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Fighting to Preserve the College Experience
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Where have all the posters gone? This past academic year, my colleagues and I experienced a major restructuring at…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,News
The Challenges of Measuring Lethal Violence in Central America. An Interview with Laura Blume.
By Juan Corredor-Garcia, PhD student in political science at the Graduate Center, City University of New York While Latin America represents only 9% of the global population, it is home of more than…
#MPSA2023,#MPSAchat,Laura Blume,MPSA Blog,MPSA Annual Conference,Conference,Juan Corredor-Garcia,Member Profiles,MPSA Conference,News
Prioritizing the Undergraduate Experience
By Emily Boykin, Doctoral Candidate in Public Administration at Florida State University As a newfound Ph.D. candidate and first-time instructor of record this past semester for an undergraduate…
News,#MPSAchat,#MPSA2023,MPSA Conference,Professional Development,MPSA Annual Conference,Conference,MPSA Blog,Emily Boykin,Networking,Teaching and Learning
The Trump Effect on Immigration Court Cases
By Elise Blasingame, University of Georgia; Christina L. Boyd, University of Georgia; Roberto F. Carlos, The University of Texas at Austin; Joseph T. Ornstein, University of Georgia The following…
#MPSA2023,#MPSAchat,Christina L. Boyd,MPSA Blog,Joseph T. Ornstein,MPSA Annual Conference,Conference,Elise Blasingame,MPSA Awards,Roberto F. Carlos,MPSA Conference,News
Best Practices in Discussant Roles & Interactions
By Emily Boykin, Doctoral Candidate in Public Administration at Florida State University Social science scholars continually choose to attend MPSA’s annual conference in part due to the quality of…
Conference,#MPSAchat,Emily Boykin,MPSA Conference,Resources for First-Time Attendees,News,#MPSA2023,MPSA Blog,Professional Development,MPSA Annual Conference
The Politics of Higher Education Reform
By Kenneth Burke The criticisms of higher education have become more vocal and visible, particularly in relation to issues such as political correctness, diversity, and inclusion. Political…
#MPSAchat,News,MPSA Blog,Kenneth Burke
Overheard at the Palmer House – A Love Letter to the 80th MPSA
By Kelsey Larsen, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida MPSA2023 finally wound down—the badges were all printed, the Zoom sessions were troubleshooted, and number of people…
Conference,#MPSAchat,Kelsey Larsen,MPSA Conference,Professional Development,News,#MPSA2023,MPSA Blog,Networking,MPSA Annual Conference
Insights From a MPSA First-Time Attendee
By Juan Corredor-Garcia, PhD student in political science at the Graduate Center, City University of New York Academic conferences are privileged spaces for graduate students for various reasons.…
News,#MPSAchat,#MPSA2023,MPSA Conference,Networking,MPSA Annual Conference,Conference,MPSA Blog,Juan Corredor-Garcia,MPSA Member Interviews,Professional Development
Coherence Over Linearity: Transitioning to Administrative Roles
By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Over the course of a career, it is natural for your professional goals to change over time. For many members of the…
Conference,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Professional Development,News,#MPSA2023,James Steur,MPSA Conference,MPSA Annual Conference
Less is More
By Kelsey Larsen, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida One of the defining things about conferencing is wondering what your audience will be like. Maybe you’re the person is so…
#MPSA2023,#MPSAchat,MPSA Conference,Resources for First-Time Attendees,Conference,Kelsey Larsen,MPSA Blog,Professional Development,News
The False Promise of Conference Imposters
By Kelsey Larsen, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida Now that MPSA23 is in full swing, all of us are getting into our conferencing groove; comments are being offered, posters…
Conference,#MPSAchat,Kelsey Larsen,MPSA Conference,Resources for First-Time Attendees,News,#MPSA2023,MPSA Blog,Networking,MPSA Annual Conference
Is This the Post-Trump Era? Nope, Not Yet
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Every year, the MPSA Annual Meetings convene at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago. Just a few blocks away, the…
#MPSA2023,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,MPSA Annual Conference,Conference,Michael A. Smith,MPSA Conference,News
An Honest Conversation: Parenting in the Academy
By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Parenting is both a fulfilling and demanding experience, and parents in academia face unique professional challenges at all…
Conference,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Work-Life Balance,News,#MPSA2023,James Steur,MPSA Conference,MPSA Annual Conference
On Returning to In-Person Conferences: A How-To(-Not-Be-Awkward) Guide
By Kelsey Larsen, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida We’re officially back in Chicago in full force for MPSA 2023—and as one of this year’s Conference blogging team,…
Conference,#MPSAchat,Kelsey Larsen,MPSA Conference,Resources for First-Time Attendees,News,#MPSA2023,MPSA Blog,Networking,MPSA Annual Conference
Last Minute Planning Chicago? You’re Not Alone
By Emily Boykin, Doctoral Candidate in Public Administration at Florida State University If you’re like me, you’re currently sitting in the airport preparing for your flight to Chicago with a…
Conference,#MPSAchat,Emily Boykin,MPSA Conference,Resources for First-Time Attendees,News,#MPSA2023,MPSA Blog,Networking,MPSA Annual Conference
Maximizing Feedback About Research During Conference Sessions
By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The 80th MPSA Conference is just around the corner, and if you’re like me I’m excited to explore new restaurants in…
Conference,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Grad Life,News,#MPSA2023,James Steur,Resources for First-Time Attendees,MPSA Annual Conference
Direct Democracy: Still Mad as Hell After 45 Years
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Author’s Note The following passage is an excerpt from the project “Political Science Undercover” by Chapman Rackaway,…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,News
After Big Wins for the Humanities in FY 23 What Comes Next?
