We are living through an era of intersecting crises that have revealed the shortcomings and contradictions of many mainstream and entrenched policy perspectives. For example, geopolitical struggles, environmental issues, energy pressures, new technologies like AI, and health emergencies, to name a few, place pressure on already buckling policy systems. When examined across times and scales, especially when situated in the global context, the criticality and complexity of such issues become even more evident. Thus, in an era of immense change, highlighting and strengthening new research is crucial. As a result, this year’s conference has four main goals: (1) bolstering graduate students’ research by providing a platform for new work; (2) providing in-depth feedback and avenues to advance graduate students’ careers – both academic and non-academic; (3) fostering a space for graduate students to connect with fellow students and professors and learn from each other in a collaborative environment and (4) creating the opportunities to advance graduate student careers – both academic and non-academic – by hosting development panels.

McMaster University’s thirteenth annual Graduate Conference, Mapping the Global Dimensions of Policy 13 – Alternative Approaches to Pressing Issues, invites contributions speaking to all questions raised at the intersections of globalization and policy studies. We welcome graduate students from all disciplines with new research ideas to submit proposals for a paper or poster presentation. This includes, but is not limited to, the disciplines of Political Science, International Development Studies, Public Policy, Sociology, Geography, Environmental Studies, History, Labour Studies, Law, Economics, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Psychology, and Health Studies. Panels will be organized thematically to advance critical analysis of research on related topics. 

1. Presenters are required to provide copies of their completed papers to globalization.conference@gmail.com no later than Sunday February 25^th 2024  so that discussants will have enough time to read through them and offer you comments. The discussant has no obligation to comment on the paper if it has not been previously seen. Such an action would be a loss to all attending the session.
2. The text must be SINGLE SPACED, not exceeding a word count of 8,000, including notes appendices, with standard margins and saved as a Word or PDF file.
3. Presenters should prepare comments outlining the major points of their papers. A good presentation is a must for a successful session.
4. Oral Presentation (10-12 minutes) – Below are the guidelines for preparing an oral summary of a paper:

No paper should ever be read verbatim from the text. Such presentations are often not only dull but also incomplete due to time constraints imposed by the chair; an author reading from text may be cut off by the chair before reaching the most significant aspects of the presentation. Highlights may be given covering such points as the purpose of the study, description of the sample, methodology, problems, major findings, conclusions, or recommendations. The amount of time devoted to each highlight may vary depending upon the author’s evaluation of the importance of each area related to the paper. Inexperienced extemporaneous speakers are advised to prepare a “reading text” of approximately 5 typed pages.