FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 4, 2010
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124
aperkins@pa.muw.edu

Mississippi Political Science Association conference at MUW Nov. 5-6

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- The Mississippi Political Science Association will hold its annual conference at Mississippi University for Women for the first time ever Nov. 5-6.

Fifty-four participants will deliver 46 academic papers in 12 panels, seven which are designated specifically for undergraduate research, and one roundtable. Nine universities and colleges and one community college in Mississippi and three other states will be represented.

Dr. Brian Anderson, professor of political science at MUW and 2010 president of the Mississippi Political Science Association, and Dr. Jeanne Holland, MUW associate professor of education, will participate as well as MUW students Eve Certhoux, Laura Corley, Lesly Griffin, James Aaron Huggins, Jordan Kaase, Terresia Rush and Bess Toyama.

Each panel consists of two to four academic papers, which will be delivered by their authors, followed by comments from a designated discussant and then a question and answer session. Each panel will last approximately 75 minutes.

Panels are organized around specific topics such as religion and political conflict and women leaders. The roundtable is a focused discussion among three scholars about the political implications in the work of the famous sociologist, Erving Goffman.

The program begins at 10 a.m. on Friday and runs through noon Saturday. All papers will be given in Cochran Hall, third floor.  

On Friday evening, students from Mississippi Valley State University and Mississippi State University will stage a mock trial exhibition involving a civil suit related to product liability. The exhibition will be from 6:30 until 9 p.m. in Cochran 303.

Dr. Anderson said, "I am very excited to host the MSPSA conference and am looking forward to student participation. Some of them may be nervous, but I think they will see the welcoming atmosphere of a state-level academic conference, and it's right here on the front end of campus.”

This year’s conference theme is 'The Promise of Change, the Reality of Change.”

“There are a small number of papers that assess aspects of the Obama presidency so far, but overall we can expect a high level of engagement from participants in the current political scene,” he added. “With the congressional mid-term elections just past, there will doubtless be much discussion of the nature of political change both in panel discussions and the informal hallway conversations that enrich academic conferences."

For more information, contact Anderson at banderson@as.muw.edu.