 25th Annual Meeting of the Public Administration Theory Network Call for Panels, Roundtables, and Papers Hosted by UT-Brownsville and Stephen F. Austin State University May 17-20, 2012 Deadline Extended, Proposals Now Due: December 30, 2011 Theme: Exploring Borders: New Realities, Challenges, and Solutions Invitation to the Conference For this conference, we examine, deconstruct, and interrogate “borders” in the field of public administration. Here, borders refer to physical, geographical, metaphorical, philosophical and/or ontological spaces that tend to delimit and separate us or, alternatively, bring us closer together. Borders can be hard and they can be porous or liminal. Indeed, much of what we need to accomplish in public administration needs to take place at the borders that separate and unite us. Within these sometimes fluid and sometimes invariable fields of action we call borders, new political, social, economic, global, and technical realities have challenged governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and humanity to respond. Public administration theory has a unique opportunity to go beyond established thinking to interpret these realities, acknowledge the challenges, and assert solutions. This conference seeks to build new theoretical groundings in ways that create inclusive communities, increase citizen/public collaboration, improve governance, boost administrative prowess, and enhance understanding of border relations. Approaches to this theme may include antiessentialism, critical theory deconstructive methods, dialectics, discursive practices, hermeneutic interpretation, phenomenological approaches, post-structuralism, and social constructivism. The Public Administration Theory Network (PAT-Net) invites scholarly papers from diverse perspectives that inspire new theoretical discussions and build from the past insights and structures to allow us to confront new realities, challenges, and solutions. The Program Committee will also consider proposals unrelated to the theme, but advance theoretical thinking in administrative, behavioral, policy, and political arenas. Publication Opportunities Authors of completed full-length papers presented at the conference are invited to be considered for publication in Administrative Theory & Praxis. The International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, and the Public Administration Quarterly have also expressed an interest in offering publication opportunities. Other journals are encouraged to sponsor symposia related to the conference theme. Conference Information Early sign in and the Conference Welcome Reception is at 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 17th. Conference sessions (panels and roundtables) begin Friday, May 18th, 2012 and end at noon on Sunday, May 20th, 2012. There will also be a Ph.D. student pre-conference workshop offered on Thursday, May 17th. The conference will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn on South Padre Island, Texas. Questions about the hotel, registration, or conference events should be sent to the Site Committee Chair, Terry Garrett, at Terence.Garrett@utb.edu. Program Information Questions about program substance or proposals for panels, papers, and roundtables should be addressed to the Program Committee Chair Rick Herzog at PAT.Net2012@gmail.com Proposals for Panels/Roundtables and Papers Submissions addressing the theme of the conference could be in the form of full or partial panels, roundtables, or papers. All proposals should be sent to by November 16, 2011. Panels should involve three or four participants, with a designated convener, and a moderator/discussant. The Program Committee anticipates four distinct session types will result from the submitted proposals. 1) Paper discussion panels attract audiences that have read papers prior to the conference; emphasis will be on dialogue and peer review rather than extensive discrete presentation. 2) Paper presentation panels occur with audiences unfamiliar with the content; general discussion follows authors’ presentations. 3) Roundtables focus on topics under development in public administration; they diffuse theory innovation from related areas of inquiry through prepared discussants and dialogue with the audience. 4) Individual paper proposals will be assigned to a partial panel or assembled into panels as the Program Committee sees fit. Please note that if the proposal does not include a convener or moderator/discussant the program committee will make assignments as needed. Panel/roundtable proposals should include: Panel/roundtable title and abstract not to exceed 300 words in length and, for panels, a classification as paper discussion or paper presentation
Paper proposals should include: Title of paper
