I have not always been the most natural fan of the academic conference. I love my job. I love hearing about others’ work. I love getting to talk about my work with others… and yet, there is something about conferences that, at least in the past, didn’t ‘spark joy’ for me. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that I kind of got away with avoiding them for a few years as the expectation that one should be going to conferences was lessened.
This is something that I know I’m not alone in. As Simon Usherwood has said on this blog, this dislike is somewhat hard to place: ‘it’s not finger-pointing at particular things, just more the general vibe’.
As the effects of the pandemic lessened, I felt this creeping feeling that I really should be going to conferences. Not out of any great desire but because of the feeling that it was the done thing. So, last year, I dusted off my blazer and went to the Political Studies Association’s Teaching & Learning Network (PSA TLN) Conference at the University of Leeds.
The whole thing was a revelation. The ‘general vibe’ was great. It could be that having actually settled into academic life, I felt more at ease with the whole conference ‘thing’. But I suspect it had a lot more to do with the focus of this conference in particular.
Two weeks ago I went to the 2024 PSA TLN – this time hosted at Durham University. The couple of days there confirmed for me that there truly is a joy to getting to discuss Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) work with others that are similarly excited about experimenting with and developing teaching practice.
The conference was a fantastic couple of days of hearing about innovations in assessment, inclusive learning, decolonisation, and a host of other vital, contemporary subjects in political science scholarship.
My experience of SoTL work to date has impressed on me how great the community of researchers and practitioners are in this niche of academia. It is really affirming and encouraging to spend time with others who are as excited as teaching in universities.
So, thanks to SoTL, maybe at long last I’m becoming a fan of conferences. My next test – PSA 2025 Conference in Birmingham!
Listening with rapt attention to Sudhir Selvaraj’s paper on using theatre to teach Politics
I’m super glad you enjoyed it, Jeremy – your contribution to the overall friendly vibe was much appreciated. I have also felt very intimidated and shy at conferences in the past, but never in the SoTL world. I think it just confirms to me that I’m on the right career path! Birmingham is going to be great!