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	Department of Government and International Studies
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Annual Government Conferences

The Evans conference series and annual Government department conferences are a unique opportunity for students to present their work within a friendly academic environment – opening their papers up to debate and discussion from both peers and mentors.  For those not presenting, these academic events are an excellent way to learn from other students, to hear from political leaders and leading thinkers, and to develop the art of questioning.  Further, the conferences themselves allow for the advancement of the liberal arts education – thoughtful reflection on questions of fundamental human importance from all avenues of academic inquiry.  Several of the recent conferences have been planned, organized, and run by students working in coordination with the department and with the Politics and Law Society.
The themes of and formats of the conference change from year to year, but most years embrace a theme of  democracy and its friendly critics in some variant or another.  In addition to featuring student panels, most conferences include a breakfast roundtable that addresses an important question of teaching and its role in civil liberty, as well as Berry alumni panels and professor panels.   Recent Berry alumni guests have included Sam Dr. Crowe, David Ramsey, Elizabeth Amato, Dr. Jocelyn Evans and Wendy Davis.

Areté

A recent addition to the Conference is the publication of an interdisciplinary faculty and student academic journal: Areté. Meaning virtue or excellence in Greek, the journal seeks to provide a public forum for showcasing the best of student and faculty scholarship.  The journal is distributed not only at Berry, but within the local community  as well as to various alumni and faculty members as requested.  The first two issues were sponsored by the Government & International Studies department and focused on democracy at home and abroad both philosophically, politically, and from an international perspective. Future issues will include topics relevant to students of the sciences as well as other branches within the humanities.  Students wishing for their work to be published should plan to submit mid-semester.

Contact Managing Editor, Tricia Steele (tsteele@berry.edu or ext. 4058) for more information.

The Limits of Democracy and Democratization - 10th Annual Conference on Government & International Relations - April 19, 2007

"Here's Looking at Democracy": Plato and Tocqueville Go to Rick's - November 9, 2006

The Future of American Education and Politics
Spring Conference 2005