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The International Conference for the Study of Political Thought (CSPT) is an international, interdisciplinary organization of scholars and informed citizens concerned to promote the study of past and present political thinking especially with respect to the proper ends of political activity and the means permissible for their attainment. Founded in Toronto in 1967 by J.G.A. Pocock (The Johns Hopkins Univeristy), Melvin Richter (CUNY), and Neal Wood (York), the CSPT is now composed of a world-wide network of affiliated groups and scholarly organizations. CSPT members may download here and below a letter from the Executive Editorial Committee of Political Theory: An International Journal of Political Philosophy, regarding publication in the field and the use of impact factor in ranking journals. The Committee writes: "The letter emerges from discussions that we, as members of the Executive Editorial Committee of Political Theory, have been having with Jayne Marks, Sage Publications Vice President and Editorial Director, about the use of impact factor in ranking journals and shaping library decisions about whether to maintain or suspend journal subscriptions. As the letter makes clear, while we are not great fans of this metric, we accept its growing governance of the journal acquisitions and subscriptions market, and we are concerned that political theorists both understand impact factor and what minor changes in their citation practices would help to sustain the journals they value." Terrell Carver, Political Theory's consulting editor, made the following statement: This will be my sole post on this subject. It consists of a quotation from a letter sent today to the Editorial Board of Political Theory. Note that there were a considerable number of academic parties involved, and that as per the information below, discussion of individuals by name is not appropriate. I am hopeful that readers and contributors here will now regard the matter as closed, and find fresher and more enlightening topics to discuss. In reply to me members of the Editorial Board have emphasized the importance of vigilance in defence of academic freedoms, principles and protocols in relation to commercial interests, where they are sometimes not fully understood ... which is what happened in this case. "I am delighted to report that I have today received a full, frank and sincere apology from the Sage Vice President involved. The Vice President has explained how the situation arose, apologized for the non-consultative behaviour, expressed great regret for any possible harm to the reputations of the academic parties involved, and affirmed 'complete confidence in Mary [Dietz]'s ability to continue to edit the journal'. In addition the Vice President will attend the next meeting of the Editorial Executive Committee, scheduled for 4 September 2009 in Toronto, in order to ensure a smooth and productive way forward in maintaining the high quality and impeccable standards you will find in Political Theory." Conference Recap "We are delighted to report that the conference "Possibility and Paradox: On Rhetoric and Political Theory," held at Northwestern University, April 2-5, 2009, was a resounding success! The conference was attended by faculty, students
and interested parties from the Chicago area and from throughout the country.
We thank The Center for Global Culture and Communication (CGCC) at
Northwestern, which co-sponsored the conference, and, especially the co-
conveners, Keith Topper, of the University of California, Irvine, and Dilip
Gaonkar, of Northwestern University, for their vision and hard work. The papers
and participants are listed here: |
2009 Spitz Prize Richard Bellamy The David and Elaine Spitz Prize Recent Reviews
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