2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Friday, April 4-4:45 pm
Paper
Paper
Paper
Disc.
Xenophon as Novelist: The Limitations of Cyrus and New
Possibilities for Political Philosophy
The Education of Cyrus is the gripping account of one man's rise
to world-historical political prominence, but its bleak finale casts a
shadow back over the whole tale. What is Xenophon's assessment of
Cyrus and his radical break with tradition
Laura Field, University of Texas, Austin
lkfield@gmail.com
A New Species of Literary Persuasion: Rousseau's Hopes for the
Modern Novel Against Consciousness as Illness in Dostoevsky
Rousseau believed the modern novel could play an important role
in man's post-Enlightenment moral education. Though Dostoyevsky
makes a very similar criticism of the Enlightenment, his novels are
nothing like Rousseau's.
Jonathan Pidluzny, Boston College
pidluzny@bc.edu
Letters and Liberty in the Democratic Age: Alexis de
Tocqueville on the Importance of the Literary Arts for Liberal
Democracy
In Democracy in America, Tocqueville offers a critical teaching
on the importance of the arts for the democratic age. I explore
Tocqueville's vision of the arts, and ask whether his teaching would
meet the challenges of democracy's cultural critics.
Natalie Elliot, University of North Texas
natalie.j.elliot@gmail.com
Stephen Lange, Morehead State University
s.lange@morehead-st.edu
31-10 RELIGION AND POLITICS
Room Suite 9-250 on the 9th Floor, Fri at 4:45 pm
Chair Rebecca Jean McCumbers, University of Notre Dame
rmccumbe@nd.edu
Paper The Legal-Juridical Account of Hobbes's Political Thought: A
Reappraisal
My paper challenges our dogged reliance upon a secular framework
for understanding central elements within Hobbes’s political theory.
I argue that sovereign authorization more closely resembles the act
of honoring God than it does a legal contract.
Monicka B. Patterson-Tutschka, University of Vermont
mbpatter@uvm.edu
Paper Rousseau and the Jews
The Jews in Rousseau's thought seem like one more set of ancients
whom Rousseau boosts at the expense of moderns. But Rousseau's
portrayal of Judaism as a national religion attached to this-worldly
justice and compassion is unique in his thought.
Jonathan Marks, Ursinus College
jmarks@ursinus.edu
Paper Spinoza on Charity
This paper argues for the importance of the concept of charity in
Spinoza's political thought, with special attention to the role of
charity as a foundation for religion, and the relationship between
charity and natural right.
Joseph Stanley Kochanek, Harvard University
kochanek@fas.harvard.edu
Disc. Joseph Anthony Harder, Macomb Community College
jah5y98_98@yahoo.com
32-9 DEMOCRACY AND ITS ALTERNATIVES IN
POLITICAL THOUGHT
Room UEH 411 on the 4th Floor, Fri at 4:45 pm
Chair Evan P. Riley, University of Pittsburgh/Ohio University
rileye1@ohio.edu
Paper Form as Public Sphere: Rethinking Kantian Formal Democracy
The expression, "formal democracy" is often used as a pejorative.
However this work suggests that in the Kantian formulation
the "form" of democracy means nothing less than a permanent
"Kampfplatz" in which no laws made can claim sovereignty.
Sooenn Park, University of Washington
spark4@u.washington.edu
Paper Republicanism and Democratic Theory in the Thought of
Jeremy Bentham
An examination of the relationship between Bentham’s views
on monarchy and democracy in the development of his political
thought, arguing that his changing views on the role of monarch
played a defining role in shaping his mature democratic theory.
James E. Crimmins, Huron University College
jcrimmin@uwo.ca
Paper Democracy, Plutocracy, and Liberalism in William Graham
Sumner
This paper examines William Graham Sumner's views on plutocracy
and democracy, tensions within those views, and their relationship
to his understanding of liberalism, in an effort to better inform
contemporary political-philosophical discourse.
William F. Byrne, St. John's University
byrnew@stjohns.edu
Paper Jonathan Edwards and the Development of American
Democracy
Edwards' theology challenged traditional Puritan conceptions of
hierarchy. These challenges, which Edwards himself minimized,
were developed by his immediate followers, the thinkers of the New
Divinity, into an early expression of democracy.
John Harris, Rutgers University
joharris@rci.rutgers.edu
Disc. Evan P. Riley, University of Pittsburgh/Ohio University
rileye1@ohio.edu
33-8 RESPONSIBILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS
Room Suite 14-150 on the 14th Floor, Fri at 4:45 pm
Chair Andrew Dilts, University of Chicago
dilts@uchicago.edu
Paper The Problem of Responsiveness
This paper identifies and diagnoses the problem of responsiveness:
How can individuals come to acknowledge their implication in
social and political harms from which they are often distanced,
physically and/or psychologically
Jacob Schiff, University of Chicago
jschiff@uchicago.edu
Paper Dirty Hands, Many Hands, and the Problems of Apportioning
Ethical Responsibility for Torture
Using literature on the ethical problems of “dirty hands” and
“many hands,” this paper examines the ambiguities of apportioning
responsibility for the torture committed by U.S. personnel in
settings such as the now-notorious Abu Ghraib facility.
Roger W. Green, Florida Gulf Coast University
rgreen@fgcu.edu
Paper Language, Rule, and Rules in Austin and Wittgenstein
This paper draws on the ordinary language philosophy of Austin
and Wittgenstein to articulate a conception of political rule as
mutual responsiveness. It then argues that such rule allows a
legitimately democratic account of political authority.
Tanner J. McFadden, University of Chicago
tannerj@uchicago.edu
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