2010 Workshop Leaders Call for Applications Now Open

2010 Workshop: East Africa

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS:

Workshop Leaders for the 2010 APSA Africa Workshops

Deadline: 5:00 PM ET, October 1, 2009

The American Political Science Association (APSA) is pleased to announce a call for applications for U.S.-based APSA members interested in organizing a team of leaders for a three-week political science workshop scheduled to take place in East Africa in the summer of 2010.

BACKGROUND

Supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the 2010 workshop is part of an ongoing three-year effort to organize annual residential political science workshops in Africa. The inaugural workshop was convened in Dakar, Senegal, from July 6-27, 2008 on the theme of “Political Participation;” the 2009 workshop will be convened in Accra, Ghana from June 21-July 10, 2009 on the theme of “Elections and Democracy.” More information about both workshops can be found at the project website, www.apsanet.org/africaworkshops.

Each workshop is led by a team of two U.S.-based and two Africa-based scholars and is aimed at bringing together up to 20 junior scholars residing in Africa along with 4 U.S.-based advanced graduate students. The goals of the workshops are to: (1) enhance the capacities and resources for theoretical or empirical scholarship by political scientists in Africa; (2) explore a compelling intellectual theme underpinning basic research in political science; (3) provide a forum for connecting participants with recent developments in the field; and (4) support their ongoing research. The working language of the 2010 workshop will be English.

The proposal must explain the scope of the professional ties between the prospective U.S. and Africa-based workshop leaders; preference will be given to teams demonstrating substantial previous research collaboration. Workshop leaders will serve as academic directors of the project who will be responsible for all substantive content. A modest honorarium will be provided and related expenses (meals, transportation, lodging, incidentals) will be covered.

Workshop administration and logistics will be led by APSA staff in conjunction with the local partners in Africa that will be determined through close consultation with the selected team of workshop leaders. Partners have included the West African Research Center, Dakar (2008) and the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon (2009). For 2010 APSA is not specifying a local partner in advance and will expect applicants to explain and justify where and with which organization they would like to collaborate to implement the workshop. Local partner organizations will be expected to work closely with APSA on all

related administrative and logistical tasks and so should be recommended carefully with an eye toward their institutional capacity and ability to support a successful residential workshop. Partners should exhibit close linkages to local institutions of higher education and research communities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to recommend local partner organizations only if they have existing relationships or know them well.

APPLICATIONS

Each workshop proposal should be submitted jointly by two U.S-.based APSA members who are interested in co-leading the summer 2010 workshop. Applications should be in three sections:

I. Workshop Theme Proposal (1-2 pages)

The workshop theme proposal should provide a coherent intellectual foundation from which the substance of the workshop will flow and bind together the syllabus and readings. Any research or substantive theme in political science is welcome, but topics of broad theoretical and methodological interest that reach beyond a specific national, regional, or policy focus are preferred. The theme proposal should address how the theme and methodological questions to be raised will achieve workshop goals and incorporate new developments in the field and literature.

II. Substantive Leadership of the Workshop (3-5 pages)

In this section, applicants must provide detailed information on the following:

Naming, or establishing a plan for recruiting, the two Africa-based workshop leaders.
A specific division of labor among the workshop leaders. For example, if different workshop leaders are to assume responsibility for a particular sections, why? How does that arrangement fit with the overall workshop progression and theme?
Expectations of participant workloads—including anticipated amounts of reading and other work.
A commitment to the collective intellectual leadership of the workshop—including devoting sufficient time for:

comprehensively reviewing all participant applications on or about April 2010
attending all three weeks of the workshop in residence
consulting regularly with APSA staff from selection through the end of the workshop
communicating with applicants in the run-up to the workshop as needed
mentoring of participants after the workshop

Specification of, and justification for, a workshop location and local partner organization

Rationale for workshop location in East Africa.
Overview of recommended local partner organization and relevant background
Specification of institutional capacity of recommended local partner organization to host, support, and organize 3-week residential workshop for 30 participants—including facilities, staff, and technology.
Explanation of existing ties to and knowledge of local partner organization

III. Supplementary Information (no page limit)

This section of the application should provide:

Recent CVs for all proposed workshop leaders.
A discussion of any relevant experience in organizing workshops.

APPLICATION TIMELINE AND INFORMATION

Applications should be submitted electronically to APSA in Word format, 12-point font, double spaced (except for Section III, Supplementary Information, which can be single spaced) and with 1-inch margins. Send applications to africaworkshops@apsanet.org by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, October 1, 2009. Selections will be announced in November 2009.

Contact Us: Send an email at africaworkshops@apsanet.org, or call Helena Saele at (202) 483-2512 x112, if you have questions or would like more information about the workshops or application process.

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