ISA Region Conferences

A Review of the 2006 ISA Region Conferences
Andrea K. Gerlak, Director of Academic Development
January 2007 Newsletter

From Las Vegas to Boston, over 650 people participated in conferences organized by ISA’s regions in the west, midwest, northeast, and southern United States. Regional meetings demonstrate the importance of partnering with host universities, ISA sections and other organizations. They also illustrate the value of conference themes and organized activities such as luncheons with keynote speakers, and tours of local places. At this year’s meetings, ISA regions demonstrated their commitment to professional development with an emphasis on active learning activities and graduate student support and development.

The ISA South meeting, held in Birmingham, Alabama, featured a reception for the participants at the University of Alabama at Birmingham President's house. Apart from the nice surroundings and fine entertainment provided by President Garrison, the event highlighted the administration's commitment to international studies and its support for such meetings. This meeting demonstrates how ISA South, and all regions, can benefit greatly from weaving participation by their institution's higher administrators more closely to the conference. Such a partnership institutionalizes support from the university and can help defray organizing expenses. In addition, participants visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute where ISA members witnessed the history of the civil rights movement in Alabama. According to Program Chair Nikos Zahariadis (University of Alabama, Birmingham), such efforts to introduce the city and its history to the participants enhanced participation and made the meeting more memorable.

This year, ISA West began a theme call for papers, which attracted almost a dozen panels and will result in several group publications based on conference participation. The meeting also attracted conference co-sponsorship from the International Ethics section of the ISA, the Carnegie Institute for Ethics and International Affairs, and Women in International Security, which helped to broaden the participant base. According to Program Chair Laura Sjoberg (Duke University), a number of distinguished speakers, including ISA President Ann Tickner (University of Southern California), Ambassador Thomas Graham, and Professor George Lopez (University of Notre Dame) were instrumental in guiding the conference discussion.

ISA Midwest hosted their largest meeting ever this year in St. Louis with over 200 attendees. They partnered with the Central Slavic Conference and the Mid-America Alliance for African Studies. According to Program Chair John Ishiyama (Truman State University), a highlight of their meeting was a special roundtable on the status of women in the profession which included ISA President Ann Tickner, Vicki Hesli (University of Iowa, chair of the American Political Science Association’s Committee on the status of Women in the Profession), ISA Vice President Meredith Sarkees (Saint Mary’s College) and former longtime chair of the Women’s Caucus of ISA), Marie Henehan (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), ISA Midwest President Carolyn James (University of Southern California), and chaired by Marijke Breuning (Truman State University).

ISA Northeast partnered with the Northeast Political Science Association for their 37th annual meeting in Boston this past November. They co-sponsored well over fifty international relations panels, their largest conference yet, drawing faculty and students from across the US, as well as from various international universities and colleges. The conference featured a series of special events which included a sold out luncheon co-sponsored by The Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, where Professor Neta Crawford of The Watson Institute for International Studies delivered the luncheon address entitled “When Soldiers 'Snap': Locating Moral Responsibility for Atrocities in Iraq”.

All regional meetings had an active learning component, organized in partnership with the Active Learning in International Studies (ALIAS) Section of ISA. A workshop on how to design appropriate simulation exercises for the international studies classroom, led by Carolyn Shaw (Wichita State University) and Bob Switky (University of Nebraska-Kearney) was featured at the ISA Midwest meeting. Approximately 20 participants learned about the conceptual considerations necessary for creating a simulation and then divided into small groups for a hands-on opportunity to design their own exercises. At the end of the session, participants had laid the foundation for three different exercises on the topics of Energy Security, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Experiencing Realism. The workshop provided an opportunity for those who were familiar with role playing to exchange ideas, as well as for first timers to acquire resources for designing their own simulations. At ISA Northeast meeting, there were two workshops, "Constructing Good Courses: From Learning Goals to Assessments" and "Engaging the Millennials: Techniques in Active Learning for a New Generation of Students," coordinated by David Reilly (Niagara University) and John J. O'Rorke (Frostburg State University). The ALIAS section of ISA coordinated with the program chairs at ISA West for a breakfast workshop that addressed the use of active learning techniques in the classroom. They followed up the workshop with a roundtable on the impact of active learning on gender issues, both in teaching gender and in gendered issues within the classroom. Douglas Becker (University of Southern California) led a workshop at ISA’s West meeting entitled "How to Design an Active Classroom,” with topics ranging from simulations to film and games, and Model United Nations. A panel at ISA South targeted both curricular and professional development topics, highlighting internet learning (Regina Gaillard, Troy University) and the challenges of introducing world cultures to first year undergraduates (Catherine Danielou, University of Alabama, Birmingham).

Regional meetings also included panels and workshops specifically devoted to the professional development of graduate students. This year, ISA West sponsored a publishing workshop for graduate students. More than a dozen graduate students attended the workshop and the topics of discussion included the process of choosing the right journal or publisher for a piece of work, the review process, and the process of revision and resubmission. Participants also discussed job market and tenure requirements, strategies for increasing publication opportunities, networking, and peer review process. ISA South organized a workshop on "International Studies and the Profession" to help young professionals network and be exposed to job acquisition tips and skills. Topics included curricular development and the internet, the status of women in the profession, and tips on landing the first academic job. ISA Midwest organized a workshop on how to publish books in the profession with representatives from major publishers in International Relations and Comparative Politics (including Northern Illinois University Press, Lynne Rienner Publishers and M.E. Sharpe Publishers) for a roundtable discussion on what it takes to get a book manuscript published. For the ISA Northeast region this was the second year for the extremely successful methodology clinic organized and directed by Patrick T. Jackson (American University). The clinic, titled “Interpretive and Relational Research Methodologies,” brought together faculty and graduate students in a pedagogical environment to discuss both interpretative and relational methodologies. The tutorial sessions were followed by sessions in which graduate student participants had an opportunity to receive feedback from established scholars and from their fellow workshop participants. In addition to these workshops and panels targeted at the professional development of graduate students, both the ISA South and Midwest offer graduate students travel grants to help defray the costs of attending their regional meetings.

ISA Headquarters applauds these contributions from ISA regions. We thank the various regional Program Chairs and other conference leaders for their hard work and efforts. We are excited to support such activities, particularly professional development activities. We encourage regions to partner with other organizations and ISA sections when planning a meeting. As always, we are pleased to help with meeting planning and logistics. For information on locations of 2007 ISA regional meetings, visit the ISA Region website.