Event: The Fourth Annual Undergraduate Scholars Conference on the American Polity

Host: The James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University

Cosponsors: The Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy, Georgetown University and The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, Boston College

AHI Undergraduate fellows Thomas Cheeseman and Noah Bishop have been chosen to present papers at this prestigious annual conference for undergraduates. Mr. Cheeseman, from Chardon, Ohio, a major in mathematics and economics, will deliver on “The Natural Rights Dilemma:  Organic Order and the Constructivist Fallacy”; Mr. Bishop, from Summit, New Jersey, a major in economics and philosophy, will present on  “Rational Belief in the Existence of God”

Event Description:
This conference features noteworthy undergraduate research relevant to the shared intellectual missions of the sponsoring programs.  Paper submissions should concern the principles and practice of American political life.  We are not seeking papers from a particular disciplinary perspective, but rather encourage a variety of approaches, including philosophical and moral, historical, legal and constitutional, and religious and cultural inquiries.
Schedule:
Non-Princeton students should arrive on Friday evening, March 25. On-campus accommodations will be provided for all visiting students on Friday and Saturday nights.

On Saturday, a series of three discussion panels will take place, beginning at 9:00 a.m. At each panel, three students will present their papers for approximately 20 minutes each. They will receive comments from a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow, and then a question and answer session will follow. Breakfast and dinner will be provided on Saturday (lunch is on your own) with a keynote address from a special guest speaker at the dinner. The conference will conclude on Saturday evening around 8:00 p.m.