Political science profs speak at conference, published in text book

Political science professors John Sutherlin and Josh Stockley recently presented a paper at the Southern Political Science Association annual conference. In the paper, Sutherlin and Stockley explain the differences within the  Republican Party as caused by the geographic location of party members within the state.

The paper presented by Stockley and Sutherlin will be used in a Louisiana Political Science textbook. Stockley says that there hasn’t been a textbook like this one since the 1970s. The two professors received generally good reviews from the attendees of the conference on their paper, and they hope this textbook will help put ULM on the map.

People know there’s some people cooking up some things [in Monroe],” Stockley said about the conference. He said that people have heard of the things being done at Tulane and LSU, but this gives ULM a chance to have its name heard. Stockley believes it is impressive to other political scientists that the two of them, who have different concentrations in political science, can work together and produce such an interesting find.

Sutherlin said that the paper covers the types the differences one would see within the state Republican Party. He said it would vary depending on in which part of the state a person was. For instance, Republicans in Shreveport may be more concentrated on militarist subjects while those in Baton Rouge would focus more on the healthcare aspect.

The Southern Political Science Association Conference is one of the largest conferences in the nation regarding political science. According to Stockley, it is regional in name only and may be attended by political scientists from Maine to California.