This Jack Miller Center Chairman’s Award for Best Dissertation in American Political Thought for the period of 2008-2010 has been awarded by our selection committee to two recipients. The award will be given annually to young scholars in Political Science whose dissertation represents a unique contribution to the study of American Political Thought, and whose scholarly work meets with the highest standards of the profession.
Potential prize winners are received by nomination and judged by a committee of Senior Scholars. If you have nominations for the 2011-2012 JMC Chairman’s Award, please forward a nominating letter and other related materials to Rafael Major (rmajor@gojmc.org).
Award Winners:
Steven Philip Bilakovics, currently at Yale University:
“Constituting Political Freedom and the Democratic Way of Life,” is a work of remarkable scope and ambition. The dissertation is a study of the fate of the participatory ideal in modern democracy, and of the relation between (Madisonian) constitutionalism and (Jeffersonian) democracy. Dr. Bilakovics’ work presents superb analyses of a wide range of democratic theorists, including not only Tocqueville and Madison, but also Claude Lefort and Sheldon Wolin. But the dissertation is also a work of democratic theory in its own right, a troubling study of the emaciation of our democratic politics combined with a nuanced account of the vital role of the rhetoric and political culture of constitutionalism as a remedy for political cynicism and a spur to democratic political engagement. Dr. Bilakovics’ Ph.D. is from the University of Texas, 2008, and his supervisor was Professor Jeffrey Tulis. His book Democracy without Politics will be published by Harvard University Press in 2012.
Gregory S. Weiner, Assistant Professor at Assumption College:
“Madison’s Metronome: The Constitution and the Tempo of American Politics,” is an impressive piece of scholarship. It has an original and important thesis: Madison sought to institute and then consistently defended majority politics, but at a “metronome” pace that would allow deliberation and reflection. Madison sought, as Dr. Weiner says at one point, a “living constitution with a slow metabolism.” This thoughtful characterization of Madison’s political thought immediately places Dr. Weiner at the forefront of those currently writing on him. His dissertation teaches anyone who reads it a great deal not only about the thought of James Madison but also about the American Constitution and its founders. Dr. Weiner’s Ph.D. is from Georgetown University, 2010, and his supervisor was George W. Carey. His book will be published by the University Press of Kansas in 2012.
Tags: Assumption College, Gregory Weiner, Jack Miller Center, Steven Bilakovics, Yale University