That's the Public Administration Theory Network (PATnet) conference theme this year.
I proposed to the conference organizers that we make this a little more personal - what in public administration stirred our own utopian imaginations? I reasoned:
Most of us in PATnet have either pursued a doctoral degree and/or a career in the academic field of public administration.So I thought it useful to ponder:
- why we have committed so much of our time and abilities to this field
- whether we have found what we were looking for or have been disappointed.
- what we hoped to get in the field when we began,
- what we got, and
- what recommendations we have for people starting out today and for the field of public administration.
I got word that people on the organizing committee liked the idea but didn't know how to fit it into the schedule. Staci Zavataro contacted me about a Tweet Up and as we talked we came up with the idea of an ongoing side conversation before, during, and perhaps, after the conference.
Think of this as a movable session the flows throughout the conference and that people can participate in this session in different ways.
- There's a conference hashtag on Twitter - #PATnet2013.
- The PATnet Facebook page will host some of this.
- You can leave comments here.
- We're looking for help to set up a discussion forum at the PATnet website.
- We're inviting conference attendees to ask these questions of people the meet at the conference during breaks, over meals, in elevators, etc.
- And we're going to set up an informal gathering for those who'd like to get together to follow this pursuit. So far we've discussed a post session/pre-dinner gathering in the hotel lobby one night, but we're open to suggestions.
Meanwhile, you can address the questions or the process in the comments section below this post. (If you're having trouble getting past the spam blocking steps to comment, you can email me)
[NOTE to regular readers of this blog - I'm using my blog to do this because it's something I know how to do to move this along. I hope you'll indulge me.]
[NOTE to PATnet members - we needed a place to point people to and I offered this spot on my personal blog until a more appropriate place can be set up.]
Steve & Staci,
ReplyDeleteGlad you started this page and it is thought provoking. Although I do not have the time right now to work through my utopia and assess whether it is working for me, I would like to keep the conversation going. So this post is a reminder to myself and the first response to open up the discourse.
Best,
David Kasdan
David, thanks for the first comment here. We're just trying to get folks to start thinking on this. While you're waiting to get through security or on the plane, for example. Just think about it. What questions were you asking that you thought PA might help you find answers to?
DeleteWe're not looking for publishable papers now. We just want people to start talking about these things. Casually for now. No pressure.
I'm caught at the moment by the word "imagination" in the conference title. I think of Ralph's interest in Kant's definition of judgment as "the free play between the imagination and the understanding." Perhaps there is always a utopian element in any exercise of judgment given that the imagination has no limits and the play of it is free. In my current view, the field is declining into ever more determined efforts to limit the freedom without which judgment is nothing more than, as Tom Catlaw says, copying a model. Maybe some people signed up for that when they entered the field, but I surely didn't. Don't we have to imagine utopia as an event rather than a place? If it's a place, then we must rush to put boundaries around it. If it's an event, then...what?
DeleteCam
So this morning's post is a wake up writing exercise; more invigorating than grading or headline browsing (especially as the headlines so often deflate the idea that we are nearing Utopia).
ReplyDeleteMy first try at your provocative questions are below (IN CAPS). We cannot help but strive for a Utopia, otherwise what is the point of our existence? That leaves the definition of Utopia wide open for the individual, but as we PA Theorists share at least that identifier, it will be interesting to examine our commonalities and differences.
1. Why we have committed so much of our time and abilities to this field? THINGS CAN WORK BETTER, MORE PERSPECTIVES AND NEEDS CAN BE ACCOMMODATED, IMPROVEMENT IN GOVERNANCE DIRECTLY IMPROVES OUR OWN LIVES. OTHERS MAY SHARE MY DISTASTE FOR POLITICS AS THE WAY TO GET THINGS DONE FOR THE GREATER GOOD (just finished watching the first season of "House of Cards") AND THUS LOOK TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AS AN ALTERNATE VENUE FOR CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIAL PROGRESS AND UTOPIA.
2. Whether we have found what we were looking for or have been disappointed. AS AN ACADEMIC, I AM SATISFIED. MY DISAPPOINTMENT IS THAT SOME PROBLEMS ARE SO DEEP AND DYNAMIC THAT IMPLEMENTING POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS IS BEYOND CONSTRAINTS OF TIME, MONEY, AND POLITICAL RELEVANCE (Utopia includes an element of "satisficing").
3. What we hoped to get in the field when we began? DUNNO...A PAYCHECK AND MILD VALIDATION? MY TAKE ON THE UTOPIAN IDEAL FOR PA IS TO REALIZE "GOVERNMENT IS US" (King,Stivers, and Collaborators).
4. What we got? SEE ABOVE. SOCIAL PROGRESS SEEMS LIKE A COMPLICATED DANCE DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. THE JOURNEY MAY BE THE DESTINATION.
5. And what recommendations we have for people starting out today and for the field of public administration? USING "GOVERNMENT IS US" IN MY APPROACH HERE, UTOPIA IS A GROUP EFFORT AND THE MORE INVOLVEMENT THE BETTER; PA IS A MORE READILY ACCESSIBLE AND DIRECTLY GRATIFYING VENUE FOR STUDENTS THAN POLITICAL SCIENCE, AS I SELL THEM ON THE FIELD.