MPSA Conference

The Institute for Humane Studies - Working for You

Submitted by The Institute for Humane Studies When you think of the role of academia in society, what comes to mind? Perhaps you envision broader, intellectual discourse, or the civil exchange of ideas? It might be that you’re interested in how philosophy, politics, and economics are interwoven to…


Celebrating 90 Years of University of Michigan Press

by Shaun Manning, Publications Sales and Exhibits Manager, University of Michigan Press. What is your company’s history? What sets your company apart? University of Michigan Press was founded in 1930, making 2020 our 90th anniversary year. Our disciplinary strength in political science and…


To Networking & Beyond: Strategies for Successful Networking

By James Steur, a Ph.D. student in political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign As MPSA 2020 fast approaches, my colleagues have talked to me about the part of conferences they dread more than their presentations: networking. Someone I know remarked, “I feel like an…


Rethinking the Political Science Major - MPSA Roundtable (audio)

This roundtable Rethinking the Political Science Major (audio), chaired by John T. Ishiyama of  University of North Texas and featuring J. Cherie Strachan of Central Michigan University, Whitney Lauraine Court of College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, and Amber Dickinson of…


How Ideology, Economics and Institutions Shape Affective Polarization in Democratic Polities

Summary by Noam Gidron, James Adams, and Will Horne Concerns over the health of democratic norms and institutions have intensified in recent years (e.g., Levitsky and Ziblatt 2018), with political polarization often cited as a key driver of democratic dysfunction. The rise of affective polarization…


How War Changes Land: The Ecological Consequences of the US Bombing of Cambodia

By Erin Lin Example of bomb found during fieldwork: B42 cluster bomb in the center-right, and a rock is on its left. (Photo courtesy of Erin Lin)   The village of West Father Long lies about five kilometers out of Kampong Thom town, Cambodia, in the southerly direction. Dirt paths run east and…


Show Me the Money: Securing Research Funding

By Charmaine N. Willis of University of Albany One of the most important parts of conducting any research project, regardless of its methodology, is securing research funding. The recent MPSA conference offered several roundtables dedicated to research funding; in this blog, I cover the roundtable…


Fieldwork: Ethical Considerations, Funding, and Data Collection Methods

By Charmaine N. Willis of University of Albany The recent MPSA conference offered many valuable roundtables related to professional development for a variety of populations including graduate students. I had the opportunity to attend the roundtable about how to do fieldwork, an important one for…