The conference will feature a series of paper presentations by PhD students from programs around the country, with individualized comments provided by Notre Dame graduate student discussants and faculty. The conference will also feature a keynote address from Professor Melissa Lane, Class of 1943 Professor of Politics at Princeton University, titled "Squaring the Circle: Rousseau’s Legislator, Ancient Lawgivers, and the General Will."
All events will take place on Friday, March 27th, 2026, in room 200 of the Main Building. Breakfast, lunch, and coffee will be provided, and the entire conference is free and open to the public.
The conference is made possible through the generosity of the Ray and Celeste Biagini Endowment in Political Theory and the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.
Schedule
9:00 - 9:30 am: Breakfast and Welcome
9:45 - 10:45: Session 1 – "A Politics of Intimacy: War and Persuasion in Aeschylus’s Oresteia" Theodore Lai, Georgetown University
11:00 - 11:45: Break
12:00 pm: Lunch Service Begins
12:15 - 1:45: Keynote Address – “Squaring the Circle: Rousseau’s Legislator, Ancient Lawgivers, and the General Will," Melissa Lane, Princeton University
2:15 - 3:15: Session 3 – "Recovering Providence: Aquinas, Locke, and the Natural Law" Candace Terman, University of Texas at Austin
3:30 - 4:30: Session 4 – “ 'One Harmonious Interest': The American Founders and the Attempt to Promote" Jonah Apel, Hillsdale College