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April 25, 2008 
University of California, Los Angeles

Co-sponsored by The UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the UCLA Center for Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Studies, and the UCLA Political Theory Workshop
 

Description

The 2008 CSPT Spring Symposium on ‘Reason of State’ will bring together a number of distinguished theorists, historians, and philosophers for a sustained discussion of the history and historicity of ‘reason of state,’ both as concept and as practice. Our speakers will focus on key historical moments and theoretical problematics attending “reason of state” from its inception in the 16th century to its echoes and transformations in the 20th.

We hope this event will be of interest to scholars of history and theory from the U.S. west coast to the east, as well as points between. The conference is free and open to the public. CSPT members may click here to view the symposium papers/presentations. We hope to have all papers posted before the event, be sure to check back for newly-posted papers. We do very much encourage all those who are not yet members of CSPT to join.

Lodging

Click here for a listing of nearby hotels.
 

Papers

CSPT members, please click here to view 2008 conference papers. Be sure to check back for newly-posted papers.
 

Schedule

*All talks to take place at UCLA, in 314 Royce Hall. Campus maps can be accessed here.

9:30 Coffee

10:00 Opening Remarks

10:15 Session I - Moderator: Massimo Ciavolella, UCLA

Speakers:

“Prophetic Statebuilding: Machiavelli, Weber and the Passion of Cesare Borgia”
John P. McCormick, University of Chicago

“From Secrecy to Transparency? Reason of State and Democracy”
Remo Bodei, University of Pisa/Scuola Normale Superiore & UCLA

12:00-1:30 Lunch break

1:30 Session II – Moderator: Lynn Hunt, UCLA

Speakers:

“Commonplace Kings: History and the Culture of Reason of State, 1580-1680”
Jacob Soll, Rutgers University

“The Spirit of Revolutionary Law: Foundational Justice and the Politics of Legitimation in Republican France”
Carla Hesse, University of California-Berkeley

3:30 Coffee

3:45 Session III — Moderator: Brian Walker, UCLA

Speaker:

“The Dualism of Realism and Moralism: Max Weber and Reason of State”
Peter Lassman, University of Birmingham

Reception to follow in Royce 306