceptions of shared fate, minority-majority voting districts, Latino political
representation, and intersections of race and gender in the Latino political
arena. Proposals on other topics within the field of Latino politics also are
welcome.
Section Head: Jose Villalobos, Texas A&M University
Section 64. Midwest Caucus for Public Administration
Section Head:Daniel Carpenter, Harvard University