Saturday, February 21, 2015

Declaring Success at the ISA

Twas a wonderful week in New Orleans for the International Studies Association meeting.  I will follow the example of a wise general and declare success:
  • The ISA approved the committee's report on blogging--folks should just be responsible, blogger or not, editor or President or whatever.  
  • The Online Media Caucus was approved.
  • The governing council meeting also demonstrated that the future will be interesting...
  • I didn't break any bones slipping on the beads on Bourbon Street.  
  • I greatly enjoyed an hour of craps with Sara Mitchell.  We didn't profit, alas, but we successfully had fun.
  • I had two wonderful dinners that helped to launch two new journals--Journal of Global Security Studies and the European Journal of International Security.  I am on both editorial boards. 
  • I was interviewed by Sage press as they are seeking to build a library of discussions of key literatures and debates--twas fun.
  • I learned much during the Academic Freedom and Social Media roundtable--I have never studied academic freedom, but I do indulge in it quite a bit.
  • The Duckies were a blast!
  • The second roundtable celebrated the life of Pattie Weitsman.  And, yes, I was a mess.
  • The third roundtable focused on Canada and Afghanistan.  We had much consensus
    • that the argument that the military hoodwinked the Prime Minister is crap
    • that parliament was super lame (technical academic jargon)
  • I met a heap of old friends and a few new ones.  I have been very lucky in this academic journey. 
  • The OMC business meeting was very successful--a small crowd but heaps of great ideas!
  • The TRIP data panel went well.
  • Dinner with Team Steve was delightful.
So, yeah, I am very lucky.  I hope the good fortune continues tomorrow as I travel back home.

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