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For Immediate Release

Contact: Helena Saele (202-483-2512, press@apsanet.org)

105^th APSA Annual Meeting, World’s Largest for the Study of Politics, Will Convene in Toronto September 3-6

Washington, DC—The 105^th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA) will convene from September 3-6 in Toronto, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the InterContinental Toronto Centre, and the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. This is the first time in its history that the meeting has been held outside the United States. The APSA Annual Meeting is the world’s largest gathering of political scientists; almost 7,000 participants are expected to attend over 1,000 panel sessions and events.

Contemporary public debates feature prominently in the meeting program.  Hundreds of sessions will be convened on questions such as the 2008 U.S. elections, conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, immigration, terrorism, voting behavior, U.S. foreign and security policy, religion, and political polarization.  The full meeting program is searchable by keyword and is online at /mtgs/program_2009/.

The 2009 meeting, which has the theme of “Politics in Motion: Change and Complexity in the Contemporary Era” asks political scientists to think about knowledge in a context of change and complexity as both a scholarly endeavor and for bringing that knowledge to bear on the crucial policy challenges that shape our contemporary era. This theme draws our attention to what is new, different, and unusual in politics today and points to the constant motion involved in the pursuit of knowledge.

Some featured speakers and highlights include:

-- A plenary session on “Barack Obama: The Politics of Change” featuring Larry Bartels (Princeton University), Glenn Loury (Brown University), Theda Skocpol (Harvard University), and Rogers Smith (University of Pennsylvania)

-- The Pi Sigma Alpha Lecture by author Kevin Phillips on "Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism"

-- A plenary session Great Debate on “How Free Should Hate Speech Be?” featuring Amy Gutmann (President, Univ. of Pennsylvania), Robert Post (Dean, Yale Law School), Carissima Mathen (Univ. of New Brunswick Law School), and Jeremy Waldron (NYU Law School)

-- Presidential Address by Peter Katzenstein (Cornell University)

-- A series of sessions on U.S. Standing in the World

-- A plenary session with Charles Taylor, Professor Emeritus at McGill University and Professor of Law and Philosophy at Northeastern University, on "The Many Forms of Secularism."

-- The New Political Science plenary address by noted author Tom Hayden on "Movements Against Machiavellians, the Theory and Practice of Social Change"

-- The John Gaus Lecture recognizing scholarship in public administration, by Prof. Larry O’Toole (University of Georgia)

-- A panel on New Directions in Latino Politics Research                       

-- A Roundtable on the 2008 National Asian American Survey

-- Panels in honor of the late Samuel Huntington, Nelson Polsby, and Charles Tilly

Interested members of the media may pre-register for complimentary meeting credentials online at /section_77.cfm until 5 PM EST, Friday, August 28. On-site registration at the Metro Toronto Convention Center will also be available.

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The American Political Science Association (est. 1903) is the leading professional organization for the study of politics and has over 14,000 members in 80 countries. For more news and information about political science research and the APSA meeting visit the APSA media website, www.politicalsciencenews.org.