All proposals should be sent to Rick Herzog at PAT.Net2012@gmail.com by Wednesday, November 16. Paper Submission Papers must be submitted in pdf format by Monday, April 23 to be included on the conference webpage. (The submission location will be determined at a later date.) Paper submission by this date is critical for panels that will focus on the discussion of the papers. If the papers are not submitted by this date the panel will have to revert to a presentation of papers panel. Pre-Conference Workshop for Ph. D. Students “Building Bridges or Creating Boundaries? Public Administration and the “Newness” of the Field” During the 2011 PAT-Net Conference in Norfolk, Virginia, several scholars presented papers regarding the field’s intellectual history, its current state, and avenues for future theorizing and research (e.g., papers by Shelly Peffer, Larry Terry, Cindy Pressley, and C.F. Abel). One question that came up repeatedly during discussions and on other panels was: “So what is new?” Related, a follow up question became: “So how ready is the Public Administration field for something new?” This year’s Doctoral Student Workshop picks up that mantle by looking at ways for the field to break through its self-imposed theoretical and methodological boundaries. There is an inherent comfort zone within the field that needs to be pushed and explored to advance the field, especially in light of a changing society both socially, economically, politically and technologically. Intellectual tradition in the field is indeed rich, but this workshop will explore the following questions and more: 1) How ready is the field for something new? Are we too comfortable with existing scholars to think about progressing the field and responding to current times? 2) Does this reliance on the “same” theories help to build bridges or create barriers (e.g., intellectual, metaphorical, theoretical, and physical)? 3) How do these physical, theoretical or psychological borders hinder (or help?) the field’s intellectual development? Using different intellectual strains, how can public administration interpret new realities within governance and assert solutions? Attendees will hear presentations on the theme from invited faculty Dr. Bob Cunningham (University of Tennessee at Knoxville), Dr. Kym Thorne (School of Commerce, University of South Australia), Dr. Rick Abel (Stephen F. Austin State University), Dr. Larry S. Luton (Eastern Washington University) and Dr. Ken Oldfield (University of Illinois—Springfield). Space is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. If interested, please contact Dr. Staci Zavattaro at staci.zavattaro@utb.edu. Funding Assistance for Students\ Funding assistance will be available to a limited number of students. Apply by March 2, 2012 by sending a 1-page letter describing your interest in PA theory to: Terry Garrett at Terence.Garrett@utb.edu. Scholarship recipients will be asked to submit a brief written reflection on their conference experience. To sponsor the conference & make additional scholarships available, contact Terry Garrett at Terence.Garrett@utb.edu. Preliminary Program Committee Rick Herzog (Chair), Stephen F. Austin State University, PAT.Net2012@gmail.com Lupita Correa-Cabrera, University of Texas at Brownsville, guadalupe.correacabrera@utb.edu M. Verónica Elias, Eastern Washington University, mveroelias@gmail.com Catherine Horiuchi, University of San Francisco, cmhoriuchi@usfca.edu Cheryl Simrell King, The Evergreen State University, kingcs@evergreen.edu Dragan Staniševski, Mississippi State University, dstanisevski@pspa.msstate.edu Craig Wickstrom, Cleveland State University, cwickstrom@wickstroms.net Staci Zavattaro, University of Texas at Brownsville, staci.zavattaro@utb.edu Site Committee Terry Garrett (Chair), University of Texas at Brownsville, Terence.Garrett@utb.edu Staci Zavattaro, University of Texas at Brownsville, Staci.Zavattaro@utb.edu Michelle Keck, University of Texas at Brownsville, Michelle.Keck@utb.edu Lupita Correa-Cabrera, University of Texas at Brownsville, Guadalupe.CorreaCabrera@utb.edu About the Public Administration Theory Network The Public Administration Theory Network (PAT-Net) is an international network of professionals concerned with the advancement of public administration theory. The Network was formed in 1978 by a group of scholars who were seeking an alternative venue to develop and talk about public administration theory. Administrative Theory & Praxis is the official peer-reviewed journal of PAT-Net. For more information on PAT-Net and past conferences, and the upcoming conference visit www.patheory.org. More Information Conference website: www.patnet2012.wordpress.com where information on this call, the hotel, registration, and travel suggestions are located.
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