By Alexandra Klein, Communications and Government Relations Manager, National Humanities Alliance With the beginning of March, we are gearing up for the 2023 NHA Annual Meeting and Humanities…
#MPSAchat,Humanities,Membership,Public Engagement and Advocacy,News,Alexandra Klein
The Trump-Biden Era in U.S.-China Relations
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Are we in the midst of the Trump-Biden era? This question seems absurd at first glance. The antipathy that the current…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,News
From Soaking and Poking to Breaching Empathy Walls: Qualitative Research after Fenno
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University It is hard to say goodbye to Richard Fenno (1926-2020). He was truly one of a kind. Fenno called his style of…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,News
No, we are not More Divided Than Ever
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University The other day, I was grading a student project when I noticed that they had written something that seems widely believed…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,News
A Boundary of White Inclusion: How Religion Shapes Perceptions of Ethnoracial Assignment
By Amanda Sahar d’Urso, Northwestern University The following blog post is a summary of the research that won the Midwest Political Science Association’s Lucius Barker Award (for research presented…
#MPSA2021,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News,#MPSA2022,Amanda Sahar d’Urso,MPSA Awards,MPSA Conference,Conference
Who is it Okay to Punch? An Experimental Investigation of Support for Intolerance in the Form of Physical Violence
By Frank J. Gonzalez and Alexandra McCoy The following blog post is a summary of the research that co-won the Midwest Political Science Association’s Best Paper in American Politics Award (presented…
Frank J. Gonzalez,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News,#MPSA2021,Alexandra McCoy,MPSA Awards,MPSA Conference,#MPSA2022
Looking Back at a Year of Robust Humanities Advocacy
By Alexandra Klein, NHA Communications and Government Relations Manager In early March, five months after Fiscal Year 2022 began, Congress finally passed a funding package for the year. The package…
#MPSAchat,Public Engagement and Advocacy,News,Alexandra Klein,MPSA Blog,Humanities,Membership
Blocking the Blockers: Charrettes, Urban Planning, and Deliberative Democracy
By: Adam Rego Johnson, The Graduate Center, CUNY The following blog post is a summary of the research that won the Midwest Political Science Association’s Best Paper by an Undergraduate Student Award…
#MPSA2021,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News,#MPSA2022,Adam Rego Johnson,MPSA Awards,MPSA Conference,Conference
Practical Tips for Online Student Engagement
By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Since the spread of COVID-19, many universities recognize that online teaching is here to stay. However, the online…
Conference,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Teaching and Learning,News,#MPSA2022,James Steur,MPSA Conference,Grad Life
Thoughts on the Future of Political Science
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Well, #MPSA2022 is in the books. From my perspective, the first in-person MPSA conference since 2019 was a success. As I…
Conference,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Gender and Politics,News,#MPSA2022,Michael A. Smith,MPSA Conference,MPSA Annual Conference
Define Your Success: A Roundtable on Surviving Graduate School
By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate school is an exciting time for students to explore their research interests and develop as a scholar. However, the…
News,#MPSAchat,#MPSA2022,MPSA Blog,Resources for First-Time Attendees,MPSA Annual Conference,Conference,James Steur,MPSA Conference,Grad Life
The Future of the Political Science Conference
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University The MPSA’s in-person conference is back! After being canceled entirely in 2020 and held virtually in 2021, this year’s…
#MPSA2022,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,MPSA Annual Conference,Conference,Michael A. Smith,MPSA Conference,News
Conference Smarter Not Harder: An Interview with Dr. Gustavo Diaz
By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign In this blog post, I’m interviewing Gustavo Diaz (pictured at left): a recent PhD graduate and Postdoctoral Fellow at the…
MPSA Annual Conference,#MPSAchat,Conference,MPSA Conference,Professional Development,Grad Life,News,James Steur,#MPSA2022,Networking,Resources for First-Time Attendees
First Things First When Teaching Civic Education
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Between 10 and 15 years ago, Political Science experienced a renewed interest in civic education. The National…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News,Michael A. Smith,Teaching and Learning
Think Congressional redistricting is hard? Wait until we get to state and local offices.
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Congressional redistricting is in the news–and in my inbox. Every day, I get a dose of emails from both sides reminding…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Redistricting,Michael A. Smith,News
Remembering Burdett Loomis
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Dr. Burdett “Bird” Loomis died in late September. He served for many decades as a Professor of Political Science at the…
#MPSAchat,Michael A. Smith,News,Member Profiles,MPSA Blog,In Memoriam
Learn how Political Science Students are Improving Wikipedia
By: Dr. Helaine Blumenthal, Wiki Education For the past several years, MPSA has been partnering with Wiki Education to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of topics related to Political Science. In an era…
Helaine Blumenthal,#MPSAchat,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Mass Media and Political Communication,Membership,MPSA Blog,Teaching and Learning,News
Do-It-Yourself Redistricting and What I Learned
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University I redistricted. Here is what I learned. First, the basics. Redistricting no longer requires sophisticated computer…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,News
Promising Signs for Humanities Funding in the New Administration
By Alexandra Klein, NHA Communications and Government Relations Manager The Biden administration’s request for a funding increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and other…
#MPSAchat,Humanities,Alexandra Klein,MPSA Blog,News
A Redistricting Primer
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University It’s time for redistricting. What does that mean, and what insights does political science offer? Every ten years, the…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,News
Making their work count: Political Science students improve Wikipedia
By: Dr. Helaine Blumenthal, Wiki Education Through its ongoing partnership with Wiki Education, MPSA has been helping political science and policy students engage with subject content in meaningful…
Membership,#MPSAchat,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Teaching and Learning,News,Helaine Blumenthal,MPSA Blog,Research and Publishing,Mass Media and Political Communication
Land Reform and Civil Conflict: Theory and Evidence from Peru
By Michael Albertus, University of Chicago 2021 AJPS Best Article Award Honorable Mention for the research entitled “Land Reform and Civil Conflict: Theory and Evidence from Peru” The distribution of…
Author Summaries of AJPS Articles,MPSA Awards,Environmental Politics and Policy,Michael Albertus,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News
Do International Employment Opportunities Impact Individuals’ Political Preferences and Behavior?
By Nikhar Gaikwad, Kolby Hanson, and Aliz Toth Robert H. Durr Award for Best Paper “applying quantitative methods to a substantive problem,” presented at the 2019 Midwest Political Science…
MPSA Awards,News,Kolby Hanson,MPSA Blog,Nikhar Gaikwad,Aliz Toth
Georgia’s New Voting Laws Meet Political Science
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Controversy swirls around Georgia’s new voting laws, along with similar ones in Florida, Texas, and several other states.…
#MPSAchat,Michael A. Smith,News,Authors,MPSA Blog
Their economic pain, our emotional gain: Can schadenfreude motivate responses to redistributive policies?
By Hannah Nam, Samuel Jens, and Yanna Krupnikov New Jersey is one of the first states expected to adopt a “millionaires tax” that raises taxes on those who make over a million dollars a year. In…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Awards,Hannah Nam,Yanna Krupnikov,Authors,MPSA Blog,Samuel Jens
NHA’s Newest Resource Provides Strategies for Making the Case for the Humanities on Campus
By Scott Muir, Study the Humanities project director In the context of the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread decline in humanities majors and enrollments precipitated by…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Humanities,Authors,Scott Muir,News
Biased? Sure. Lying, no.
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Accusations that the news media are biased are now so common as to become cliché. Undoubtedly, the media are biased. In…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News,Michael A. Smith,Mass Media and Political Communication
Trends in the Publicly Engaged Humanities in the Pandemic Moment
By Michelle May-Curry, Humanities for All project director At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many humanists set out to document the quickly worsening global health crisis. As the months…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Humanities,Michelle May-Curry,Authors,Public Engagement and Advocacy,News
The ICPSR Summer Program: Furthering Great Research and Inspiring Great People
By: Scott Campbell, ICPSR Summer Program Communications Coordinator The ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research started in 1963, and we’ve been called many things since then.…
Scott Campbell,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Professional Development,News,Authors,MPSA Member Interviews,MPSA Annual Conference
QAnon: The Conspiracy Theory Behind the Capitol Seizure
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University On January 6, followers of former President Trump stormed and seized the United States Capitol, temporarily halting the…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News,Michael A. Smith,Election 2020
Keeping an Eye on the Map, Notes from Central Eastern Europe
by Raluca Viman-Miller, Assistant Professor, University of North Georgia Nowadays we are completely overtaken by the COVID-19 global pandemic and our focus seems to almost exclusively be on counting…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Raluca Viman-Miller,Authors,News
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…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Conference,Humanities,News,MPSA Blog,MPSA Member Interviews,MPSA Annual Conference
Voter Fraud or Voter Suppression? Using Political Science to Evaluate Competing Claims
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University This year’s contentious political climate has escalated a longstanding, partisan dispute over election laws and their…
#MPSAchat,Michael A. Smith,Election 2020,Authors,MPSA Blog,News
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…
Conference,#MPSAchat,Member Profiles,MPSA Conference,News,Shaun Manning,Authors,MPSA Blog,Research and Publishing
Geographical Coverage in Political Science Research
by Matthew Charles Wilson, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina and Carl Henrik Knutsen, Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. Political…
#MPSAchat,Matthew Charles Wilson,Research and Publishing,Carl Henrik Knutsen,Authors,MPSA Blog,News
Exhibitor Spotlight: Springer Nature
by Lorraine Klimowich, Senior Editor for Political Science, Economics, and Public Administration, Springer Nature What is your company’s history? What sets your company apart? Springer was founded by…
#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,News,Member Profiles,Research and Publishing,Conference
Is the Preference for Chaos a Rational Decision?
