Making the Most of Your Meeting ExperienceAuthor(s): Lauren WestSource: PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 43, No. 3, SUPPLEMENT (July 2010), pp. 1-2Published by: American Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25699386 .

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Lauren West, Director, Meetings and Conferences""|^^^

Making the Most of Your Meeting Experience With hectic teaching schedules, institutional commitments, myriad other personal and ^BH^ I

professional demands on your time, and increasingly limited resources, finding the value of JlBfl^B

participation in the Annual Meeting is more important than everbefore. We know that the ^KBSS^KL

Annual Meeting brings together scholars of vastly different levels of experience, areas of interest, .^HBjj^^^^B

seniority, and affiliation. For this reason, our goal is to provide dynamic experiences that serve the fl^^^Bg^^^Kg:

needs of all attendees while maintaining a dedication to the advancement of scholarship. ^/KK/KK

Scholarship In his presidential address at the first APSA

Annual Meeting in 1904, Frank J. Goodnow

stated, "It may perhaps be safely said that there was not, until the formation of the

American Political Science Association, any association in this country which endeavored

to assemble on a common ground those per

sons whose main interests were connected with

the scientific study of the organization and functions of the State." This year, we anticipate that more than 6,500 political scientists will travel to Washington, DC, with the same goals as the founding members and those first meet

ing attendees.

For the 2010 Annual Meeting, APSA

received close to 10,000 proposal submissions; of these, approximately 40% were selected for

the program. From the accepted proposals, the

Annual Meeting Program Committee, com

posed of 60 volunteer members, has produced a program of nearly 900 panels, roundtables, and theme panels. This number of scholarly sessions provides a significant number of polit ical scientists the chance to present their work.

In addition to these panels, many special and

plenary sessions will be offered, ranging from a Research Support Symposium to a lecture by Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom.

All attendees, whether presenting or not, will have the benefit of enjoying the most diverse and intellectually stimulating discus

sions of current research in the field. These

sessions encourage and incite continued dis

cussion and exchange throughout the year.

Professional Development I often hear the question, "Where is the

book fair?" Indeed, the exhibit hall contains

many books, but I can assure you that this is

not the book fair of your elementary school

days. The number of publishers, educational

technology companies, and other related

groups exhibiting at the meeting has grown tremendously over the years. Even as recently as five years ago, the exhibition looked very different from how it looks today. Publishers and corporations have been putting increased resources into the APSA Annual Meeting and

exhibition. Take the time to walk each aisle and

look at each exhibit. Many publishers are now

sending acquisitions editors to the meeting set up appointments and come prepared. There

is no other opportunity during the year for you to have access to this number of publishers of

political science texts in one location. If you are

interested in political science education, the

exhibition contains the most recent editions

of classroom texts and educational program materials. Even if you just need something to

use for taking notes, stop by the APS A Pavilion in the center of the exhibit hall to pick a com

plimentary APS A pen. Another well-known development oppor

tunity provided at the meeting is the Place ment Service. For recent graduates and junior

faculty or those looking to change institutions,

the Placement Service provides the space for

institutions to interview applicants. If you are

interested in taking advantage of this service,

begin now by using this supplement to review current listings from ejobs, the APSA online

job board. You can also visit the ejobs Web site to view openings.

Other development arenas include working

groups, short courses, and plenary sessions.

Decide what your development goals are and build a personalized schedule that meets those

goals.

Networking

Although scholarly pursuits and profes sional development drive our

meeting's pur

pose, networking opportunities abound. APSA

members attend the meeting, in part, to meet

with colleagues, make new connections, and

visit old friends. I encourage you to take a look

at all of the special events, business meetings, and receptions being hosted by APSA and its affiliates. Graduate students and first-time

attendees should take special note of welcome

receptions and special events, as well as activi

ties that provide an opportunity for interaction

with senior scholars, such as departmental

receptions. For veteran attendees, consider

attending your graduate school's departmental

reception and your organized sections' recep tions. Some sponsors and exhibitors also host

events during the meeting?what better way to

connect with publishers? Take a careful look at all of the events occurring during the meeting

and make a point to attend those that will ben

efit you, either personally or

professionally.

Engagement APSA has recently put an emphasis on

thinking about the meeting not just as a

meeting, but also as an opportunity to engage. This can be engagement with particular issues

of importance to the members, or civic and

political engagement with local communities.

