German Politics Specialist Group Annual report of activities 2011
Activities
The GPSG has worked to promote the study of the government, politics, foreign relations, economy, political thought and recent political history of Germany. The group has continued to provide a forum for discussion and debate for German specialists at all stages of their academic career through its website, participation in national and international Germanists’ networks and events.
The GPSG supported and co-funded the activities of the biannual interdisciplinary electronic journal Austausch, which provides postgraduates and early career researchers in German Studies with a platform for peer-reviewed publications and opportunities to establish and expand their academic network:
- Claire Sutherland, coordinator of Austausch, established the journal’s website.
- Claire Sutherland organised a workshop for Austausch contributors, ‘Germany in the Twenty-First Century’ in July 2011
- The first issue of Austausch 1(1) was published in Spring 2011 on the theme of ‘Mythos Deutschland’; issue 1(2) in October 2011 on the theme of ‘Germany in the Twenty-First Century’
- The Annual General Meeting of the GPSG was held in conjunction with the Annual Workshop on 7 October 2011. (Please see AGM minutes below.) The AGM:
endorsed the proposed amendment to the GPSG constitution to incorporate specific references to the study of the German economy, German political thought and also an emphasis on interdisciplinarity in the group’s approach.
agreed to hold the GPSG Annual Workshop 2013 at the University of Düsseldorf, local convenor Professor Lothar Funk.
agreed to propose a panel on ‘German Politics in an Age of Anxiety’ for the 2012 Annual PSA conference in Belfast.
agreed to pursue the possibility of a journal special issue devoted to the theme of ‘The politics of wellbeing in Germany’, incorporating contributions from GPSG members and others.
Throughout 2011 the group continued to recruit new members.
Events
During 2011, the GPSG convened or co-convened two academic events:
- The GPSG presented a panel at the Annual Conference of the PSA held in London, April 2011. Convened by Renate Rechtien, the panel theme was ‘The politics of memory in united Germany twenty years after the fall of the Wall: cross-disciplinary perspectives’.
- The GPSG Annual Workshop on the theme of ‘The Politics of Wellbeing in Germany’ was held at the University of Westminster on 7 October 2011. It was organised by Patricia Hogwood and featured work both from established academics and early career researchers. The early career researchers’ contributions are to be published in association with Austausch.
Expenditure
For the year ending 2011, the GSPG received a PSA award of £1,250 and spent the full amount.
Officers
Two officers continued in post: Convener/Chair, Patricia Hogwood, and Treasurer, Claire Sutherland, who also continues her work as web officer. Early Careers Research Officer Hartwig Pautz stood down in September 2011.
GPSG Newsletter April 2011
Dear GPSG members,
I’m sure you’ll join me in thanking the outgoing convenors of the group, Ruth Wittlinger and Christian Schweiger, for all their hard work on our behalf. Ruth established the group in 2004 and has worked tirelessly to raise our profile within the UK political science community by organising panels and guest speakers at key events and by bringing together German politics specialists from all over the world. Ruth and Christian are a hard act to follow, but we’ll do our best to build constructively on their work.
The GSPG Annual General Meeting 2010
The AGM elected two new officers: Patricia Hogwood (University of Westminster) as Convenor and Hartwig Pautz (Polytechnic University of the Police of Brandenburg, Germany) in the newly introduced post of Early Careers Research Officer. This post was introduced to underscore GPSG’s commitment to the integration of early career researchers into the German Studies research community. Claire Sutherland (Durham University) stays in post as Treasurer and Webmaster. Please see our profiles below.
The AGM agreed on an amendment to the GPSG constitution to include specific references to the study of the German economy, German political thought and also an emphasis on interdisciplinarity in the group’s approach.
GPSG activities 2011
PSA Annual Conference, London 2011
GPSG will hold a business meeting at this year’s PSA: Thursday 21st April, 12.30-13.30, room Barsac. Anyone interested in planning future events and initiatives is welcome to come along.
GPSG is presenting a panel at the PSA Annual Conference 2011. Renate Rechtien (University of Bath) is convenor of the panel ‘The politics of memory in united Germany twenty years after the fall of the Wall: cross-disciplinary perspectives’. This panel meets right after the GPSG business meeting on Thursday 21st April, 13.30-15.00, room Mouton Cadet.
GPSG Annual workshop, University of Westminster
The Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), University of Westminster, London, will host this year’s GPSG annual workshop in September 2011. Once the dates are confirmed, a CfP on the theme of ‘The Politics of Wellbeing in Germany’ will be circulated to members.
Postgraduate online journal Austausch
The first issue of the new biannual interdisciplinary electronic journal Austausch, which has received financial support from the GPSG, was published in Spring 2011. Austausch provides postgraduates and early career researchers with a platform for peer-reviewed publications and opportunities to establish an academic network, encouraging exchange between students, scholars, and institutions with a shared interest in German Studies. Any enquiries to editor.austausch@googlemail.com.