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University The study of “fake news” and other rumors spread via social media are gaining steam. Recent work by political…
Sticky#MPSAchat,Michael A. Smith,Mass Media and Political Communication,Authors,MPSA Blog
Teaching Tactics: A Simple Hack for Maintaining Personal Connections to Students
By Matthew Charles Wilson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of South Carolina This blog was originally published by the Incubator for Teaching Innovation at…
Sticky#MPSAchat,Matthew Charles Wilson,Teaching and Learning,Authors,MPSA Blog
Adjusting/Adapting Assignments for Flexibility and Engagement in Online Instruction
By Diane E. Schmidt, Ph.D., California State University, Chico, Political Science Online instruction, especially with students who are unfamiliar with online learning, requires balancing teaching…
Sticky#MPSAchat,Diane Schmidt,Teaching and Learning,Authors,MPSA Blog
Measuring the Quality of Management of Federal Agencies
by James Thompson and Alejandra Medina, University of Illinois – Chicago In normal times, elected and appointed government officials pay relatively little attention to the question of how well…
Sticky#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Alejandra Medina,James Thompson,Public Engagement and Advocacy
Do Millennials Exist? Generations, Social Science and the Trouble With De-Bunking
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University The host of TV’s “Adam Ruins Everything,” Adam Conover is easy to identify by his quirky hairsyle and clothes,…
Sticky#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith
NHA’s New Toolkit: Documenting the Impact of Your Humanities Program
By Cecily Hill, NEH for All Director of Community Initiatives As of this writing, colleges and universities around the nation have closed their doors; most have shifted to online learning. In-person…
Sticky#MPSAchat,Cecily Hill,Humanities,Authors,MPSA Blog
Coping with COVID-19: A Graduate Student’s Reflections
By James Steur, a Ph.D. student in political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign About one month ago, I wrote a blog post about strategies for networking at the 2020 MPSA…
Sticky#MPSAchat,James Steur,Work-Life Balance,Authors,MPSA Blog,Grad Life
Understanding and Reducing Biases in Elite Beliefs About the Electorate
by Miguel M. Pereira, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. A central question in the process of representation is how elected officials…
Sticky#MPSAchat,Miguel Pereira,Electorate,Authors,MPSA Awards
How the Pandemic Became Partisan: A Story of Parties, Science and Professionals
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University How did the Coronavirus pandemic become partisan? The partisan divide on responses to the pandemic is only the latest…
Sticky#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith
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…
StickyMPSA Annual Conference,#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Professional Development,#MPSA2020,James Steur,Networking,Resources for First-Time Attendees
Study the Humanities: Articulating Career Pathways
By Scott Muir, Study the Humanities Project Director, National Humanities Alliance Commentators have offered a variety of explanations for the widely observed decline in humanities majors and…
Sticky#MPSAchat,Scott Muir,MPSA Blog,Humanities
Beyond the Hat: Will the Trump Coalition Hold in 2020?
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University Will President Trump’s Coalition hold in 2020? Hardly anyone seems to be asking this question, at least in public these…
Sticky#MPSAchat,MPSA Blog,Michael A. Smith,Election 2020
Can Gerrymandering be Measured? Here Come the Mathematicians
By Brian Hollenbeck and Michael Smith of Emporia State University Just weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court acted to sharply limit the role of the courts with regards to partisan gerrymandering. In…
Michael A. Smith,Research and Publishing
A Moment to Take Stock (and Keep Advocating)
By Beatrice Gurwitz, National Humanities Alliance Photo credit: Morrison Photography For three years in a row, the Trump administration has called for the elimination of the National Endowment…
Public Engagement and Advocacy,Research and Publishing
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…
MPSA Podcasts,Selected Presentations,#MPSA19,Professional Development,Teaching and Learning
MPSA Member Profile: Ajenai Clemmons
Ajenai Clemmons is a Ph.D. Candidate in public policy with a concentration in political science at Duke University. Her academic research focuses on the most important factors that help and harm the…
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…
Charmaine N. Willis,Research and Publishing,Grad Life,Professional Development,#MPSA19,MPSA Annual Conference
Public Engagement: Simplify Without Being Simple
By James Steur at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign As a first-generation student, one of my primary goals as an academic is pursuing public scholarship. I want to write in a clear and…
James Steur,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Professional Development,#MPSA19
Keeping It Real: Political Science and Civic Engagement
By Michael Smith of Emporia State University Great #MPSA19 panel discussion regarding blogging, Twitter and podcasting w/@LaraMBrownPhD @NaymaQayum @JustinBullock14 @GreggRMurray and Michael Smith…
James Steur,Professional Development,#MPSA19,Michael A. Smith,Public Engagement and Advocacy
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…
Charmaine N. Willis,Research and Publishing,Professional Development,#MPSA19
How to Thrive in Graduate School (Whatever That Means)
By Colleen Wood of Columbia University In addition to thematic panels, the 77th Annual MPSA Conference offered a wide range of roundtables on professional development including practical discussion…
Colleen Wood,Teaching and Learning,#MPSA19,Research and Publishing,Work-Life Balance,Grad Life
Biased Professors? Try Disclosure
By Michael A. Smith of Emporia University The allegation that professors are biased toward liberal, progressive, or even radical points of view has been part of American political discourse at least…
Michael A. Smith,Teaching and Learning,Public Engagement and Advocacy
Exploring Themes from “Advances in Physiology and Politics: Linking Physiology, Self-Reports, and Cognitive Responses” at #MPSA19
By James Steur of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign When I tell friends I’ve taken a class on the relationship between biology and politics, I generally get the same reaction: squinted…
James Steur,#MPSA19,Research and Publishing,MPSA Annual Conference
MPSA’s Standing ePanels: A Supportive Space for Feedback and Skill-Building
By Colleen Wood of Columbia University In the exhibition hall at MPSA, it is easy enough to get stuck in the book displays or free coffee stands. But for those who push past the publishing stands,…
Colleen Wood,Selected Presentations,Grad Life,Research and Publishing,#MPSA19,MPSA Annual Conference
The Examination of the “Other:” An Insight Into The Asian Pacific Islander Experience in the Prison Industrial Complex
By Michelle M. Hicks, Willamette University Who are the “others” inside the U.S. carceral system? According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the “other” is any race, which cannot be…
MPSA Awards,#MPSA18,Research and Publishing,#MPSA19
Organization, Flexibility, and Thoughtfulness (#MPSA19 Prep)
By Danielle King of University of Missouri in St. Louis The responsibilities of a graduate student feel daunting under the most benign of circumstances. This semester, I have added in the extra…
Danielle King,Grad Life,#MPSA19
Two Paths to the Palmer House: Planning for the #MPSA19 Conference
By Colleen Wood of Columbia University Being a first-timer at MPSA is often synonymous with attending and presenting at any political science conference for the first time. For those graduate…
Colleen Wood,Work-Life Balance,Grad Life,Teaching and Learning,#MPSA19
Previewing the 77th Annual MPSA Conference Program: A Selection of Professional Development Panels for Graduate Students
By Charmaine N. Willis of University of Albany, SUNY As panelists frantically completing their papers and presentations are acutely aware, the 77th Annual MPSA Conference is fast approaching. In…
Charmaine N. Willis,Research and Publishing,Teaching and Learning,Grad Life,Professional Development,Resources for First-Time Attendees,#MPSA19
First-Generation Findings: Eight Strategies for Success at Academic Conferences
By James Steur of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign As a first-generation college student and son of two hairdressers, I’ve spent most of my life far removed from the world of…
James Steur,#MPSA19,Resources for First-Time Attendees,Grad Life
Work, Well-Being, and Social Connections: Advice from a Graduate Student on Finding the Correct Proportions
By Kevin DeLuca of Harvard University “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” - Some wise person For academics, I think the saying is backward: “If you, an academic, love…
Kevin DeLuca,Grad Life,Work-Life Balance
Democrats Want to Get Rid of the Electoral College. It is Not Going to Happen (and Maybe that’s Best).
