Five graduate students (Ezekiel Loseke, Connor Patton, Damilola Asaye, Fanny Mazna, and Kamela Syed) and two undergraduates (Emma Barkis, and Valea Metzger) joined 8 faculty members at this year’s Southern Political Science Association (SPSA) at the JW Marriott in Austin, TX from January 17-January 19.
Two of the grad students presented papers. Graduate student Fanny Mazna presented a paper on “21st Century Blasphemy Laws: A Violation of Human Rights in Pakistan.” and Damilola Asaye’s paper was about “From Oil Boom to Economic Doom: Reflecting on Institutionalized Corruption under President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration.” Connor Patton, a graduate student interested in pursuing a doctorate, was particularly struck by the “excellent display of active academic work.” Likewise, Fanny Mazna noted that “being a part of SPSA was definitely a great experience. Not only did I get to know about different areas of research, but also got input from various scholars about my own work.”
