The 12th Annual IPSA-USP Summer School - A Virtual Success

The 12th Annual IPSA-USP Summer School in Concepts, Methods, and Techniques in Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations was held virtually for the first time from February 22 to 26, 2021.

In light of the pandemic constraints and the challenges of teaching and learning for prolonged periods online, the Virtual IPSA-USP Summer School adjusted its focus to provide mentorship and targeted feedback to research projects submitted by students.

The 2021 edition offered five distinct workshops on the following topics:

1. Comparative Historical Methods: Matthew Lange (McGill University, Canada) and Derek Beach (Aarhus University, Denmark)
2. Comparative Research Design: Allyson Benton (City University, London, UK) and Glauco Peres da Silva (University of São Paulo, Brazil)
3. Causal Inference and Experiments: Florian Foos (London School of Economics, UK), Mark Pickup (Simon Fraser University, Canada) and Jonathan Phillips (University of São Paulo, Brazil)
4. Surveys and Public Opinion: Bruno Cautrès (Sciences Po, France) and Laron Williams (University Missouri, USA)
5. Time-Series and Panel Data: Guy Whitten (Texas A&M University, USA), Andrew Philips (University of Colorado, Boulder, USA), and Lorena Barberia (University of São Paulo, Brazil).

Each workshop was held on a single day. Workshops were split between a two-hour morning workshop, led by faculty summarizing an applied overview of the research topic, key concepts, and methodologies, and a 1.5-hour afternoon session during which faculty provided feedback on participants’ previously submitted papers.

Some 76 applicants were selected to participate from a pool of over 200 applicants worldwide. They were invited to submit papers, with 58 doing so and participating in the final school. Each workshop had an average of 12 students and gave rise to intensive interactions and discussions with faculty.

Additionally, the Summer School presented three roundtable webinars to discuss key issues related to methodology during the ongoing pandemic. Over 500 participants registered for the seminars, which sparked lively and productive debates.

1. The Challenges of Teaching and Learning Methods in the Virtual Classroom during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Tuesday, 23 February)

• Chair: Glauco Peres da Silva, Universidade de São Paulo
• Soledad Artiz Prillaman, Stanford University
• Dr. Cameron Wimpy, Arkansas State University
• Allyson Benton, City, University of London
• Jonathan Phillips, Universidade de São Paulo

2. The Methodological Challenges of the Dynamics of the Pandemic in Brazil: A Dialogue across the Disciplines (Wednesday, 24 February)

• Chair: Lorena Barberia, Department of Political Science, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
• Natalia S. Bueno, Department of Political Science, Emory University
• Márcia Castro, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health
• Roberto Kraenkel, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
• Pedro Peixoto, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

3. Methodological Challenges of Research on the COVID-19 Pandemic (Thursday, 25 February)

• Chair: Guy D. Whitten, Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University
• Lonna Atkeson, Department of Political Science, University of New Mexico
• Jeff Gill, Department of Government and Department of Mathematics & Statistics, American University
• Alison Post, Department of Political Science, UC Berkeley
• Jason Seawright, Department of Political Science, Northwestern University