By Michael A. Smith, Emporia State University With the 2020 campaign season having already begun (ugh), Democrats are revving up to do away with the Electoral College. For them, the case is a…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2018,Election 2016
The Art of Networking: How to Maximize Your Doctoral Experience
By Francesca Gottardi of the University of Cincinnati When thinking about a doctoral program, the first image that comes to mind is likely to be that of a geeky student sitting at a desk, buried in…
Francesca Gottardi,Resources for First-Time Attendees,Grad Life,Professional Development,#MPSA19
Understand Department Culture, Perfect your Personal Statement, and Other Tips on Applying to Graduate School
MPSA Professional Development Roundtable Preview In advance of this year’s MPSA conference (April 4-7, 2019 in Chicago), we asked panelists from the upcoming “Tips on Applying to Graduate School” to…
#MPSAchat,Professional Development,Grad Life,MPSA Blog,#MPSA19,Conference
Juggling Academic Time and Technology: Advice from a Millennial
By Garrett Pierman of Florida International University The digital age is in full swing, especially in academia. In class, our students, if they are allowed, are browsing, tweeting, liking, and…
Garrett Pierman,Work-Life Balance,Teaching and Learning
MPSA’s Top 10 Blog Posts from 2018
As the calendar year begins to wind down, we take a look back at our most-read articles from 2018. We encourage you to take a quiet moment for another look as you may have missed an article or may…
MPSA Annual Conference,Teaching and Learning,Chapman Rackaway,#MPSA18,Eric Min,Election 2018,Professional Development,Grad Life,Research and Publishing,Work-Life Balance,Charmaine N. Willis,Alex Ellison,Michael A. Smith,Gender and Politics,Public Engagement and Advocacy
Call for #MPSA19 Conference Bloggers
Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash MPSA seeks bloggers to cover the most popular panels and events at the upcoming conference in Chicago. Bloggers will be expected to research, craft and…
Professional Development,Research and Publishing,Work-Life Balance,MPSA Annual Conference,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Teaching and Learning,#MPSA19
The Big Lessons of Political Advertising in 2018
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Screen shot of Beto O'Rourke’s Facebook ad, 2018. Facebook Erika Franklin Fowler,…
Research and Publishing,Election 2018,The Conversation
MPSA Member Profile: Rebecca Dew
Dr. Rebecca Dew is an Independent Researcher based in Florida, where she can be reached at Academia.edu or her personal website, or followed on Twitter @beccadew. Additionally, Dew is a recent…
Member Profiles,MPSA Annual Conference
The Only Thing We Have to Fear
By Michael A. Smith of Emporia State University Senator and Vice-President Hubert Humphrey‘s nickname was The Happy Warrior. He worked tirelessly on behalf of causes he championed, and usually…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2018
Magnify Your Voice: A Day Off for Democracy
By Betsy Sinclair of Washington University in St. Louis “Are you frustrated that you see a need in your community that isn’t met by government or industry? Do you believe that need could be remedied…
Betsy Sinclair,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Election 2018,MPSA Blog,#MPSA19
MPSA Roundtable – Public Engagement: Mixing Academics and Practical Politics
In this public engagement roundtable from the 2018 MPSA conference, Michelle Kukoleca Hammes of Saint Cloud State University, Derrick Carter of Valparaiso University Law School, and Jared Wesley of…
MPSA Podcasts,Selected Presentations,#MPSA18,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Work-Life Balance
Generation Z voters could make waves in 2018 midterm elections
By Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Tufts University Unlike the much-studied millennials, we don’t know much about Generation Z, who now make up most of the 18- to 24-year-old voting bloc. These young people…
The Conversation,Election 2018
MPSA Roundtable: The Path to Full
This MPSA roundtable session on “MPSA Roundtable: The Path to Full”, hosted by the Midwest Women’s Caucus and chaired by Tiffany Barnes of the University of Kentucky, features James Adams of…
MPSA Podcasts,Research and Publishing,Teaching and Learning,MPSA Annual Conference,Professional Development,Selected Presentations,#MPSA18
You can trust the polls in 2018, if you read them carefully
By Josh Pasek, University of Michigan and Michael Traugott, University of Michigan A Michigan township collects votes in 2016.Barbara Kalbfleisch/shutterstock On the morning of Nov. 8, 2016, many…
The Conversation,Election 2018,Election 2016
Humanities for All: Political Science and International Relations
By Daniel Fisher, Project Director, National Humanities Alliance As campuses across the country fill with the renewed energy of the fall semester, it is a good time to pause to reflect on how we…
Blue is Black and Red is White? Affective Polarization and the Racialized Schemas of U.S. Party Coalitions
By Nicholas A. Valentino and Kirill Zhirkov [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFMTdNxp57k] Affective polarization - the mutual partisan antipathy expressed by both Democrats and Republicans…
MPSA Awards,#MPSA18,Research and Publishing
Mentors play Critical Role in Quality of College Experience, New Poll Suggests
By Leo M. Lambert, Elon University; Jason Husser, Elon University, and Peter Felten, Elon University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. In order to…
Primary Elections: The Value of an Endorsement
By Chapman Rackaway of the University of West Georgia How involved should political party leaders get in primary elections? Should a President endorse a primary candidate, despite standards of…
Chapman Rackaway,Election 2018,MPSA Blog
Blue Wave, Red Wave; What Wave? No Wave
By Chapman Rackaway of the University of West Georgia Political scientists and pundits alike face a contradictory challenge in the concept of the “wave” election. Journalists use the term commonly,…
Chapman Rackaway,Mass Media and Political Communication,Election 2018
Contributing Political Science Knowledge to our Collective Conscious
Post by Royal G. Cravens, Bowling Green University This post originally appeared on the Wiki Education blog. Dr. Royal G. Cravens, III is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Bowling…
MPSA Blog,Research and Publishing,Teaching and Learning,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Royal G. Cravens
Spain’s majority-female cabinet embodies women’s global rise to power
By Susan Franceschet, University of Calgary and Karen Beckwith, Case Western Reserve University Gender-equal governments, which include the same number of men and women as ministry heads and in other…
Research and Publishing,Gender and Politics
Save the Swamp
By Michael A. Smith of Emporia State University The Trump Administration’s recent reversal on immigration policy regarding children has gotten me to thinking. What exactly does it mean to “drain the…
Michael A. Smith,Mass Media and Political Communication,Research and Publishing
Ethnic Networks
