2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Saturday, April 5-4:45 pm
31-15 NEW APPROACHES TO MACHIAVELLI'S
POLITICAL-PHILOSOPHIC INTENTIONS
Room UEH 413 on the 4th Floor, Sat at 4:45 pm
Chair Christopher Lynch, Carthage College
clynch@carthage.edu
Paper The Two Cyruses: Models of Machiavellian Humanity and
Harshness
By distinguishing between and comparing the two versions of Cyrus
Machiavelli uses as models in his Prince and Discourses, this paper
will examine how Machiavellian humanity and harshness work
towards creating sustainable political orders.
Jacqueline R. Hunsicker, University of Texas, Austin
jacquelinehunsicker@gmail.com
Paper The Humanity and Philosophic Intention of Machiavelli
This paper discusses ‘humanity’ as a theme in Machiavelli. Unlike
other forms of kindness, humanity can be politically beneficial and
prevent suffering.
Marco Paoli, University of Texas, Austin
marco.paoli@utoronto.ca
Paper From Rome to England: The Montesquiean Cure to
Machiavellianism
While Machiavelli turns to Rome as his model for good
government, with important modifications, Montesquieu turns
instead to England as his model in an effort to cure the world of
Machiavellianism.
Joshua M. Bandoch, University of Notre Dame
jbandoch@nd.edu
Paper The Declining Art of War: From Machiavelli to Rousseau
This paper explains why the art of war loses its importance in
modern political philosophy, even though it was a central topic
for Machiavelli. Rousseau’s writings on war are discussed as an
example of this process.
Rene M. Paddags, University of Maryland, College Park
rpaddags@gvpt.umd.edu
Disc. Nathan Tarcov, University of Chicago
nst1@uchicago.edu
Paul Ulrich, Carthage College
pulrich@carthage.edu
32-14 DEMOCRATIC FREEDOM AND VIRTUE IN
AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Room UEH 408 on the 4th Floor, Sat at 4:45 pm
Chair Patrick S. Roberts, Virginia Tech/Harvard University
roberts@gov.harvard.edu
Paper Frederick Douglass's Virtues
This paper presents an analysis of the renowned abolitionist
Frederick Douglass’s understanding of the virtues proper to citizens
of a free society.
Peter C. Myers, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
myerspc@uwec.edu
Paper Emerson, Whitman, and Carlyle on Individuals, Democracy,
and Heroes
Though they are often spoken of as though they were alike,
Emerson and Whitman are very different thinkers. The tensions
between them highlight the tensions between individualism and
democracy in ways that illuminate both the past and the present.
Dustin J. Fridkin, University of Florida
dfridkin@polisci.ufl.edu
Paper Shedding Dignity, Manifesting Grace: Schiller and Dewey on
Art and Politics
A comparative approach to developing a post-liberal politics of
aesthetic transformation from the "Aesthetic Education" of Friedich
Schiller and the works of John Dewey.
Kevin S. Decker, Eastern Washington University
kdecker@mail.ewu.edu
Disc.
Johnny Goldfinger, Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis
jgoldfin@iupui.edu
32-17 TRANSNATIONAL DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL
JUSTICE
Room Suite 14-150 on the 14th Floor, Sat at 4:45 pm
Chair Antony J. Lyon, University of California, San Diego
alyon@ucsd.edu
Paper Global Justice and the Perils of the Social Contract Tradition
This paper looks at the assumptions of the emerging literature on
global justice and show how some of the debates are distorted by
inappropriate ideas borrowed from the domestic social contract
theories out of which they grow.
Benjamin Laing McKean, Princeton University
bmckean@princeton.edu
Paper International Decision-Making and Citizens' Interest in Political
Outcomes
I respond to Robert Dahl's argument that international institutions
are necessarily undemocratic, by arguing that international decisionmaking
can extend popular control over issues that citizens care
about.
Sarah C. Goff, Princeton University
sgoff@princeton.edu
Paper Representation Unbound: Prospects and Problems for
Transnational Democracy
This paper re-examines the structure of the representative
relationship and evaluates the treatment of representation in
contemporary democratic theory with the aim of developing a
normative theory of transnational democratic representation.
Joseph Lampert, Yale University
joseph.lampert@yale.edu
Disc. Antony J. Lyon, University of California, San Diego
alyon@ucsd.edu
Pamela A. Mason, John Carroll University
pmason@jcu.edu
33-13 QUESTIONS OF CULTURE
Room PDR 8 on the 3rd Floor, Sat at 4:45 pm
Chair Alisa Kessel, Wake Forest University
kesselas@wfu.edu
Paper Plurality, Fragmentation, and Political Judgment
I argue that the limits of plurality are confirmed by the stability of
functional political judgments. In support of this thesis, I develop
a model of political judgment that sets the parameters of pluralism,
while avoiding absolute fragmentation.
Andrew Poe, University of California, San Diego
apoe@ucsd.edu
Paper Arendt's Promise of Politics in a World of Plural Cultures
I attempt to demonstrate in this paper that Hannah Arendt’s notions
of art work and of taste exemplify a form of imaginative and
aesthetic creativity in the service of making a common political
world out of the diversity of cultures.
Mihaela Czobor-Lupp, Georgetown University
MihaelaCLupp@aol.com
Paper Cultural Accommodation and Domination
This paper considers the problem of cultural accommodation in light
of the in-group domination objection.
Frank Lovett, Washington University in St. Louis
flovett@artsci.wustl.edu
Disc. Alisa Kessel, Wake Forest University
kesselas@wfu.edu
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