New Workshops in The Arab Middle East and North Africa Planned; Seeking Participants
APSA recently announced a new series of annual political science workshops to be held in the Arab Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York for 2013–2014, the MENA Workshops are a multi-year collaboration with early-career political science faculty in the Arab Middle East and North Africa to enhance regional scholarly capacity and networks. The program will deepen APSA's engagement with the international political science community and strengthen efforts to support research networks linking US scholars with their colleagues overseas, building on APSA's successful Africa Workshop program.
Working with regional host universities, APSA is now organizing annual two-week workshops bringing together approximately 22 regionally-based and four US/Europe-based scholars for training in basic research skills and to foster regional and international collaboration.
APSA is now seeking scholars who are interested in attending the workshop. Additional information on the application process, workshop theme, leaders, and dates are posted on announced on the project website: www.apsanetor.org/menaworshops.
Each MENA Workshop will be dedicated to a substantive issue in political science, with a unique program of lectures, discussions, topical presentations and debates, guest speakers, peer review sessions, professional development seminars, and local field trips. Throughout the workshop, participants will present and refine manuscripts for publication and build professional connections with other scholars. Workshops will be led by a joint team of senior researchers from the region and colleagues in the US or Europe. Following their participation in the workshop, alumni will be eligible to apply for small grants to facilitate further research collaboration.
The program is led by a Steering Committee including Lisa Anderson, president of American University in Cairo (chair), Joseph Jabbra, president of Lebanese American University, Henry E. Brady, University of California Berkeley, Amaney Jamal, Princeton University, Nancy Bermeo, University of Oxford, and Mustapha Al-Sayyid, Cairo University. Administrative responsibility will be housed in APSA's department of International Programs, who will work closely with host universities and research centers to implement the program.
For more information on applications contact Andrew Stinson, (202) 349-9364; astinson@apsanet.org or visit www.apsanet.org/menaworkshops.
Mexican Political Science Association Formed
Following a national constitutional assembly on June 1, 2012, the Mexican Political Science Association (AMECIP) has been established. The assembly was attended by 70 scholars of political science, including post graduate students, from different universities across Mexico and took place at the University of Yucatan. The assembly elected its first slate of officers, including professor José Manuel Luque Rojas (president), professor Efraín Eric Poot Capetillo (vice president, executive council), professor Víctor Manuel Alarcón Olguín (organizational secretary), professor Jesús Tovar Mendoza (secretary of institutional relations), and six other officers.
AMECIP is also organized in five geographical divisions, each with individual leaders charged with coordinating the academic work of scholars in their region. In addition, 24 research groups were created around specific thematic areas. From political theory to political parties, from comparative politics to media and political communications, these research groups will constitute the scholarly and productive center of AMECIP. For example, each research group will organize seminars, symposiums, book presentations, and more, in its area. English speaking scholars are welcome to join these research groups and take part in their initiatives.
AMECIP will hold its first annual conference in the third week of August of 2013 in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico and looks forward to welcoming American and international scholars. More information is available on their website http://amecip.org.mx/.
