The Political Science Graduate Students' Association (PSGSA) at the University of Alberta is an active, cohesive, open, and supportive graduate student community. All of our activities and initiatives stem from our commitment to community building. The PSGSA members believe that our department is one of the best in Canada and we are committed to making it an even better place to learn, teach, conduct research, or work.
Organizing Committee
Miranda Leibel is the VP Academic of the PSGSA and as a result has taken a leading role in organizing this year's symposium. Miranda's research examines the continuities between the residential school system and contemporary child welfare for Indigenous families, with a focus on Indigenous mothering as political resurgence. This research is funded through a SSHRC Master's award.
Daisy Raphael is the President of the PSGSA. She is a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar studying narratives of citizenship and national identity in contemporary Canada through the lens of affect theory.
Justin Leifso is the VP External for the PSGSA. A SSHRC Doctoral Scholar, his research explores shifting political rationalities within public bureaucracies, arguing, novelly, that governmentality theory is a good way of understanding bureaucracies. As a case study, he critiques the implementation of "Lean management" techniques in Saskatchewan.
Leigh Spanner is the VP-Finance of the PSGSA. Leigh is a doctoral candidate studying gender and politics and international relations in the U of A's Political Science department. Her dissertation explores the ways in which the state shapes and reinforces the military family in the post-9/11 context in Canada through both public policy and public discourses, and the ways in which military families themselves resist these material and discursive constructions.
Chenoa Sly is the VP Communications for the PSGSA and a Master's student in Political Science. Her broad research interests include humanitarian intervention and the politics of humanitarian aid.
Christopher Balcom is the VP Social of the PSGSA and a Master's student in Political Science. His research focuses on postcolonial political theory.
Megan Aiken is this year's PhD representative on the PSGSA and a first-year student in the PhD program. Her areas of interest right now are fiscal federalism, regional and rural development, and political disengagement."
Abdullah Alzubaidi is the MA student rep, and a first-year MA student in Political Science. His research interests include Canadian politics, specifically the country's single-member plurality electoral system.
Ding Xu is the Chief Electoral Officer on the PSGSA and a PhD student in the Department of Political Science.
Special thanks to Emrah Keskin and Rezvanah Erfani for their contributions to the Keynote Panel.
Organizing Committee
Miranda Leibel is the VP Academic of the PSGSA and as a result has taken a leading role in organizing this year's symposium. Miranda's research examines the continuities between the residential school system and contemporary child welfare for Indigenous families, with a focus on Indigenous mothering as political resurgence. This research is funded through a SSHRC Master's award.
Daisy Raphael is the President of the PSGSA. She is a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar studying narratives of citizenship and national identity in contemporary Canada through the lens of affect theory.
Justin Leifso is the VP External for the PSGSA. A SSHRC Doctoral Scholar, his research explores shifting political rationalities within public bureaucracies, arguing, novelly, that governmentality theory is a good way of understanding bureaucracies. As a case study, he critiques the implementation of "Lean management" techniques in Saskatchewan.
Leigh Spanner is the VP-Finance of the PSGSA. Leigh is a doctoral candidate studying gender and politics and international relations in the U of A's Political Science department. Her dissertation explores the ways in which the state shapes and reinforces the military family in the post-9/11 context in Canada through both public policy and public discourses, and the ways in which military families themselves resist these material and discursive constructions.
Chenoa Sly is the VP Communications for the PSGSA and a Master's student in Political Science. Her broad research interests include humanitarian intervention and the politics of humanitarian aid.
Christopher Balcom is the VP Social of the PSGSA and a Master's student in Political Science. His research focuses on postcolonial political theory.
Megan Aiken is this year's PhD representative on the PSGSA and a first-year student in the PhD program. Her areas of interest right now are fiscal federalism, regional and rural development, and political disengagement."
Abdullah Alzubaidi is the MA student rep, and a first-year MA student in Political Science. His research interests include Canadian politics, specifically the country's single-member plurality electoral system.
Ding Xu is the Chief Electoral Officer on the PSGSA and a PhD student in the Department of Political Science.
Special thanks to Emrah Keskin and Rezvanah Erfani for their contributions to the Keynote Panel.