APSA

It's that time of year again - renewal of my subscription to the American Political Science Association. Why does a Brit like myself join APSA? (I am a member of the UK's Political Studies Association). There are some excellent resources for any academic interested in US Politics. There are three journals which are supplied to all members.

The American Political Science Review
Perspectives on Politics
PS: Political Science and Politics

To date I have been receiving the physical versions - and there are regularly articles of interest to me as a researcher into the US Congress; Elections & Political communication. My home though does not have enough storage space - and from now on I'm only going to get the pdfs.

 

In addition there are Organised Sections -  I'm a member of the Legislative Studies Section - and have had membership in

Political Organizations and Parties
Political Communication
Political Psychology
Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior Due to pressure of time, I am doing less in those areas now, so leave them at the end of this month. There are various conferences put on by APSA - and perhaps one day I will get across to attend one. In my view, if you are serious about studying US Politics, APSA membership is a must!

The Monkey Cage

If your interest is Political Science, then it's worth taking a look at the blog (and signing up for updates) - called the Monkey Cage. I was told of it because it does excellent reports of elections around the world - but it has so much more. It takes on sloppy journalism (akin to Ben Goldacre's 'Bad Science', save that it deals with poor use and understanding of political science research). It also has lots of articles ranging across the discipline of political science and related areas.

It is written in the USA - and has (save for its worldwide election coverage), an emphasis on US politics. It has an impressive list of contributors (and it was Sarah Binder's piece on the film, Lincoln [Lincoln: Best film ever about...the House of Representatives!] that persuaded me that it was a film I HAD to see.)

I subscribe my email (link on the blog). I can strongly recommend it.

The Oxford Handbook of the American Congress

It's rather expensive - but incredible value. This year the Oxford University Press has brought out "The Oxford Handbook of the American Congress". It is a hardback book, full of useful essays giving both an up to date summary of research in particular areas, plus some areas where research is needed.

Part I is an introduction by the two editors of the 900 page volume, Eric Schickler and Francis E Lee. Part II contains five essays on "Studying the Congress", looking at

Behavioral Approaches to the Study of Congress - Bruce Oppenheimer
Formal Approaches to the Study of Congress - Craig Volden & Alan E Wiseman
Measuring Legislative Preferences - Nolan McCarty
Interviewing and Direct Observational Studies of Congress - Ross K Baker
Historical Approaches to the Study of Congress - Ira Katznelson

If only the Handbook had been available when I was starting my Literature Review for my Ph.D! The essays are succinct, very informative, and idea-provoking.

Part III deals with Elections and related matters. Part IV deals with Representation and Responsiveness. Parts V to VI were of particular interest to me. Six essays, each averaging 20 pages, deal with Congressional Institutions and Procedures in Part V. Randall Strahan writes on Party leadership (I found this article to be expensive - I've subsequently ordered a couple of the books he summarises); C Lawrence Evans  describes developments in the study of Congressional Committees. Other articles deal with The Supermajority Senate (Gregory J Wawro); Managing Plenary Time (Gary W Cox and Mathew McCubbins); Congressional Reforms (E Scott Adler) and the Congressional Budget Process (John B Gilmour).

Part VI deals with Politics and Policymaking and Part VII Congressional Development. Part II is entitled "Congress and the Constitutional System" and the volume concludes with two essays by Giants of political science, Morris Fiorina and David Mayhew.

There is both a Name index and a Subject index. All the essays have extensive bibliographies. There isn't much room left in the 'library' within my office at home - and not as much money as I'd like in my bank balance - but this is a book that is well worth the space and the price.

You can buy the book using the link below -

Political Science Degrees in the USA

Phillip Donavan has drawn my attention to an informative site that he has developed - about the various Political Science courses available across the USA.

I liked the site - because it has information about many universities, and the courses available. This is no mere listing - a description is given. This will be invaluable to anyone seeking to study in a US institution. It has useful links to APSA and IPSA (I'm a member of both) - and information about career opportunities once the degree has been awarded.

The website is "Political Science Degree" - and the address is http://www.politicalsciencedegree.com/