Ouachita Baptist University will host the 2013 Arkansas Political Science Association annual meeting Friday and Saturday, March 1-2. Conference participants will attend sessions in Walker Conference Center and McClellan Hall with speakers from across the state exploring issues related to the current world of political science.
Dr. Kevin Brennan, professor of political science at Ouachita, is serving as program chair for the conference. He is responsible for arranging speakers and coordinating the two-day event.
Dr. Ronald Keith Gaddie, an expert on Southern politics from the University of Oklahoma, will be the featured keynote speaker during a Friday evening dinner in Walker Conference Center.
Ouachita faculty members who will serve as presenters during the conference include Dr. Hal Bass, professor of political science; Dr. Doug Reed, the Herbert and LaDelle Moody Professor of Pre-Law Studies; and Dr. Steven Thomason, assistant professor of political science. They will address such issues as the 2012 elections in Arkansas, political theory and American politics.
Brennan said several professors and some students will present papers on a variety of issues throughout the conference. In addition to interaction among panelists, “there are seats out there for an audience,” he added. Noting that the event provides “a general educational value” for participants, he said audience members are encouraged to interact with the presenters and provide feedback on their respective topics.
Such interaction allows “people writing papers to get some feedback,” Brennan said, while “the audience will learn from the research of the people who have written these papers.”
Stacy Beck, a senior political science major from Sheridan, Ark., will give a presentation on the role of social media in the Arab Spring. Beck has researched the topic since the spring of 2011 as part of her honors thesis.
“My research topic is something that has kept my interest at every step of the way,” Beck said. Expressing appreciation for the opportunity to present, she noted that “very few undergraduate students actually present work like this at large conferences.”
Friday afternoon, panels will be open to the public from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 2:45 to 4:15 p.m., and on Saturday morning from 8:30 to 10 a.m. and 10:15 to 11:45 a.m. The panel discussions will be held in McClellan Hall rooms 204-207.
For more information about the Arkansas Political Science Association annual meeting, contact Dr. Kevin Brennan at brennank@obu.edu or (870) 245-5346.
