From The Chair at jbraveboy-wagner@gc.cuny.edu
Welcome to the blog of the Global South Caucus for International Studies. The purposes, charter, list of initial executive committee members etc. are all now available on the ISA website (http://www.isanet.org/global_south_caucus/). We will soon begin to publish a newsletter: along with pertinent information about caucus activities, the newsletter will contain information which you, the members, send to us for publicizing; so please begin to send us your tidbits (send to me or to the Secretary-Treasurer for forwarding to the newsletter team).
We are grateful for the many persons who have written to us expressing interest in the caucus. As you renew your membership (which is around this time for most of us), please remember to click the Global Caucus box. We expect that it will be five dollars well spent!
As you know, the major task for all sections and caucuses over the past month has been ensuring that proposals are sent in for Convention 2012 in San Diego. The caucus has been open to co-sponsoring any pertinent panel or workshop on global south issues (defined broadly as issues affecting Africa, Asia, Latin America. the post communist states, and southern pockets in the North), and members have offered a few panel proposals for direct sponsorship by the Global South Caucus (thank you). Two of the latter relate to cross-(ISA)sectional approaches to the Global South (intended to foster a dialogue among members who would like to know more about IR foci other than their own), as well as a discussion of teaching, research, career, mentorship and other issues. As many of you know, we initially wanted to form a Working Group (see ISA site for a description of these) which would meet at least three times during the convention. However, ISAHQ needs a year's lead time to accommodate these working groups and we will instead put this down on the agenda for next time. On the other hand, a workshop on these issues in 2012 will most surely lay the foundation for 2013. Based on our experience this year so far, we will hope for a higher panel allocation/exemptions for co-sponsorship in the future. But that of course depends on how many people participate in the caucus.
A special word about our planned Innovative Panel. In keeping with the theme of the convention and with the support of President Simmons, we are hoping to hold a virtual panel on the theme of the impact of media/new media on civil society in the global south. We are still in the process of identifying relevant scholars/policy persons from the global south who might be interested in participating by liaising with our facilitators who will be on the ground in San Diego. Anyone who is, or knows someone from global south regions who might be, interested, please contact me. Forward a brief bio and a brief proposal outlining what you/your colleague might speak about. Let me know whether there are any particular issues/obstacles. preferences involved in you/your colleague's participation from a home base in the (former) "third world." Please do so by July 1 as we have to work with ISAHQ on this.
Important: In San Diego, we would like to honor a prominent scholar who has contributed a great deal to global south international relations/studies. Instead of a panel, which the sections normally hold, we would like to hold a luncheon at which the honoree can say a few words. A couple of suggestions for honorees have already been made but we would like to invite more of you to send us your suggestions. Please do so as soon as possible.
One other thing: FPA has a blog link to which we have been asked to link. It relates to an innovative panel held in Montreal 2001. For information see http://foreignpolicyanalysis.wordpress.com/innovative-panel-isa-2011/
