Archive for March, 2008

Hal Nelson proposes that ISA as an organization take steps to offset the carbon emissions from the annual convention. He’d like the support of the Environmental Studies Section to bring this proposal (next year) to the Governing Council. We’ll discuss this issue at this year’s business meeting.

Proposal to ESS members: Offsetting Greenhouse Gas Emissions from ISA Annual Conventions

ISA is considering creating a set of “working groups” within ISA sections, with a pilot project slated for the 2009 conference in NYC. Three sections — Environmental Studies, Human Rights, and ALIAS — have been chosen to be the first participants. Each working group would have approximately 12 participants (with funding for those who participate) who would meet on the day before the conference begins for a workshop on section-specific topics; they would then commit to attending a set of panel/poster session sponsored by the section and meet as a group twice more during the conference to collectively discuss the papers and issues presented. ESS therefore seeks someone to act as coordinator of this process for the section. The Group Coordinator would select the workshop/group theme, facilitate pre-conference communication with participants and section officers, coordinate meeting times and locations, and administer assessment surveys upon completion of the project.