New members?
If you know anyone who would like to join GPSG, please ask them to email Patricia Hogwood: P.Hogwood@westminster.ac.uk
GPSG website
We would like to remind you that we can post any information on forthcoming conferences, Calls for Papers etc. on our website. Please send details to Claire Sutherland claire.sutherland@durham.ac.uk
GPSG profiles
Patricia Hogwood: Convenor, University of Westminster
I am Reader in European Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster. I work in the fields of comparative politics and European Union politics. I write on issues of identity arising from German unification; concepts of citizenship; and Germany’s immigration policy. I also work on the securitisation of immigration and European strategies of immigration control. As convenor of GPSG I will work to raise the profile of German studies within the UK political science community and to encourage work between cognate disciplines to enrich the field. P.Hogwood@westminster.ac.uk
Claire Sutherland: Treasurer and Webmaster, Durham University
Claire Sutherland is a lecturer in politics at Durham University, whose core research interest is in comparative nationalism. This has led her to compare nation-building in Germany and Vietnam (Soldered States, Manchester University Press, 2010) and to look at the impact of 'cosmopolitan' trends like migration, diaspora and regionalism on contemporary nationalism (Twenty-first Century Nationalism, Palgrave Macmillan 2012). Her next research project examines the relationship between citizenship and nation-building in the age of migration through a series of Southeast Asian and European case studies, including Germany. She is keen to promote the online, interdisciplinary German Studies journal Austausch in order to facilitate the cross-fertilisation of ideas amongst Germany specialists, as well as to give postgraduate researchers experience of all aspects of academic publishing.
Hartwig Pautz: Early Careers Research Officer, Polytechnic University of the Police of Brandenburg, Germany
Until January 2011, I worked at Glasgow Caledonian University. I am currently a research fellow in an FP7 project on changes in European police forces. My role as GPSG ECR is to welcome and support postgraduate students and early career researchers – those who have completed a PhD no more than eight years ago – into the German studies research community. Too often there are boundaries between established researchers and those new to the field. I want to foster communication and exchange networks to help keep early career researchers informed about the opportunities open to them in the UK and beyond. In keeping with the rationale of GPSG, I would like these networks to promote comparative and trans-disciplinary work. I will be working together with Claire Sutherland, editor of the journal Austausch, to facilitate opportunities for PGs and ECRs to integrate into academic and practitioner networks and to discuss and publish their research.
I am currently developing plans for achieving the objectives of ECR officer. I’m open to suggestions as to how the network for postgraduate students and early careers researchers should evolve. Hartwig.pautz@arcor.de
And finally…
If you have any suggestions for future GPSG events and activities, please contact Patricia Hogwood P.Hogwood@westminster.ac.uk
PSA German Politics Specialist Group Annual General Meeting Venue: Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), University of Westminster Date: 7 October 2011
MINUTES 1. Convenor’s report Patricia Hogwood presented a report of GPSG activities in the academic year 2010-11. A summary will be circulated to members in the next newsletter. 2. GPSG budget 2010-11 GPSG made a successful bid for PSA funding for the academic year 2010-11 and was awarded £1,250, to be used primarily to support the annual Austausch conference July 2011 and the annual workshop October 2011. Exempted expenditures on the annual workshop October 2011 have been covered by the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster. 3. Amendment to GPSG constitution The AGM endorsed the proposed amendment to the GPSG constitution. The revised text (below) corresponds with the group description forwarded to PSA for use in publicity materials. Original text of paragraph 2. Objects: The objectives of the group are: Amended text of paragraph 2. Objects to read: 2. Objectives: The objectives of the group are: 4. Future activities
Annual General Meeting MINUTES Present: Ruth Wittlinger, Claire Sutherland, Christian Schweiger, Gerd Strohmeier,
1. Election of new Chair and Officer for Early Career Researchers The AGM unanimously voted for Patricia Hogwood from the University of Westminster to take over as the new Chair of the specialist group from Ruth Wittlinger. The AGM expressed their special thanks to Ruth, who had chaired the group since its establishment, for all her engagement and dedication. The AGM also unanimously appointed Hartwig Pautz from Glasgow Caledonian University as the specialist group’s Early Careers Research Officer. 2. Constitution The AGM discussed the current constitution of the GPSG and decided that it will be amended to include specific references to the study of the German economy, German political thought and also an emphasis on interdiscliplinarity in the group’s approach. 3. Postgraduate Journal Austausch Claire Sutherland reported to the AGM that the first issue of the new interdisclipinary electronic journal Austausch, which has received financial support from the GPSG, will be published in spring 2011. The journal particularly encourages contributions from postgraduate students. 4. Future activities The group plans to organise a panel at the 2011 Annual PSA conference and is also inviting proposals to host the 2011 annual workshop.
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