Notes from a conference
My top ten notes, quotes, flotsam and jetsam from four days at the American Political Science Association’s annual meeting in Toronto, Canada: 1) I predict a bevy of papers over the next six months with titles like: "The Political Economy of International Roaming Charges." "States, Social Revolutions, and Why AT&T Sucks." "A Rational Choice Explanation ...
My top ten notes, quotes, flotsam and jetsam from four days at the American Political Science Association's annual meeting in Toronto, Canada:
My top ten notes, quotes, flotsam and jetsam from four days at the American Political Science Association’s annual meeting in Toronto, Canada:
1) I predict a bevy of papers over the next six months with titles like:
- "The Political Economy of International Roaming Charges."
- "States, Social Revolutions, and Why AT&T Sucks."
- "A Rational Choice Explanation of Why Your American Cell Phone Does Not Work in Canada."
- "An Empirical Test of Limited iPhone Usage in a Foreign Land."
2) Someone had the whimsy to locate a Hooters restaurant right next to the conference center. And no, I do not know who went there.
3) Pehaps related to the Hooters thing, the book room at APSA had a new wrinkle this year — free five minute massages from a local massage school. And hell yes, I took advantage of this offer!
4) Said by a book editor as someone was buying one of his press’ books: "Yeah…. good luck slogging through that one."
5) Books available for just three bucks at the conference — indicating that these titles had either jumped the shark or never caught fire:
- Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat and Crowded
- Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine
- Andrew Bacevich’s The Limits of Power
- Noam Chomsky’s Failed States
- John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.
6) Overheard: "I have to tell you my Cornel West and Ronald Reagan anecdote."
7) Someone asked a female political scientist with an ankle tattoo whether it was Tibetan. She replied, "No, it’s Elvish."
8) In conversation: "Things I do not worry about disappearing: death, taxes, and [a prominent political scientist’s] ego."
9) I was puzzled and saddened by the paucity of panels about the financial meltdown and Great Recession. I was really puzzled and saddened by the low attendance at the few panels that addressed this topic.
10) The most gratifying thing I heard at the conference: "Your zombie post was awesome!!!"
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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