The Benefits of ISA Section Membership

The Benefits of ISA Section Membership
Andrea K. Gerlak, Director of Academic Development
April 2007 Newsletter

Today, ISA sponsors 23 sections ranging from Active Learning in International Affairs to Scientific Study of International Process. Our two newest sections -- International Political Sociology and Human Rights -- have attracted much attention and new activity. In the past two years, membership in ISA sections increased by 12%.

Membership in a section allows ISA members the opportunity to be part of a community of scholars with similar substantive research and teaching interests.

More specifically, membership in an ISA section offers practical benefits, including access to:

• Annual Program – participate in the framing of the annual program by proposing a panel, roundtable or special session, or by serving as a section program chair and organizing your section’s conference panels.
• Research Workshop Grants – apply through a section for a workshop grant to venture into emerging and potentially transformative research areas or preliminary work on untested and novel path-breaking ideas.
• Section Newsletters -- provide current news related to sections, including new section officers and awards as well as announcements of new research projects, academic programs, publications, and academic jobs.
• Section Blogs -- provide opportunities for members to find common research interest and form linkages to generate a proposed panel at an upcoming ISA annual conference.
• International Studies Compendium Activities -- provide opportunities to participate by writing a review essay and reviewing review essays, which are largely facilitated through ISA’s sections.

ISA members can add a section to their membership at any time by using the MyISA system.