Dr. Davide Panagia, a Trent University Cultural Studies Professor and Canada Research Chair in Cultural Studies, was presented with an honorable mention in the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Best First Book in Political Theory category for his book The Poetics of Political Thinking at the APSA’s annual meeting held in Chicago over the Labour Day w

"I received the email in July informing me of this award as I was completing the research for my second book and was at once thrilled and humbled by it. I was thrilled because I am familiar with previous books and authors who have received the award and who have gone on to do important research in the field of political theory. To be included in such a list is, to say the least, an honour," said Prof. Panagia. "It is also a humbling experience because it implies that we never know who will judge our accomplishments and how. For all this, I am grateful to the support afforded me by the Trent community and especially my colleagues in the Cultural Studies Department and in the Center for the Study of Theory, Culture, and Politics."

The APSA’s First Book Award in Political Theory is awarded by the Foundations of Political Theory section of the APSA and recognizes the best first book published by a scholar in the "early stages" of his or her career in the area of political theory or political philosophy.

Prof. Panagia’s book is targeted at upper level undergraduate and graduate students as well as anyone interested in the area of Cultural Studies and aims to expand our view of politics, and what counts as thinking politically, by examining the topic from an aesthetic perspective. Born out of the observation that, within the discipline of political theory, few people pay attention to aesthetics, The Poetics of Political Thinking strives to show that "by not paying attention, we limit our own ways of thinking about politics, and also what we allow ourselves to recognize as political." Each chapter of the book is dedicated to examining the work of a different historical or contemporary philosopher.

In a review of the book, Dr. Michael Gibbons, professor of political science at the University of South Florida and coordinator of the Foundations of Political Theory Committee, said: "In The Poetics of Political Thinking, Davide Panagia provides a strikingly original perspective on aesthetics, ethics, and politics…Panagia's eloquently written and thought-provoking book challenges political theorists to think differently about how we read and what we do."

Prof. Panagia joined Trent University as a Canada Research Chair in 2004 after completing his graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. The Poetics of Political Thinking was published by Duke University Press in 2006.