Political Scientists Question the Direction of American Political Studies

By David Glenn

Boston

The American Political Science Association's annual conference opened here on Thursday, and the U.S. presidential campaign is, not surprisingly, on almost everyone's lips. The program includes dozens of panels on voter turnout, presidential rhetoric, campaign advertising, and the politics of race.

But amid the frenzy of election-season chatter, four prominent scholars came together on Thursday afternoon for a grim panel discussion on the health of the subfield known as American