The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (AHI) is please to announce the final schedule for the Annual Undergraduate Conference on the American Polity, March 31-April 1, 2017. Colgate University will host the event which is co-sponsored by the AHI and Professor Robert Kraynak’s Center for Freedom and Western Civilization. Michael Zuckert, Nancy R. Dreux Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame will keynote the event.

The conference is modeled in part on academic conferences in which gifted undergraduates will have the opportunity to present their work to an audience that will include peers and professors. A formal reception and catered dinner will precede Friday’s keynote address.  Saturday’s activities will feature formal presentations by students, commented on by faculty, and a special directed group discussion of a prescribed reading chosen by the keynote speaker.

As usual, presentations at this year’s conference will range widely across the theme of American politics. Papers related to the American founding, political institutions, political thought, law, political history, political economy, literature, and politics and religion are encouraged. The conference is designed to provide outstanding undergraduates with the experience of presenting an academic research paper to an audience of their peers and commented on by faculty with expertise on the subject. The conference also welcomes students who wish to participate in the conference for the first time as observers and as discussants on Saturday evening.