The following is part of a series of posts written by MPSA award recipients highlighting outstanding research presented at previous MPSA annual conferences and in the American Journal of Political…
Janet I. Lewis,MPSA Awards,#MPSA18,Jennifer M. Larson,Research and Publishing,American Journal of Political Science
How Governments Influence Competition between Militant Groups
By Justin Conrad and William Spaniel When Algeria descended into violence in the 1990s, two militant groups – the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) and the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) – competed for…
MPSA Awards,Research and Publishing
All Male Panels Erode Citizens’ Perceptions of Democratic Legitimacy
By Amanda Clayton, Diana Z. O'Brien, and Jennifer M. Piscopo All-male panels increasingly face public pushback. Though once ubiquitous, male-only groups are encountering greater scrutiny at…
MPSA Awards,Gender and Politics,Research and Publishing
The Deliberative Sublime: Edmund Burke on Disruptive Speech and Imaginative Judgment
Edmund Burke Engraving By Rob Goodman of McGill University Could it be true that judicious political conduct requires injudicious political language? Is there a case to be made for the value, amidst…
MPSA Awards,MPSA Annual Conference,Research and Publishing
Back End Skills
By Chad Raymond of Salve Regina University and Active Learning in Political Science Most ALPS posts deal with the front end of teaching — the stuff that eventually turns into the student experience.…
Chad Raymond,Teaching and Learning,Professional Development
Voting Can Be Hard, Information Helps
By Melody Crowder-Meyer, Shana Kushner Gadarian, and Jessica Trounstine When Los Angeles County voters entered their polling booths in November 2016, they were faced with a multitude of decisions.…
MPSA Awards,#MPSA18,Research and Publishing
What 18,000 Declassified Documents (and a Computer) Reveal About the Credibility of Signals During Crises
By Eric Min of Stanford University Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, left, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy sit in the residence of the U.S. ambassador in Vienna, Austria, at the start of their…
Eric Min,Research and Publishing,MPSA Awards,#MPSA18
Foster Care Privatization: How an Increasingly Popular Public Policy Leads to Increased Levels of Abuse and Neglect
Foster care in the United States is dramatically influenced by federal and state legislation. Since the late 1990s policies establishing privatized foster care have become increasingly popular…
Mandi Eatough,Research and Publishing,MPSA Awards,#MPSA18
In Retrospect: Tips for First-Time MPSA Attendees and Presenters
By Charmaine N. Willis of University at Albany, SUNY As I reflect on my first MPSA conference there are few things that I would have done differently, both prior to and during the conference. I…
Charmaine N. Willis,#MPSA18,Resources for First-Time Attendees,MPSA Annual Conference
Diffusion by Any Means Necessary
By Harold “Harry” Young of Austin Peay State University Members of the "GRAD SCHOOL: What to Expect at a Job Interview at a Teaching School" roundtable at the 2018 MPSA conference in Chicago. They…
Harry Young,Teaching and Learning,MPSA Annual Conference,Professional Development,#MPSA18
Reflections on the #MPSA18 Mentoring Reception
On the second day of the 76th Annual Conference, MPSA held a mentoring reception for which graduate students, PhD recipients in non-academic positions, junior, mid-career, and contingent faculty…
Charmaine N. Willis,#MPSA18,MPSA Annual Conference,Professional Development,Grad Life
More Bridging, Less Bonding: New Views of Social Capital
(or, Why I am Going to Watch Roseanne) by Michael A. Smith of Emporia State University Social capital has been a popular concept in political science, at least since the publication of Almond and…
Michael A. Smith,MPSA Annual Conference,#MPSA18
Finger on the Pulse: Alive and Kicking at MPSA 2018
By Harold "Harry" Young of Austin Peay State University At this year’s MPSA conference, I was on a mission to uncover what participants were so serious about as they hovered over laptops and chatted…
Harry Young,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Teaching and Learning,MPSA Annual Conference,Professional Development,Research and Publishing,#MPSA18
Politics and Ontology in Thucydides’ story of Alcmaeon
By Borden Flanagan of American University The story of Alcmaeon, in an emphatically unnecessary digression, frames Periclean imperialism in terms of the cosmological themes of motion and rest,…
MPSA Awards,#MPSA18,Research and Publishing,MPSA Annual Conference
The Public Expert: How Academics Can Break the Ivory Tower Stereotype #MPSA18
By Alex Ellison In the professional development track at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago, IL, there were a couple of sessions on using social media in academia and…
Professional Development,#MPSA18,MPSA Annual Conference,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Alex Ellison
The New Political Scientists—We’re Live, We’re Nationwide, and We’re Online
By Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University On the first day of the Midwest Political Science Conference (#MPSA18 on Twitter), I spotted both a roundtable and a…
Michael A. Smith,MPSA Annual Conference,#MPSA18
Do Academics Stink at Work/Life Balance?
And is this scaring away students? By Alex Ellison At the 2018 Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago, IL, I attended the session, Trying to Balance Work and Life with Joel…
Professional Development,Work-Life Balance,Alex Ellison,Selected Presentations,#MPSA18,MPSA Annual Conference
Why the 2020 census shouldn’t ask about your citizenship status
A naturalization ceremony, in December 2015. AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File Jennifer Van Hook, Pennsylvania State University “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” On March 26, the U.S. Commerce…
The 2018 MPSA Conference Is Here: What Have You Done for Me Lately?
By Harold Young of Austin Peay State University “Expectations should not always be taken as reality; because you never know when you will be disappointed.” ― Samuel P. Huntington I must admit I am…
Harry Young,Research and Publishing,Work-Life Balance,MPSA Annual Conference,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Teaching and Learning,#MPSA18
Politics in the Trump Era – A Curated Guide to MPSA 2018
by Chana M. Solomon-Schwartz In less than a month, scholars from more than 50 countries will congregate at the 2018 MPSA conference to present research, connect with one another, and eat deep-dish…
Chana M. Solomon-Schwartz,#MPSA18,Research and Publishing,MPSA Annual Conference
Why Would A Mom and A Business Owner Get An MPA?
And what does she do with it? By Alex Ellison Photo by Dakota Corbin on Unsplash I was accepted to the University of Chicago to their MA Program in Social Sciences. I visited, sent in my deposit and…
Professional Development,#MPSA18,Work-Life Balance,Alex Ellison
Chicago Tips and Recommendations from a Graduate Student
By Charmaine N. Willis This year marks my first year attending MPSA. I look forward to being able to share my research, to receive feedback, and to network with other scholars at one of the biggest…
Charmaine N. Willis,Grad Life,#MPSA18,MPSA Annual Conference
How Predictable is Your Work?
