March 20, 2008: APSA Announces Project to Convene Political Science Workshops in Africa APSA Press Release

For Immediate Release
Contact: Bahram Rajaee, (202) 483-2512

APSA Announces Project to Convene Political Science Workshops in Africa

Inaugural workshop will be on the theme of “Political Participation” in Dakar, Senegal, from July 6-27, 2008.  Applications to be accepted starting March 20, 2008.

Washington, DC—The American Political Science Association (APSA) is pleased to announce the undertaking of a major international project, supported by an $896,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation over three years, to convene annual residential workshops in Africa starting in July 2008. 

The project originated in efforts beginning in 2005 led by then-APSA President Ira Katznelson (Columbia University).  A planning grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation facilitated the development and submission of a comprehensive proposal in 2007. APSA will be partnering with the Dakar-based Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) to implement the project for its duration.

The workshops which form the core of the effort will build intellectual communities by improving training, generating scholarship, disseminating results, fashioning networks, and conducting critical reviews. The model employed is that of the residential workshop, led by significant figures from both Africa and the United States, which will bring together primarily younger scholars from across Africa for a period of three weeks. Each workshop would gather some 30 individuals for an intensive intellectual experience covering substantive scholarly issues, particular methodologies, and reviews of research.

The inaugural workshop will address the theme of “Political Participation” and be convened in Dakar, Senegal from July 6-27, 2008 at the facilities of the West African Research Center (WARC).  The four workshop leaders are:  Prof. Leonard Wantchekon (New York University, Department of Politics, USA); Prof. Augustin Loada (Faculté de Droit et de Science Politique de l'Université de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso), Prof. Alioune Badara Diop (Unité d'Enseignement et de Recherches de Sciences Juridiques et Politiques de l'Université Gaston Berger, St.-Louis, Senegal), and Prof. Catherine Boone (University of Texas at Austin, Department of Government, USA).

Applications for the 2008 workshop will be accepted starting on March 20 and be reviewed as received until May 20.  Final selections will be announced by May 29.

For more information about the APSA Africa Workshops or to download the Call for Applications, visit the project website at www.apsanet.org/africaworkshops or email international@apsanet.org.

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