Hello SPSSI members—

We are less than three months away from the 2019 SPSSI Conference in San Diego CA, June 21 - 23, 2019! We were delighted to receive well over 300 submissions for the conference. Since December, we have been hard at work reviewing and accepting conference submissions (thanks to those of you who served as reviewers!), designing coherent groupings for the 15-minute talks, arranging the conference schedule, and confirming special events. You can find the preliminary conference agenda here. 

Consistent with our conference theme “Fighting Injustice: The Power of Research, Policy, and Activism in Challenging Times,” we are excited to be hosting sessions highlighting how social scientists are using our work to combat the era of “fake news” and disregard of empirical evidence in the U.S., and the broader turn toward more authoritarian regimes globally. Many of our presenters are using their work to effect social change—by engaging in community-based research, training mental health providers, fighting for reform of the criminal justice system, and studying social movements such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter directly. Although much of the conference draws on U.S.-based scholars and research, we are excited to highlight scholars from around the globe, and research based on many continents; there are a number of presentations focused on issues pertaining to struggles for intergroup solidarity and peace within and among nations, and on the policy and mental health needs of immigrants and refugees.

This year we are featuring a special track in “Feminist Psychology,” which will include symposia on topics such as Queer Science! Transforming Research on Gender/Sex and Sexuality and Identities and Institutions: Examining Issues of Diversity in College Sexual Assault, as well as groupings of 15-minute presentations such as Masculinity: Stereotypes and Change, and a dedicated poster session on Friday evening. In addition, our closing keynote will be presented by Dr. Kimala Price, from San Diego State University, whose work focuses on reproductive justice. Dr. Price’s talk will address how she has blended activism with her academic career, and will help us end the conference feeling energized for the work that lies ahead.

As always, there will be programming brought to you by the Early Career Scholars, Diversity, Internationalization, and Graduate Student Committees. There will be an opportunity to meet the editors of SPSSI’s journals and book series and to network with colleagues.

We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

Alyssa and Eileen

CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS

Alyssa Zucker: azucker@ufl.edu

Eileen Zurbriggen: zurbrigg@ucsc.edu