The Fourth Annual Undergraduate Scholars Conference on the American Polity
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The Fourth Annual Undergraduate Scholars Conference on the American Polity Hosted by James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions Princeton University Cosponsored by Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy Georgetown University Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy Boston College And with the Participation of Alexander Hamilton Institute Clinton, NY Tocqueville Program for Inquiry Into Religion and American Public Life University of Notre Dame 4BUVSEBZ .BSDI t1SJODFUPO6OJWFSTJUZ Prospect House Library The Fourth Annual Undergraduate Scholars Conference on the American Polity features student presentations of noteworthy research relevant to the shared intellectual missions of the sponsoring programs. Papers will address the principles and practice of American political life from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophical and moral, historical, legal and constitutional, and religious and cultural inquiries. Conference Schedule All Conference Sessions held in Prospect House Library 8:15 – 8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast Reception Prospect House Drawing Room 8:45 a.m. Opening Remarks Bradford P. Wilson, James Madison Program 9:00 – 10:45 a.m. 3ROLWLFDO&RQÁLFWLQ$PHULFDQ/DZ and Culture Chair: Sotirios Barber, University of Notre Dame Panelists: Christopher M. Fitzpatrick, Boston College James Sasso, Boston College Kees D. Thompson, Princeton University Respondents: Sarah Houser, Georgetown University Steven Brust, Georgetown University Stefan McDaniel, University of Pennsylvania 11:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 3KLORVRSKLFDO)RXQGDWLRQVRI$PHULFDQ Ideals and Institutions Chair: Patrick Deneen, Georgetown University Panelists: Noah Bishop, Hamilton College Katherine Bermingham, Georgetown University Thomas Cheeseman, Hamilton College Respondents: Sherif Girgis, Princeton University Matthew O’Brien, University of Texas at Austin Patrick Deneen, Georgetown University 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Lunch Frist Campus Center 2:00 – 3:15 p.m. Campus Tour with Matthew Milliner Nassau Hall 3:15 – 3:45 p.m. Afternoon Reception Prospect House 3:45 – 5:30 p.m. +LVWRULFDO7KHPHVLQ$PHULFDQ3ROLWLFVDW +RPHDQG$EURDG Chair: Robert Paquette, Alexander Hamilton Institute Panelists: Justin R. Hawkins, Georgetown University Samuel B. Norton, Princeton University &ROLQ/LWWOHÀHOGUniversity of Notre Dame Respondents: Sara Henary, Princeton University Nicholas Troester, Princeton University Robert Paquette, Alexander Hamilton Institute 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Dinner Prospect House, Room E 7:00 p.m. $&RQYHUVDWLRQRQWKH&RQVWLWXWLRQDQG ,WV&RQWHPSRUDU\$SSOLFDWLRQ Moderator: Ken I. Kersch Director, Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, Boston College; author of Constructing Civil Liberties: Discontinuities in the Development of American Constitutional Law and the forthcoming Forging Constitutional Conservatism: From the Brown Decision to Reagan Featured Guest: 0DWWKHZ-)UDQFN Director, William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Radford University in Virginia; author of Against the Imperial Judiciary: The Supreme Court vs. The Sovereignty of the People and co-editor and co-author of Sober as a Judge. Undergraduate Presenters Katherine Bermingham Liberal Individualism and the Encumbrance of Affectionate Love Miss Bermingham is a member of Georgetown’s class of 2011, double-majoring in Government and English. She is particularly interested in how democratic theory impacts the SKLORVRSKLFDOGHÀQLWLRQRIVHOIHVSHFLDOO\DVIRXQGLQOLWHUDWXUH Noah Bishop Rational Belief in the Existence of God Mr. Bishop is a member of the class of 2011 at Hamilton College and an undergraduate fellow of the Alexander Hamilton Institute. He is majoring in economics and philosophy. He is from Summit, New Jersey. Thomas Cheeseman The Natural Rights Dilemma: Organic Order and the Constructivist Fallacy Mr. Cheeseman is a member of the class of 2012 at Hamilton College and is an undergraduate fellow of the Alexander Hamilton Institute. He is majoring in math and economics. He is from Chardon, Ohio. Christopher M. Fitzpatrick Clashing Ideals – The Origin and Effects of the Culture War in American Politics Mr. Fitzpatrick is a sophomore at Boston College, specializing in International Studies and Political Science. He is a Junior Fellow of the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy and serves as Undergraduate Assistant to the Center Director. -XVWLQ5+DZNLQV “Salt that Lost its Savor”: The Decline of the American Puritan Tradition Mr. Hawkins is a senior at Georgetown University majoring in Government with an emphasis on Political Theory, and with minors