The truth about job security in the future By Alex Ellison If you spend a lot of time doing predictable, physical work tasks in the accommodation and food services sector, you might want…
#MPSA18,MPSA Annual Conference,Alex Ellison
Members of Congress respond to more than money – sometimes
By Jan Leighley, American University and Jennifer Oser, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Does citizen activism really affect the actions of elected officials? Despite the ubiquitous role of money…
Public Engagement and Advocacy,Research and Publishing
When the elite abandon democracy – A Warning from Belize?
By Harold Young of Austin Peay State University “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all…
Harry Young,Research and Publishing
Recap of #MPSAchat with COSSA’s Julia Milton
This month’s MPSA Twitter Chat featured a conversation with the Consortium of Social Science Association (COSSA)'s Assistant Director for Public Affairs/Government Relations Associate Julia Milton…
#MPSAchat,Public Engagement and Advocacy
New ways scientists can help put science back into popular culture
Science is one thread of culture – and entertainment, including graphic books, can reflect that. 'The Dialogues,' by Clifford V. Johnson (MIT Press 2017), CC BY-ND Clifford Johnson, University of…
Public Engagement and Advocacy,Research and Publishing
Faculty Advantage: Using Wikipedia to Teach Controversial Topics
By Mark K. Cassell of Kent State University It’s a problem nearly everyone who teaches political science confronts at one time or another: how to effectively teach a controversial topic. Topics like…
Public Engagement and Advocacy,Teaching and Learning,Research and Publishing
MPSA in 2017 – Accomplishments Worth Celebrating (video)
This year was confusing at times and exhausting at others, but it also had its high points. As we say goodbye to 2017, we welcome you to join us for the MPSA highlight reel. Our thanks to everyone…
Adnan Rasool,#MPSAchat,MPSA Annual Conference,Professional Development,Work-Life Balance,#MPSA18,American Journal of Political Science,MPSA Awards,Research and Publishing,#MPSA17
MPSA’s Top 10 Blog Posts from 2017
There is no doubt that 2017 was a memorable year in political science. As the year comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back at our the most-read blog posts from the past twelve months. #10…
Adnan Rasool,Harry Young,Gender and Politics,MPSA Awards,MPSA Annual Conference,Public Engagement and Advocacy,#MPSA17,Election 2016,Michael A. Smith,Grad Life,MPSA Blog,Teaching and Learning
The Top 5 MPSA Roundtable Audio Recordings (podcasts) from 2017
Each year at its annual conference, MPSA records dozens of professional development panels focusing on topics most relevant to researchers and to those who teach. Audio from the roundtable…
MPSA Podcasts,Research and Publishing,Teaching and Learning,Professional Development,Selected Presentations,#MPSA17
Recap of Tuesday’s #PSBeWell End-of-Semester/Holiday Edition
This month’s MPSA Twitter Chat featured a conversation about creating a less stressful end-of-semester experience for those on both sides of the syllabus, ways to balance work and personal time…
Call for #MPSA18 Conference Bloggers
MPSA seeks bloggers (and vloggers) to cover the most popular panels and events at the upcoming conference in Chicago. Just as the MPSA conference concentrates on the best thinking in the discipline,…
Gender and Politics,Professional Development,Mass Media and Political Communication,Research and Publishing,Work-Life Balance,Environmental Politics and Policy,Grad Life,Public Engagement and Advocacy,MPSA Annual Conference,Teaching and Learning,#MPSA18
More Guns, Less Replication: The Case for Robust Research Findings
The meaning of the word “replication” hardly seems like the sort of thing that would land a person in court. Yet, it did. In Lott v. Levitt (2009), the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois ruled…
Michael A. Smith,Research and Publishing
#MPSAchat with AJPS Editor William G. Jacoby (10/24)
On Tuesday, October 24 (2pm Eastern), please join us for a Twitter chat with American Journal of Political Science editor William G. Jacoby. We’ll chat with Jacoby on trends he has identified during…
#MPSAchat,Research and Publishing
MPSA Roundtable on Public Engagement: Communicating and Promoting Your Research
This MPSA roundtable session on “Public Engagement: Communicating and Promoting Your Research”, organized by Kathleeen Searles of Louisiana State University and Women Also Know Stuff and chaired by…
MPSA Podcasts,Selected Presentations,Public Engagement and Advocacy,#MPSA17
#MPSAchat – Teaching Political Science in a Politicized Environment
On Tuesday, September 26 at 2:00 PM (Eastern), please join us for a Twitter chat on Teaching Political Science in a Politicized Environment. This month’s chat topic has been inspired by “Frequently…
#MPSAchat,Teaching and Learning
MPSA Roundtable on Congressional Leadership through the Eyes of Randy Strahan and Barbara Sinclair
Sean M. Theriault of the University of Texas at Austin, chairs this MPSA roundtable session on “Congressional Leadership through the Eyes of Randy Strahan and Barbara Sinclair” with Gregory Koger,…
MPSA Podcasts,#MPSA17,Research and Publishing,MPSA Annual Conference
Intrastate Conflicts: Refocus on the Intractable
By Harold A. Young The burden and devastation of intrastate conflicts are disproportionally borne by people of color in the developing world. While many people of color in the United States may view…
Harry Young,Research and Publishing
MPSA Roundtable on Applying to Grad School
Mackenzie H. Eason of the University of California – Los Angeles chairs this MPSA roundtable session on “Applying to Graduate School” with Coty J. Martin, West Virginia University, Joan…
MPSA Podcasts,Teaching and Learning,Professional Development,#MPSA17
If you’re going to San Francisco…
... Visit us at APSA Booth #904! Look for MPSA in booth #904 in the APSA expo hall where we'll be busy answering questions about the MPSA conference, the new Twitter chat series, and your MPSA…
Professional Development,Research and Publishing,Work-Life Balance,MPSA Annual Conference,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Teaching and Learning,#MPSA18
Recap of MPSA Chat (Work-Life Balance #PSBeWell)
Many thanks to our co-hosts for the discussion: Todd Curry, Assistant Professor of Political Science at The University of Texas at El Paso, Jacqueline Sievert, Research Fellow with YWCA Niagara, and…
An Invitation to Participate: MPSA’s Inaugural Twitter Chat #PSBeWell
A healthy work-life balance is important regardless of where you are in your academic career. Every PhD has the first-hand experience with Grad School struggles. Every tenured professor can remember…
Politics and Sunburn: Snapshot of the U.S. from Belize
By Harold Young, Ph.D. The sun blazed, cooled only by sporadic showers, during my recent visit to the Central American and Caribbean nation of Belize where I spent my formative years. The size of…
MPSA Career Roundtable on What to Do/Not Do at a Job Talk (audio)
Listen in as Elizabeth A. Bennion of Indiana University-South Bend chairs the MPSA Career Roundtable on “What to Do and What Not to Do at a Job Talk” with Mary Hallock Morris of University of…
MPSA Podcasts,#MPSA17,Professional Development
(The Lack of) Diversity in Trump’s America
By Adaobi Duru, University of Louisiana at Monroe The lack of diversity in Trump's cabinet appointment is significant and might be a reflection of the President's position on issues regarding racial…
Gender and Politics,Mass Media and Political Communication
Q&A with Emily Farris re: The TCU Justice Journey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slfLGQewr6A?rel=0&controls=0] MPSA member Emily Farris is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth,…
Member Profiles,Teaching and Learning
Next Steps in the Fight to #SavetheNEH
Two days before President Trump’s inauguration, we awoke to reports that the transition team was contemplating a proposal to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and…
Public Engagement and Advocacy
Ruling by Distraction
To rule by distraction is a time-tested tool of autocratic and authoritarian regimes. It is a go-to move for non-democratic regimes when faced with a challenge, domestic or international. As the…
Adnan Rasool,Mass Media and Political Communication
This Is the Best Time Ever to Study Political Science
This post originally appeared on Tom Pepinsky’s blog and is reposted here with permission. Here are ten questions that might be interesting to Americans these days. Is the Trump administration’s…
Professional Development,Public Engagement and Advocacy
Alone and Working: Making the Transition to ABD
The change from being a PhD Student to a PhD Candidate is a big one. The moment we cross that threshold of becoming ABD, we fall in to a kind of purgatory where we are no longer students and not yet…
Harry Young,Adnan Rasool,Work-Life Balance
I’m Not a Disgrace, I’m Just Wrong
Shortly after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, I gave a talk to a local senior citizens group. The talk was largely informational, flavored by my analysis of what had happened. After the speech,…
Public Engagement and Advocacy,Work-Life Balance,Teaching and Learning
Race and “Ism”: Incoming Fire from All Directions
Since it is impossible to discuss the issue of racism from the beginning, I will just start where I find myself. As an Assistant professor, it is probably safe for me to say that the…
Harry Young,Work-Life Balance,Teaching and Learning
Help Preserve Federal Funding for the Humanities
NHA Annual meeting and Advocacy Day (Photo: Kwana Strong Photography) With a new President and Congress taking office this month, it is time to redouble our advocacy efforts on behalf of the National…
Public Engagement and Advocacy
Polling for the 2016 Presidential Election: What Went Wrong?
