Annual Government Conferences
The Evans conference series and annual Government department conferences are a unique opportunity for students to present their work within a friendly academic environment – opening their papers up to debate and discussion from both peers and mentors. For those not presenting, these academic events are an excellent way to learn from other students, to hear from political leaders and leading thinkers, and to develop the art of questioning. Further, the conferences themselves allow for the advancement of the liberal arts education – thoughtful reflection on questions of fundamental human importance from all avenues of academic inquiry.
Interdisciplinary Conference Series
Last fall, the department hosted an event responding to student and faculty interest. On Thursday, Nov. 9th, Berry College hosted a one-day academic conference entitled "Here's Looking at Democracy": Plato and Tocqueville Go to Rick's, which was centered around the ideas of justice, greatness, and American citizenship as understood through the works of Plato, Alexis de Tocqueville, and modern cinema. The conference was a chance for students to share papers from various government and philosophy classes, as well as hear current scholarship by their professors and the guest lecturer. The event received generous contribution from the Democracy Project at Kennesaw State University and the Evans School Pathfinder Grant.
Several area high schools sent students and teachers as part of government and citizenship classes, and members of the community, including Berry alumni, were in attendance. The method of the conference was one of friendly dialogue - people talking to one another about what makes us unique as Americans and how we can be bettered by political participation at both the philosophical and the practical level.
Student panelists included: Natasha Altema, Liana Alvarez, Laura Lieberman, Caitlin Carroll, Saxon Kappenman, Ross McDuffie, Blair Schermerhorn, Adam Houck, Keri Libby, and Marissa Walsh, as well as Kennesaw State University students, Arthur Milikh and Sarah Vorobjovs. The faculty panel included paper presentations by Berry's Chair of Philosophy and Religion, Michael Papazian and professor Eric Sands as well as KSU professors, Jack Moran and Mark Kremer.
The evening lecture featured distinguished scholar, James Pontuso, editor of a collection of essays entitled Political Philosophy Comes to Rick’s: Casablanca and American Civic Culture (Lexington Books, 2005). He was followed by response from Berry alum and Baylor University Ph.D. candidate, David Ramsey, and professor Michael Bailey.
10th Annual Conference on Politics, Religion, Culture & Community
Every year, the department hosts the Annual Conference on Politics, Religion, Culture, & Community as a forum for students and faculty academic presentation, dialogue, and mutual bettering. On Thursday, April 19th, the department hosted the 10th of such conferences entitled The Limits of Democracy and Democratization. This scholarly study into the political regime we call home - democracy - and the determination to see it spread worldwide – democratization – brought lively discussion and debate from students, professors, and community members alike. The day’s events were devoted to taking a critical look at how democracy works in our society and abroad by examining both philosophical works on the matter as well as particular case studies of attempted democratization. The conference culminated in an evening panel seeking to answer the following question: Why can't we all just be democrats?
Berry students, Liana Alvarez, Saxon Kappenman, Cody Robinson, and Lynn Roney approached the conference theme from a theoretical and domestic perspective, while the afternoon student panel, featuring Natasha Altema, Maurice Fernando, Fiona Hershberger, and Brandon Lay, examined various democratization processes in the Middle East.
This year, the traditional faculty panel took an interdisciplinary approach, including professors of philosophy, religion, sociology, government, communication, and international studies. David McKenzie and Michael Papazian spoke of the relationship between democracy and society with their papers, “Dialetics of Democracy and Religion” and “Nationalism, Culture, and the Limits of Democracy”, respectively. American Government professor, Michael Bailey, tackled the democratic effects on culture with his paper, “Three Hundred Channels and Nothing to Watch”. Dr. Brian Carroll of the Communications department focused on the limits of democracy in his paper, “When Bad Elections Happen to Good People” and International Studies professor, Dr. Kirsten Rafferty, rounded things out with her paper on democratization entitled, “The Starbucks Model of International Relations: A Democracy on Every Corner.”
The program concluded with an evening lecture and discussion led by Dr. Daniel Mahoney, Professor of Political Science at Assumption College and editor of the recent groundbreaking book, The Solzhenitsyn Reader (ISI Books, 2007). Two Berry alumni joined the panel: Dr. Jocelyn Evans, professor of political science at the University of West Florida, and Dr. Sam Crowe who is the policy analyst for the President’s Council on Bioethics. Respondents included Floyd democratic party leader, Wendy Davis and Georgia Lt. Governor Chief-of-Staff, Brad Alexander.
AretéNew to the Evans School this year is the publication of an interdisciplinary faculty and student academic journal: Areté. Meaning virtue or excellence in Greek, the journal seeks to provide a public forum for showcasing the best of student and faculty scholarship. The journal is distributed not only at Berry, but within the local community as well as to various alumni and faculty members as requested. The first two issues were sponsored by the Government & International Studies department and focused on democracy at home and abroad both philosophically, politically, and from an international perspective. Future issues will include topics relevant to students of the sciences as well as other branches within the humanities. Students wishing for their work to be published should plan to submit mid-semester. Contact Managing Editor, Tricia Steele (tsteele@berry.edu or ext. 4058) for more information.
"Here's Looking at Democracy": Plato and Tocqueville Go to Rick's - November 9, 2006
The Future of American Education and Politics
Spring Conference 2005