Conference at Yale: Liberty, Domination, and Democracy: Rethinking Freedom in Commercial Society

Yale’s Center for the Study of Representative Institutions Conference: “Liberty, Domination, and Democracy: Rethinking Freedom in Commercial Society”

Yale’s Center for the Study of Representative Institutions (YCRI) presents a conference:“Liberty, Domination, and Democracy: Rethinking Freedom in Commercial Society”. The conference will present new historical and conceptual work on liberty and its redefinition through the encounter with modern economic and political realities and ideas. It features papers by Annelien de Dijn (University of Amsterdam), Sophia Rosenfeld (University of Virginia), Geneviève Rousselière (University of  Chicago), Eric MacGilvray (Ohio State University), Sankar Muthu (University of Chicago), Alex Gourevitch (Brown University), and Yiftah Elazar (Yale University).The papers will be discussed by Andrew Sabl, Steven Smith, and David Grewal, all from Yale University. See the schedule below.For further details, contact Yiftah Elazar – yiftah.elazar@yale.edu

Opening remarks: Steven Smith, Yale University (09:45-12:00) on The Strange History of Modern Freedom

Chair: Keith Wrightson, Yale University

  • “Freedom and the Rule of Law: 1700-1850” – Annelien de Dijn (University of Amsterdam)
  • “Negative Freedom as a Caricature: Jeremy Bentham’s Antidote to Republican Liberty” – Yiftah Elazar (Yale University)
  • “Voting in Secrecy: On the Turbulent History of Free Choice” – Sophia Rosenfeld (University of Virginia)

Discussant: Andrew Sabl, Yale University12:00-1:30 Lunch Break1:30-3:15 Commerce, Independence, and Productive Resistance
Chair: Loubna El-Amine, Yale University

  • “Rousseau on Independence in Commercial Society” – Geneviève Rousselière (University of Chicago)
  • “Global Unsocial Sociability and Productive Resistance: On Domination, Counter-Domination, and Commercial Connections in Kant’s Political Thought” – Sankar Muthu (University of Chicago)

Discussant: Steven Smith, Yale University3:15-4:00 Break4:00-5:45 Republicanism, Labor, and the Market
Chair: Ariel Ron, McNeil Center for Early American Studies

  • “The Two Faces of Labor Republicanism: Workers Cooperatives and The Right to Strike” – Alex Gourevitch (Brown University)
  • “Markets in Pettit’s Republicanism” – Eric MacGilvray (Ohio State University)

Discussant: David Grewal, Yale University

Admission: Free

Open to: General Public

See the flyer here.