*WESTERN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION 2014 ANNUAL MEETING April 17 – April 19, 2014 – Sheraton Seattle Hotel Seattle, Washington* http://wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/call.php* * The Western Political Science Association will host its 2014 annual meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle, Washington, from April 17 – 19, 2014. Please make plans to attend and encourage others to join us! The DEADLINE for submission of paper proposals/program participation forms will be September 16, 2013. The Program Chair for the 2014 meeting is Victoria Farrar-Myers, University of Texas, Arlington. Email: victoria@uta.edu *THE THEME FOR THE 2014 MEETING:* *THE POWER OF INFORMATION* In a world where ideas, thoughts, insights, and calls for actions can be transferred in a nano-second across the globe, the study of what drives this transference and the impact it has for people, institutions, governments, and the world community become even more important endeavors for social scientists to investigate. We must challenge old theories, look at diverse contexts, learn from comparative contexts and cases, and glean knowledge about what predictions or conclusions can be drawn about our political world as a result. Twenty-first century politics, more than any other, challenges us to make sense of and derive meaning from the cacophony of voices that fill the political space each day; regardless of borders, time, context, and status of relations. Already this century we have witnessed as information unleashed has led to awakenings across the world, from the Arab Spring; to the EU re-negotiations; to new coalitions built across age, race, class, gender and sexual orientation; to the continued dialogue over world-wide power; and the future metrics by which we measure such. It is within this world of information “chaos,” political scientists can be the deciphers of orders and patterns that help to make sense of not only the information, but the meaning of the events that unfold and how political actors can function and be relevant in an ever-changing reality. As we gather in area of our country with a long history of supporting information literacy (2013 marks the 145th anniversary of the formation of Seattle’s first library association and the 125th anniversary of the formation of the Ladies Library Association, whose efforts resulted in creating the Seattle Public Library) and some of the most successful businesses in the modern era of information technology (e.g., Microsoft, Amazon.com), we as social scientists need to not merely think in the Kuhnian sense of incrementalism and the creation of new paradigms, but rather in a manner that allows for cross-pollination of ideas and information among sub-fields, between disciplines, and between nations. We invite panels and paper proposals that explore the power of information in the political context, including how information is generated, communicated, and acted upon; the relation of information to other forms of political power; methodological innovations allowing us to measure the power of information; and teaching pedagogies that enable our students to become better consumers and producers of information. Please join us at the 2014 Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Seattle where information will flow like Starbucks and Seattle’s Best Coffee, and the ideas will rise like the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. * **Note:* All participants in the program are required to preregister for the meeting by early December. -- jeremy hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech www.tmttlt.com () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. -Pablo Picasso