in Theology and Spanish. After graduation in May, he plans to continue his studies by earning a Master’s in Divinity. He is from Breinigsville, Pennsylvania. &ROLQ/LWWOHÀHOG Capital Punishment in the US and Abroad 0U/LWWOHÀHOGLVDVHQLRUDWWKH8QLYHUVLW\RI1RWUH'DPH majoring in political science. He is especially interested in constitutional law and interpretation. Samuel B. Norton $PHULFD·V&KRLFH7KH&RQÁLFW%HWZHHQ,VRODWLRQDQG,QWHUYHQWLRQ Mr. Norton is a junior at Princeton University and an Undergraduate Fellow of the James Madison Program. He is majoring in politics with a focus on international relations. He is from Falmouth, Maine. -DPHV6DVVR $IÀUPDWLYH$FWLRQ7KH&RQWURYHUV\6XUURXQGLQJLWDQGWKH5DFLDO Tensions it Aims to Solve, as Seen by Castro v. Beecher Mr. Sasso is a junior at Boston College, majoring in History and Political Science with a concentration in American Politics. He plans on writing his thesis on polarization in American politics and how it affected the 2008 Democratic super-majority. Kees D. Thompson The Balance of Partisanship: The Extension of the Ramseyen Model to the Judicial Independence of the United States in the Early 19th Century Mr. Thompson is a sophomore at Princeton University and an Undergraduate Fellow of the James Madison Program. He is interested in politics and public policy, and is considering attending Law School after graduation. He was born and raised in San Diego, California. Chairs and Respondents 6RWLULRV$%DUEHUis Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. He combines interests in political philosophy and the American Constitution. He is the author of: The Constitution and the Delegation of Congressional Power (1975); On What the Constitution Means (1984); The Constitution of Judicial Power (1993); and Welfare and the Constitution (2003). With the Madison Program’s founding Director, Robert George, he is the co-editor of Constitutional Politics: Essays in Constitution Making, Maintenance, and Change (2002). With Walter Murphy, James Fleming, and Stephen Macedo, he is co-author/editor of American Constitutional Interpretation (third edition, 2003). He has also published numerous articles in constitutional theory. He has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the AmericanCouncil of Learned Societies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. 6WHYHQ-%UXVW is the Associate Director of the Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy at Georgetown University. He holds both a Ph.D. in politics from The Catholic University of America and a M.A. in philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville. His teaching and research interests include the history of Western political thought, natural law and natural rights, law and morality, and Church and State relations. He also has a strong interest in Catholic Social Teaching, especially as it relates to the present state of the American political order and American culture. He has contributed a few entries to Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy: An Encyclopedia and a book review and article to The Catholic Social Science Review. He also is contributing a chapter to the book, Toward the Common Good: A Catholic Critique of the Discipline of Political Science. He is currently working on an article on pre-modern natural rights, and on a manuscript titled “The Political Thought of Francisco Suarez,” which primarily concerns the ideas of the social contract and popular sovereignty, the separation of Church and State, and natural rights, within the context of the emergence of modern liberal democracy. 3DWULFN-'HQHHQis the inaugural holder of the Markos and Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Chair of Hellenic Studies in the Department of Government and the Founding Director of the Tocqueville Forum. He is the author of two books: The Odyssey of Political Theory and Democratic FaithDQGQXPHURXVDUWLFOHVDQGUHYLHZV+HKDVZULWWHQRQÀJXUHV as various as Plato, Aristotle, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Vico, Rousseau, Tocqueville, Orestes Brownson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Henry Adams, John Dewey, G.K. Chesterton, Reinhold Niebuhr, Christopher Lasch, Wendell Berry, Don DeLillo, Kurt Vonnegut, and Wilson Carey McWilliams. His work has appeared in academic journals and journals of opinion, including Political Theory, Perspectives on Political Science, Polis, Modern Language Studies, Social Research, Commonweal, Society, First Things, The Weekly Standard, The Hedgehog Review, The Dallas Morning News, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently at work on two book projects: “Another America: The Alternative Tradition in American Political Thought” and “The Idea of Division of Labor in the History of Western Political Thought.” Sherif Girgis received an A.B. in philosophy at Princeton and B.Phil. at Oxford,