As I write, Donald Trump is less than two weeks from being inaugurated as President of the United States. For political scientists, our “what the…?” moment involves the failure of most…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2016
MPSA Blog: Top 10 Posts from 2016
Regardless of your research interests, your academic (or Alt-Ac) role, or your aspirations for the new year, there is something on this list of MPSA’s most popular blog posts from 2016 that is sure…
Adnan Rasool,Harry Young,MPSA Member Interviews,NSF-Funded,Selected Presentations,MPSA Annual Conference,Michael A. Smith,Newly Paul,Research and Publishing
On the Eve of the 2017 Conference Season
As the Fall semester comes to a close, most academics in our field are readying for the upcoming hectic conference schedule starting with SPSA in New Orleans in January, ISA (February) in Baltimore,…
Research and Publishing,Adnan Rasool,#MPSA17,MPSA Annual Conference
Policy Implementation, Representation, and Democratic Governance
At last year’s MPSA conference, Pamela McCann of USC Sol Price School of Public Policy was kind enough to ask me to participate in a roundtable discussion with other prominent scholars. The focus of…
Selected Presentations,#MPSA16
Election 2016 Lesson for the Media: New Journalistic Norms Needed to Cover Elections
The 2016 U.S. presidential election will stand out in the nation’s collective memory as a highly unusual event for many reasons. It featured two unique candidates, an election campaign that…
Newly Paul,Mass Media and Political Communication,Election 2016
Recommended Reading: Themes from Election 2016
In the week since the election of Donald Trump, many citizens and political scientists are trying to understand both the underlying causes of the win while thinking about the implications for the…
MPSA Member Interview: Emily Kalah Gade
Emily Kalah Gade is a PhD Candidate at the University of Washington at Seattle and has recently been awarded a Moore/Sloan Data Science and Washington Research Foundation Innovation in Data Science…
MPSA Member Interviews,Work-Life Balance
Political Science: The Cure for Election Anxiety
Reporters are discovering a new phenomenon this year: election anxiety. This year’s contests, particularly the one for President, have Americans worried and minds racing. The cure is right here:…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2016,Work-Life Balance
One PhD Candidate’s Roadmap for Successful Co-Authorship
All of us at one point or another have either considered or have been involved in a co-authored project. With the way academia is evolving, co-authorship is not only encouraged but it is fast…
7 Keys to a Successful MPSA Proposal Submission
Editor's Note: Since this blog post has been published, MPSA's proposal deadline for papers, complete panels, and roundtables has been EXTENDED to Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Knowing that political…
3 Questions for MPSA Member Emil Ordukhanyan
Emil Ordukhanyan is Senior Lecturer at UNESCO Chair on Human Rights, Democracy and European Studies at Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences-Armenia. Ordukhanyan is also…
(Un)Natural Disasters: Distributive Politics in Northeast Brazil
The following is part of a series of posts written by 2016 MPSA award recipients highlighting outstanding research presented at previous MPSA annual conferences. Photos from Cooperman’s fieldwork in…
MPSA Awards,Research and Publishing
MPSA Member Profile: Eric Raile
Eric Raile is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and serves as the Director of the Human Ecology Learning & Problem Solving (HELPS) Lab at Montana State University,…
Bias and Women’s Under-Representation in Politics
Even if Hillary Clinton shatters the “highest” glass ceiling this November, for many years to come women are likely to remain under-represented in elected offices in the United States and throughout…
Research and Publishing,Election 2016,#MPSA16,Gender and Politics
The Roundup: Political Science on Wikipedia
This article by Eryk Salvaggio originally appeared at the Wiki Education Foundation blog and is shared here with permission. The Wikipedia Year of Science has had a significant impact on Wikipedia’s…
Public Engagement and Advocacy,Teaching and Learning
Making Sure the Light at the end of the Tunnel is not a Train: Securing a Faculty Position
After more than six years as a graduate student, and having survived the rigors of academic life including assignment deadlines, student teaching, qualifying exams, proposal defense and drafting my…
Professional Development,Teaching and Learning
[Im]Polite Conversation: Understanding the Mechanisms for Disengagement from Contentious Political Interactions
This post is one of a series of by MPSA members about their Federally-funded research. Here, Jaime Settle and Taylor Carlson summarize their NSF-funded research "Understanding the Mechanisms for…
Beyond Diversity: The Salience of Ethnicity and Kenya’s Constituency Development Fund
Following is from a series of blog posts by MPSA members about their research that has received funding by either the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the National Endowment for the Humanities…
Bernie Goldwater: What Sanders Supporters Can Learn from Young Americans for Freedom
Supporters were crestfallen, but their resolve was firm. Their candidate had refused to buckle to the pressure from party elite—the usual pressure from political managers, to move to the political…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2016
How Do Experiences with Government Programs Shape Political and Civic Engagement? Looking Beyond the American Case
A key insight of policy feedback theories is that government offices are sites of adult political learning. As Joe Soss explains: “…public bureaucracies provide relatively immediate experiences with…
Selected Presentations,#MPSA16
Mass Administrative Reorganization, Media Attention, and the Paradox of Information
The following is part of a series of posts written by 2016 MPSA award recipients highlighting outstanding research presented at previous MPSA annual conferences. Our article – Mass Administrative…
MPSA Awards,Mass Media and Political Communication
A Portrait of Politics: The Cultural Marketing of the Chicago Neighborhood of Pilsen
The following is part of a series of posts written by 2016 MPSA award recipients highlighting outstanding research presented at previous MPSA annual conferences. Urban space is temporal, contextual…
MPSA Awards,Research and Publishing
Studying the Immediate Impact of Racially Traumatic Stressful Events
Following is one in a series of blog posts by MPSA members about their research that has received funding by either the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the National Endowment for the Humanities…
NSF-Funded,Research and Publishing
Social Media: Great Campaign Tool, but Bad News for Democracy
By now, we have all read about and analyzed Donald Trump’s (in)famous Cinco de Mayo tweet, which featured a picture of him grinning broadly while eating a taco bowl, with the following tweet: “Happy…
Newly Paul,Mass Media and Political Communication,Election 2016
The Company You Keep: How Voters Infer Party Positions on European Integration from Governing Coalition Arrangements
