GET READY FOR PHILADELPHIA!

Join us in Philadelphia for the 112th APSA Annual Meeting to address the latest scholarship in political science while exploring the 2016 theme, “Great Transformations: Political Science and the Big Questions of Our Time.” APSA and the 2016 Program Chairs Kimberly Morgan, The George Washington University, and Deborah Schildkraut, Tufts University, look forward to your participation in panels and sessions prepared by APSA’s 55 divisions and numerous related groups at the 2016 meeting.

The association brings the largest political science conference in the world to Philadelphia, the cradle of liberty, a city of firsts, and the US’s first and only UNESCO World Heritage City. Although the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference has been held in Philadelphia in recent years, the Annual Meeting returns for the first time since 2006. It is home to James Beard Award-winning chefs, was named one of the most walkable cities in the nation, and was recently named the #1 Best City in the US by Lonely Planet, in large part due to the transformation and rejuvenation of the city center and the various neighborhoods have been experiencing in the past decade.

As the fifth largest city in the United States within 200 miles of 46 million people, Philadelphia promises to draw a large audience, so we recommend registering and booking your discounted APSA hotel early. Registration is now live! For more information, visit: http://community.apsanet.org/annualmeeting/register/registration.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

An anticipated 6,500 political scientists will participate in the three and half days of sessions—and the preliminary day of short courses—from which to choose. Sessions are developed by APSA sections, divisions, and related groups. The preliminary program will be available at the end of May.

In addition to the educational sessions, meeting highlights will include the presidential address by Jennifer Hochschild, Harvard University; the opening reception; career placement; the APSA awards ceremony; APSA section and partner meetings and receptions; and an exhibit hall with more than 100 publishers, classroom software technology providers, and more.

The 2016 Annual Meeting introduces a new conference schedule. In an effort to maximize participation and expand opportunity in the field, APSA has added a fifth time slot to the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday days of the conference. By utilizing industry-wide, popular 90-minute sessions, APSA could add this fifth time slot on these days, while also eliminating the unpopular 7:30 a.m. sessions.

Additionally, the conference cochairs introduced a wide variety of new session formats, with which the divisions and related groups could program their content. Intended to extend the onsite experience beyond didactic presentations, these new interactive session formats hope to expand opportunities for participation while also addressing member interest in more innovative formats and additional professional development opportunities onsite.

(All photos courtesy of Drew Meadows)

For more information visit http://community.apsanet.org/annualmeeting/conference-program/schedule-at-a-glance and http://community.apsanet.org/annualmeeting/call/proposal-options.

PARTICIPATION

After a successful call for proposals, the Annual Meeting conference cochairs have been busy planning and confirming details for approximately 40 plenaries, theme panels, and breaking-news sessions.

Proposal acceptances have been sent, and participants are confirming their participation roles. When accepting panel and individual paper proposals, it is important to follow the four 2016 participation rules:

Rule 1

Participation Limitation: Participation is limited to one (1) paper author or coauthor presentation and one nonauthor appearance, excluding discussants.

Limit 1: Author presentations in research panels and poster sessions: Participation in the Annual Meeting is limited to one (1) paper author or coauthor presentation in a paper panel session, regardless of the organizer (division, related group, conference co-chairs, etc.). Only presentations count against this participation limit. For example, an attendee may have three coauthored papers on the program and, so long as she or he is a presenter for only one of these papers (and a non-presenting coauthor in the other two), this would fall within the participation limits.

Limit 2: Nonauthor appearances in research panels, roundtables, and other session formats: Participation in the Annual Meeting is limited to one (1) appearance on the program as a panel chair OR one (1) non-author presentation participant in any other session format, in sessions organized by any of the following: division, APSA committee, or related group.

TRAVEL GRANTS

APSA provides travel grants to assist some members in attending the Annual Meeting. APSA members who are US graduate students, international graduate students studying in the United States, unemployed, or international scholars are eligible to apply. If selected, recipients must pre-register for the APSA Annual Meeting to be able to receive travel grants. Priority will be given to applicants who will present at the Annual Meeting, to first-time applicants, or those who have not received a travel grant since 2014. For more information visit: http://community.apsanet.org/annualmeeting/register/travel-grants

GETTING TO PHILADELPHIA

As the city’s official convention and visitor’s bureau, Discover Philadelphia’s website (www.discoverphl.com) can provide great assistance for planning your trip and your time onsite. You’ll find a detailed visitor’s guide, a local events listing, international and domestic travel resources, interactive and printable maps, dining and shopping suggestions, and much more.