Coding in the Congo: April 2012

Friday, April 13, 2012

70th Annual MPSA Conference

Since Wednesday I'm in Chicago. My first time. Reason is the Annual MPSA Conference: a gathering of 1,000s of political scientists from all over the world. A great place to get to know, network and socialize with colleagues.

I present two papers: "Migrant Cooperation as a Signal": a paper based on a set of field-experiments done in the Congo last time I was there. "Crowdseeding in the Congo: Using New Technology to Understand Conflict": a paper with Macartan based on Voix des Kivus. More later!

First thoughts about Chicago (compared to NYC):

the city is clean
people are friendly

Books on the DRC

Butcher, Tim. 2008. Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart. New York: Grove Press. [Not a good book].
Clark, John. 2004. The African Stakes of the Congo War. New York: Palgrave. [An OK book].
Le Carre, John. 2006. The Mission Song. New York: Little & Brown. [Not a fantastic novel, but nice to read. Especially while being in the Kivus].
Lemarchand, Rene. 2009. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa. [Haven't read it yet].
Mealer, Bryan. 2008. All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo. [Great book].
Naipaul, V.S. 1989. A Bend in the River. New York: Vintage. [Great novel].
Prunier, Gerard. 2009. Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe. New York: Oxford University Press. [Good book. Lots of information].
Roberts, Marcus. 1905. A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State. Brussels: Lebègue. [Great travel narrative].
Stearns, Jason. 2011. Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa. [OK book. Very well written].
Turner, Thomas. 2007. The Congo Wars: Conflict, Myth and Reality. New York: Zed Books. [An OK book].
Wrong, Michela. 2002. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo. New York: Harper Perennial. [Fantastic].