While attending the Annual Meeting, become familiar with the city and the people who live and work there. Take advantage of information

APSA provides regarding things to do and

places to visit. In many ways, the Annual Meet

ing itself represents the issues and ideologies that members study and research on a daily basis. Issues of equality, labor regulations,

green practices, and state politics are just a few

of the areas that directly impact the planning and coordination of the meeting.

Through the Annual Meeting, you can also

become engaged in the important work of

the association. Make your voice heard by the

APSA president and council through atten

dance at the annual general membership meet

ing on Saturday, September 4, at 12:15 p.m. This type of engagement not only affects the value of your meeting experience, but the value

of your APSA membership overall.

Post-Meeting After the meeting concludes, take the

discussion, engagement, ideas, and relation

ships forged home with you. Employ new ways of thinking in your daily work. Use acquired knowledge in the classroom. Engage more

fully in the work of the association. Connect

with colleagues of similar interests. Attend

the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference

or any other of the numerous APSA activities

held during the year. By doing these things, you will see the value of your meeting experi ence for years to come.

For more information and to review this

year's online program and meeting details, visit www.apsanet.org/2010.

PS Supplement July 2010 1

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From the 2010 Program Co-Chairs

n n Lisa Martin Andrea Campbell University of Wisconsin MIT

Periodically the world economy experiences "hard times" such

as the last quarter of the 19th century, the Great Depression, and

the ups and downs of the 1970-1980S oil crises and inflations. It is

commonly believed that during these periods, governments become

much more interventionist; populism, fascism, or communism develop and prosper; democracies are prone to give way to authoritarianism;

international conflict increases; the international economic system is reconfigured; and international institutions fail or are refashioned.

What does political science have to say about these claims? The APSA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. in September 2010 will address

these questions from a diverse array of theoretical, substantive, and

methodological perspectives. Do governments become more interventionist? What kinds of

interventions do they consider and implement? What happens with

government spending and programs, including social welfare and

infrastructure programs? What happens with government regulation? With central banking? With trade policy and protectionist legislation? Do centralized governments do better or worse than federal systems? Do large countries do better than small ones?

Do populism, fascism, or communism flourish during hard times?

How do hard times affect public opinion? How does the general public I diagnose the problems? How do they react to proposed solutions?

j How do elites use hard times to advance their agendas, and how is the

I analysis of political scientists used by elites? How are expectations I about the performance of the economic system linked to the legitimacy

of the political regime? Do political scientists have something to teach

I economists about expectations, confidence, trust, and legitimacy?

Are democracies weak in the face of economic stress? Are

authoritarian governments strong? What are the strengths and

limitations of each kind of system? What kinds of challenges arise

during hard times? Does political violence increase? Do social

movements multiply and are they tied to economic issues or status

concerns? Are racial, ethnic, religious, class, or gender cleavages

heightened? How are national identities forged and reshaped during eras of crisis? When is domestic politics fundamentally reorganized by hard times, and when is it more resilient? Do hard times lead to

revolutions, to repression, to international or civil violence?

How do international institutions, groups, and processes react to

international economic crises? Do institutions provide leadership? Are they able to overcome self-interested, narrow solutions offered by nation-states? Are they equal to the task of finding solutions to major global problems? What kinds of international institutions do we need to forestall economic crises? Which international groupings are

favored in times of crisis, and which are weakened? Do crises present

opportunities for new cooperative endeavors, or do they undermine

existing patterns of cooperation? Are longstanding or latent conflicts

between states reinvigorated by crisis conditions? What is the role

of leadership on the international level? Are national identities reinforced or re-imagined? Do crises lead to a shift in the balance of

power between states and non-state actors?

What guidance does political philosophy and theory offer in times of major crisis? Are most theoretical and conceptual schemes devised

without considering the exceptional stresses of hard times? Or are

they sometimes precipitated precisely by those hard times? Can

political theory help us think through the ethics and pragmatics of

bailouts, rescues, and stimulus plans?

Can political methodologists tell us how to study events that occur

only a few times in each century and that are often world-wide in their | extent? What problems arise when studying events that are both rare

and highly correlated across all nations? In times of economic crisis, students of politics and political

thought can help decision-makers navigate reactionary trends and

avoid intensified conflicts. A number of panels will examine the contribution of political science to policy development in hard times,

highlighting the value of political science and the meeting for broader

political discourse. It is important to step back to examine the political

dynamics at work, and to step forward to help guide policy and protect the public interest and civic values.

2010 Annual Meeting Info

Check out the online program, register for the conference, and find other details about the conference at:

www.apsanet.org/2010

2 July 2010 PS Supplement

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