The next AMINTAPHIL conference will be held at the University of  Baltimore School of Law, Baltimore, MD, from October 25 – 27, 2012. The topic is “Democracy in the Twenty First Century: Problems and Prospects." The first session of the conference will occur on Thursday evening, Oct. 25, beginning at 7 or 7:30 pm. There will be two sessions during the day on Friday and two on Saturday. The conference ends with a banquet on Saturday night.

Sub-Topics for the 2012 Program will be announced shortly.

Each paper should include an abstract. Length limits for principal papers are 5,500 words (about 20 pages) Limits for commentaries are 2,200 words (about 8 pages).  These are maximums, not minimums. Longer papers will be sent back for shortening.

Information about registration, hotel reservations, directions, etc. will be announced in the near future.
Participation in AMINTAPHIL Conferences is open to all members. Please see the membership page for instructions on becoming a member.  All submitted papers are placed on the program so long as they are relevant to the conference topic.

DEADLINES

Principals Papers are due on September 15, 2012.

Commentaries are due on October 10, 2012.

All submitted papers and commentaries are accepted unless they are longer than required (see above) or do not address the conference theme.
Papers too long will be returned for shortening, assuming they arrive early enough for there to be enough time for them to be shortened.

View Papers - members only

HOTEL AND OTHER LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS

The conference hotel is the Wyndham Baltimore Peabody Court Hotel.

It is located at 612 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. The hotel phone number is 800 292-5500 or 410 727-7101.

Rooms rates are $99 per day. Rooms are available either with a Queen-size bed or with a Standard King-size bed or double bed. All rooms are subject to 15.5% tax. Rooms must be reserved by September 27, 2012 in order to guarantee the conference rate. The hotel web address is http://www.peabodycourthotel.com/.

Please book soon, as it is always difficult to determine how many AMINTAPHIL members will be participate.

The Conference itself will be held in the University of Baltimore Student Center.Shuttles will be available to transport participants to and from the hotel and the Student Center. The distance is also walkable.

The conference will begin on Thursday night, October 25. That first session is tentatively scheduled to begin at 7:30. There will likely be an opening reception at the Law School late Thursday afternoon. Further information on the reception will be available soon.

There will be two three hour sessions on Friday and two on Saturday. The conference will end with a Banquet to be held on Saturday evening. Information on the banquet will be available soon.

One hour of the Saturday afternoon session will be devoted to a Business Meeting in which, among other things, topics for our 2014 conference will be discussed.

The conference registration fee is $125. The fee for a guest at the banquet is $85. The registration fee can be paid by check made out to AMINTAPHIL and sent to Bruce Landesman, University of Utah, CTIHB Rm 402, 215 Central Campus Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 or paid online at http://www.philosophy.utah.edu/AMINTAPHIL/members.htm

Information about area restaurants can be found at http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/31/3018/Baltimore/Mount-Vernon-Mid-Town-restaurants

Directions To Hotel The hotel can be reach from BWI Airport by taxi, airport shuttle to midtown Baltimore, or light rail. Taxi and shuttle information can be found at the airport departure area. Information on the light rail will be provided soon.

Participants coming by train should go to Penn Station. It is possible to walk from the station to the hotel (.8 mile) but taxis are suggested. Walking directions are as follows:

>From the Amtrak station at 1500 North Charles St., Baltimore, MD:

1. Head south on N Charles St towards W. Mt Royal Avenue

2. Turn right on W Madison St.

3. Turn left on Cathedral St. The hotel is at 612 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201 Driving Directions will be made available in a later communication, as well as walking directions from the hotel to the conference center.

2012 AMINTAPHIL Meeting Possible Topics
Overall Theme: "Democracy in the Twenty First Century: Problems and Prospects”

SUB-TOPICS

Emerging democracies

1. Middle East: What is happening? What are the prospects for genuine democracy?
2. Can outsiders create democracies by intervening militarily?
3. How can democracy succeed dictatorship?
4. Is the U.S. a “receding” democracy?
5. When does an emerging democracy become a democracy?
6. Protest movements and democracy: are Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party reasons for optimism?

 Democracy and the media

1. Media as a source of information/bias
2. Media as means of insulating one from opposing ideas
3.  Social media: enabling or threatening?
1. Use in “Arab spring”: Did Twitter make the difference?
2. International comparisons: How does social media or its lack affect democracy?
3. How might social media be used by anti-democratic governments and entrenched powers to thwart democracy?

Democracy and democratic polarization

1. How do primary elections create polarization? What are the effects of polarization?
2. How can democratic polarization be effectively counteracted?
3. Why is civility so difficult to achieve and sustain?
4. Making compromises: a democratic virtue or selling out one’s principles?
5. Is religion-based politics compatible with democracy?
6. Is democracy possible with economic inequality?
7. Polarization vs. “Tweedledee/tweedledum” political parties: Are there other options?

Democracy and education

1. Does democracy need an educated public?
1. Can democracy survive public ignorance of science, history, political theory, etc?
2. Is objective assessment of politically relevant factual claims possible?
3. What can be done to increase the level of knowledge and deliberative skill?
2. What are the implications of ignorance?
1. Should the people judge when the people are ignorant?
2. Is there any way to contain ignorance without resorting to the kind of authoritarianism that democracy was designed to avoid?
3. What sort of education is required to produce engaged democratic citizens?
4. Is mass public education the best means to an informed public?
5. What implications does the racial achievement gap have for democracy?
6. Testing students as means of assessing schools
7. Is public education a civil right?
1. How much?
2. What kind?
3. With whom?
8. Local control of public education vs. federal control: What are the pros and cons?
9. What is the future of integration and diversity?
10. Are school vouchers a viable means to improving democratic engagement or education?
11. Is a federal role in curriculum development a threat to democracy?

What is the proper role of the corporate donor/voter?

1. Should corporations have political rights?
2. Are corporate interests necessarily opposed to democratic values?
3. Is Citizens United a threat to democracy?
4. Revisiting Buckley vs. Valeo:  is money a form of speech?
5. Do labor unions pose a threat or a counterbalance?

Democracy in theory & practice

• What makes a democracy a democracy?
• Can a non-democratic government be a just government?
• Real vs. Sham Democracy: How do we tell the difference?
• Can gerrymandering electoral districts be justified?
• How should electoral districts be determined to maximize genuine democracy?
• Is the single transferable vote a good scheme?
1. vs. Electoral College in US presidential elections?
2. as means of increasing minority representation?
3. as used by Ireland, Malta, Australia and/or India?
• Does the use of required picture IDs for voting hinder or help democracies?
• Are there voting procedures that would make democracy more effective?
• Congress vs. the President: Is democracy a recipe for grid-lock?

 

 

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