APSA sponsors dissertation workshops on the Wednesday prior to the APSA Annual Meeting. Each full-day workshop includes six PhD candidates who present a dissertation chapter, along with two faculty members who lead the workshop and moderate discussions.
The deadline to apply for the 2019 APSA Annual Meeting dissertation workshops has now passed. Check back in early 2020 for info on next year's workshops!
Questions? Contact [email protected].
2019 APSA Dissertation Workshops
COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IN CONGRESS
Alison Craig, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin
The goal of this workshop is to develop a network of emerging scholars working on issues related to collaboration and communication in legislative studies. By broadening traditional Congress research beyond legislative activity, this workshop opens up new avenues for research that explore alternative measures of lawmaker behavior and novel methodologies. Dissertations on a range of topics are welcome, in particular research that addresses negotiation, lawmakers' strategic communication, and new methods for quantitative analysis. Before the workshop, each student participant will share one draft of a dissertation chapter, and all participants will read each other’s work and prepare feedback. Faculty and students will discuss the drafts and suggest potential ways to improve research design, theory development, and writing style. In addition, the workshop will take time to address general professional development issues. Students will leave the workshop with directed revisions to strengthen both their theoretical and methodological approaches to dissertations and future studies.
THE INTERSECTION OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER IN AMERICAN POLITICAL BEHAVIOR
Co-Leaders
Co-sponsored by the Women and Politics Research Section, our workshop will focus on research revolving around the intersection of race, ethnicity and gender in American political behavior. Studies of the intersection of identity in American politics are growing significantly. As a part of this growth, scholars are developing increasingly diverse methodological approaches to explore the intersection of gender and ethno-race in America. Yet different methods yield different information about the intersection of identities and come with different strengths and weaknesses. As researchers that have used a variety of approaches to study race and gender in American politics (including content analysis, experiments, interviews and survey data), we hope to help young scholars build their research and guide them towards thinking about all the different ways these subjects may be explored. Dissertation chapters that explore mass and/or elite behavior in American politics from an intersectional perspective are welcome. The potential topics may include but are not limited to: candidate behavior, protest movements, immigration, mass behavior, voting, and legislative or judicial behavior. The panels will revolve around methodological approaches to the topic, with one panel including primarily quantitative work and the other including qualitative approaches. Common themes to our discussion will include theory development, measurement, and methodological approaches to studying intersectionality in American politics. We will also discuss some of the challenges associated with publishing intersectional research and highlight strategies for overcoming those barriers. The workshop will provide students with constructive feedback from both the leaders and the participants. Through the course of this process, we will provide individual students with guidance as well as create a space for a broader discussion about the state of the literature and avenues for new research. The workshop will require participants to engage in peer review and will be a collaborative space. Students will leave the workshop with directed revisions to strengthen both their theoretical and methodological approaches to dissertations and future studies. Finally, this workshop will create a stronger relationship with their peers and others working in their same field. We hope to use this workshop as a networking and mentoring space as well.
NATIONALISM AND POPULISM IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Co-Leaders
Jiyoung Ko, Assistant Professor, Bates College
Description
This workshop will bring together PhD candidates researching on nationalism, national identity, populism, and public opinion in international relations (including both international security and international political economy). Each participant will share a chapter of their dissertation prior to the workshop. All participants will read each other’s work and prepare feedback on how the chapter can be improved. For each presentation, one participant will also be assigned as a primary discussant in order to facilitate more focused discussion. This workshop will offer a valuable opportunity for PhD candidates to get constructive feedback on their dissertation chapter, develop a network of peers, and exchange their views on the direction of future research on these under-explored, yet increasingly important topics in international relations.
Previous Dissertation Workshop Descriptions
MIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP
Willem Maas, Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor, York University
This workshop will bring together emerging scholars working on diverse topics related to contemporary citizenship, migration, membership, and belonging. By focusing on multilevel and transnational citizenship we hope to widen the debate beyond the established literature on national-level citizenship regimes in established democracies. Dissertations on a range of approaches to citizenship and diaspora politics are welcome. We especially encourage proposals that are grounded in empirical work and that would allow us to undertake cross-regional comparisons of multilevel and transnational forms of citizenship. Before the workshop each student participant will share one draft of a dissertation chapter, and all participants will read each other's work in advance and prepare feedback. Faculty leaders and students will discuss the drafts and provide detailed comments. Each graduate participant will be expected to offer formal comments on one of the papers, scheduled in advance. The workshop will also provide students with a network of peers in the field and allow for a discussion about the broader fields of migration, citizenship, and diaspora politics.
