PSIA faculty participated in the Georgia Political Science Association's (GPSA) annual conference in Savannah, GA this past November. Attendees included: Dr. Douglas Ealey, Dr. Jaimie Edwards, Dr. Craig Greathouse, Dr. Scott Meachum, Dr. Nathan Price, Dr. Ted Rossier, Dr. Zach Schwartz, Dr. Kerry Stewart, and Dr. Raluca Viman-Miller. In addition, then undergrad and political science major Ms. Anna Perry, '21 also attended. (see separate article)
Founded in 1968, GPSA is the professional association of political science practitioners and educators in Georgia. Members come from the public, private, and academic sectors. GPSA was and it is a truly rewarding experience for any that choose to participate yearly. The 2021 conference theme was Recovery, Restoration, and Redemption.
All the attendees actively engaged with their peers in topic areas near to their hearts. Here is a quick listing: Dr. Stewart participated on the roundtable on the Presidency: Advice to the new President. Dr. Price was chair for the Authoritarian States and Conflict panel, and a participant on the Comparative Politics and International Relations Theory panel. Dr. Edwards participated on the Theory and American Politics panel. Dr. Greathouse participated on the Topics in International Relations panel. Dr. Ealey participated on the roundtable on Understanding Gen Z Students: Sharing Variable Experiences in Teaching. Dr. Meachum participated on the Topics in International Relations panel. Dr. Schwartz participated on the Topics in American Politics panel. Dr. Rossier was a discussant on the Topics in Judicial Politics panel. Dr. Raluca Viman-Miller was the chair/discussant on the South Asian and Eastern European Politics panel. In addition, she chaired a panel which presented an in-depth look at our newly-published Basics of Global Politics textbook (see separate article), ably assisted by Drs. Greathouse, Price, and Meachum.
Asked about her experience at this conference, Dr. Viman-Miller said: "GPSA 2021 was a great return to normalcy after the anxious times we all had during the COVID quarantine and social distancing. It was a refreshing gathering of scholars and students from the region and it offered once again, the ability to listen to great research presentations and network among ourselves. The panels offered were diverse and the topics were varied, hence, we all had the opportunity to reconnect to our respective subjects of interest. The students' presentations were of high quality and often reflected work well done during the shutdown months of COVID. They were often interdisciplinary and applied a variety of research methods."
Dr. Price echoed Dr. Viman-Miller's sentiments: "It was great to be back at the GPSA conference in Savannah after missing the 2020 virtual event…The best thing about the conference this year by far was having the opportunity to visit with friends from our department whom I hadn't seen in a year and a half. We all very much enjoyed sharing meals and having a drink together after a long period of not being able to do so. It was great to have that opportunity to catch up with old friends and get to know some of our new faculty members such as Jaimie [Edwards] and Zack [Schwartz]."