The following is the first in a series of posts written by 2016 MPSA award recipients highlighting outstanding research presented at previous MPSA annual conferences. Democratic accountability…
Trendspotting Through the Gradventurist’s Lens
Now that it has been two weeks since MPSA 2016 ended, there are a few trends I observed during the conference that I feel need revisiting especially from a graduate student perspective. The…
Professional Development,#MPSA16,Grad Life,Research and Publishing,Adnan Rasool,MPSA Annual Conference
The American Impasse Between Environmentalists and Industry
In a recent book by Joel S. Whitworth, “Quantified: Redefining Conservation for the Next Economy” (Whitworth 2015), the author issues a bold challenge claiming that our 45-year old approaches to…
Frank T. Manheim,Environmental Politics and Policy
If Political Science Ruled the World (and We Were on Our Best Behavior)
Once, as a graduate student at the University of Missouri, I wisecracked, "the entire world should be turned over to political scientists for experimental purposes." I was joking and everyone knew…
Michael A. Smith,Teaching and Learning,MPSA Annual Conference,Public Engagement and Advocacy,#MPSA16
A Grad Life Recap of the 2016 MPSA Conference
As the MPSA 2016 conference wraps up, I wanted to share a few thoughts as a first time attendee. This has been a phenomenal experience for me and my colleagues (most of whom are also first time…
#MPSA16,Grad Life,Adnan Rasool,MPSA Annual Conference
Political Science: The Final Frontier
Can science fiction teach us about political institutions? A group of political scientists says yes. James Endersby of the University of Missouri-Columbia is spearheading a project with several of…
Michael A. Smith,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Professional Development,MPSA Annual Conference
Your To Do List: One Week until MPSA 2016
We are one week away from the MPSA 2016 conference and a lot of us are still scrambling to get everything in order. Those of us making it to the MPSA for the very first time are especially equal…
Professional Development,#MPSA16,Grad Life,Resources for First-Time Attendees,Adnan Rasool,MPSA Annual Conference
Sir Edmund and Hillary: A Surprisingly Likely Pair
Mainstream political scientists often struggle with the subfield called political theory. Otherwise known as normative theory or political philosophy, theory is the study of history, philosophy, and…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2016
Tough Enough? National Security Issues Could Affect the 2016 U.S. Presidential Race
NEW YORK CITY - MARCH 2, 2016: Hillary Rodham Clinton affirmed her status as front-runner for the Democratic presidential nominations with a speech at Jacob Javits Center. Following the November 2015…
Newly Paul,Gender and Politics,Election 2016,Mass Media and Political Communication
Studying for Comps? Here are Three Approaches to Try Based on Learning Style
An example of the author’s mind mapping technique (click to expand). There comes a time in every PhD student’s career where they have to sit through the dreaded qualifying exams (or “comps” as they…
Professional Development,Adnan Rasool,Teaching and Learning,Grad Life
Will the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election Be a Realigning Election?
In his classic book Dynamics of the Party System, James L. Sundquist developed a theory of how party alignments change around new issues. As a winner-take-all system, (also called “first past the…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2016
Incorporating Family in Your MPSA Conference Experience
So having done it recently myself, I understand how challenging it can be to have family join you during a conference. Out of necessity, I recently had my two little ones (both under the age of five)…
Work-Life Balance,MPSA Annual Conference,#MPSA16
Three Methods to Ready Your Research for Public Absorption
Recently one of the biggest discussions within the field of political science has been on how to use our research for policy making purposes. The debate has focused on finding the best possible…
Professional Development,Teaching and Learning,Grad Life,Research and Publishing,Adnan Rasool
Q&A with the Founder of Women Also Know Stuff
Samara Klar is an Assistant Professor at the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona and is the founder of Women Also Know Stuff. A database of female experts in politics,…
MPSA Member Interviews,Public Engagement and Advocacy,Professional Development,Gender and Politics
Primaries and Caucuses 2016: Experiencing the Energy and Demystifying the Math
INDIANOLA, IA - FEBRUARY 1, 2016: Indianola mayor Kelly Shaw (second from right) and Smith's Emporia State University students at the Iowa caucus. (Photo courtesy: Michael A. Smith) The 2016…
Michael A. Smith,Election 2016,Teaching and Learning
Gender and Emotions on the Campaign Trail
WASHINGTON - JANUARY 13, 2009: U.S. Secretary of State Nominee and incumbent U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations…
Newly Paul,Gender and Politics,Election 2016
Presenting At Conferences – A Grad Student’s Guide
Presenting at a conference is a daunting task for any academic. Be it a big name academic who has spent a career presenting at conferences around the world or a graduate student who is just starting…
Professional Development,Teaching and Learning,Adnan Rasool,MPSA Annual Conference,Research and Publishing,#MPSA16,Grad Life
On the Hill: Linda Trautman’s Experience at COSSA’s Advocacy Day
Linda Trautman, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Ohio University Lancaster who specializes in American Government and Politics with a focus on legislative politics, mass…
MPSA Member Interviews,Public Engagement and Advocacy
#MPSA16– Is Political Science Still Relevant?
It is only 35 minutes from the Palmer House to 4100 S. Pulaski Road. Downtown Chicago’s ornate Palmer House hotel will host the 74th annual Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) conference, as…
Michael A. Smith,#MPSA16,Public Engagement and Advocacy,MPSA Annual Conference
Interested in Blogging for MPSA?
MPSA seeks to feature blog posts that focuses on research relevant to current topics in the media, teaching trends and professional development. The blog will be a place for MPSA to highlight the…
Public Engagement and Advocacy
When Grievances Do Not Mean Violence
By Bethany Lacina The vast majority of political violence is within rather than between states. How do national politics—that is, the central government's attempts to stay in office—make civil…
Social Esteem and Participation in Contentious Politics
By Gwyneth McClendon Why do individuals participate in non-voting forms of collective political action? The last few years have been rife with examples of rallies, protests and demonstrations: from…
Dollars on the Sidewalk: Should U.S. Presidential Candidates Advertise in Uncontested States?
Carly Urban, Montana State University Sarah Niebler, Dickinson College Why do individuals contribute to political campaigns? There are many reasons people may give—ranging from the warm glow they…
AJPS Author Jakana Thomas on The Monkey Cage
Jakana Thomas, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University, posted an article on The Monkey Cage, titled "Actually, sometimes terrorism does work." Read…