MILITARIES AND SECURITY FORCES: FROM REPRESSION TO DEMOCRATIZATION
Co-Leaders
This workshop will bring together PhD candidates researching military and security forces. It will include two thematic panels. The first will explore the role of paramilitaries, militia, and other irregular security forces in mass protests, civil war, and international conflict. The second will examine how military and security forces influence processes of democratization and democratic consolidation. Dissertations on a range of topics related to these themes are welcome. Each participant in the workshop will share a dissertation chapter prior to the workshop, and present it on one of the two panels. The workshop leaders will provide feedback that suggests concrete ways to improve the drafts and draws connections between the chapters presented on each panel. In addition to providing participants with substantive feedback on their work, the workshop will serve as an opportunity for PhD candidates to develop a network of peers in the field.
STATE POLITICS AND POLICY
Co-Leaders
Carl Klarner, Klarnerpolitics
Description
Dissertation topics covering any aspect of state politics and policy are welcome. Before the workshop each student participant will submit one draft of a dissertation chapter, and all participants will read each other's work and prepare feedback. The workshop will provide constructive feedback in a supportive environment on how the chapters can be improved, both in their theoretical rigor, research design and presentation. Suggestions for additional analyses and how to best emphasize findings will also be discussed. Possible topics could include, but are not limited to, state legislatures, governors or other state executives, state judiciaries, direct democracy, state elections, or state public policy.
Co-Leaders
Burke Hendrix, Associate Professor, University of Oregon
Leigh Jenco, Associate Professor, LSE
Description
This workshop will focus on research in the field of comparative political theory. By broadening the traditional canon of political thought to include global and non-western intellectual traditions, comparative political theory opens up new avenues for research while also raising important methodological questions. Dissertations on a range of topics in comparative political thought are welcome. Before the workshop each student participant will share one draft of a dissertation chapter, and all participants will read each other's work in advance and prepare feedback. Faculty leaders and students will discuss the drafts and provide detailed comments. Each graduate participant will be expected to offer formal comments on one of the papers, scheduled in advance. The workshop will also provide students with a network of peers in the field and allow for a discussion about the state of political theory more broadly.
Co-Leaders
- James Curry, Assistant Professor, University of Utah
- Danielle Thomsen, Assistant Professor, Syracuse University
Description
The goal of this workshop is to develop a network of emerging scholars working on issues related to U.S. congressional politics. Dissertations on a range of topics are welcome, including legislative institutions and processes, parties, gender and politics, leadership, and more. Before the workshop each student participant will share one draft of a dissertation chapter, and all participants will read each other’s work and prepare feedback. Faculty and students will discuss the drafts and suggest potential ways to improve research design, theory development, and writing style. In addition, the workshop will take time to address general professional development issues. Students will leave the workshop with directed revisions to strengthen both their theoretical and methodological approaches to dissertations and future studies.
Co-Leaders
Sarah Allen Gershon, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Georgia State University
Nadia Brown, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science &
African American Studies Program
Purdue University
Description
This workshop will focus on research revolving around the intersection of race, ethnicity and gender in American political behavior. Studies of the intersection of identity in American politics are growing significantly. As a part of this growth, scholars are developing increasingly diverse methodological approaches to explore the intersection of gender and ethnorace in America. Yet different methods yield different information about the intersection of identities and come with different strengths and weaknesses. As researchers that have used a variety of approaches to study race and gender in American politics (including content analysis, experiments, interviews and survey data), we hope to help young scholars build their research and guide them towards thinking about all the different ways these subjects may be explored. Dissertation chapters that explore mass and/or elite behavior in American politics from an intersectional perspective are welcome.
The panels will revolve around methodological approaches to the topic, with one panel including primarily quantitative work and the other including qualitative approaches. Common themes to our discussion will include theory development, measurement, and methodological approaches to studying intersectionality in American politics. We will also discuss some of the challenges associated with publishing intersectional research and highlight strategies for overcoming those barriers. The workshop will provide students with constructive feedback from both the leaders and the participants. Through the course of this process, we will provide individual students with guidance as well as create a space for a broader discussion about the state of the literature and avenues for new research. Students will leave the workshop with directed revisions to strengthen both their theoretical and methodological approaches to dissertations and future studies.
Co-Leaders
Ramiro Berardo, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Environment and Natural Resources
The Ohio State University |
Sarah Anderson, PhD
Associate Professor
Bren School of Environment and Management &
Department of Political Science
University of California Santa Barbara |
Description
This workshop will develop a network of emerging scholars in science, technology and environmental politics through the discussion of ongoing dissertation projects. Each student participant will provide one draft of a chapter/paper and one research plan for another chapter/paper. Organized around panels addressing behavior and institutions, the faculty and students will discuss the drafts and suggest potential ways to improve their theoretical grounding, research design, and writing style. In addition, the workshop will take time to address such issues as building an effective network of research collaborators, finding the right professional mentors, and efficiently managing time for a successful career post-graduation.