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 Dr. Sam 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.