Conferences

Guicciardini's Dialogue at 500: a Workshop on Renaissance Political Thought

Saturday, March 15 2025 / 9:30-12:30 & 2-5 / UC Berkeley, Social Sciences 749

In honor of the 500th anniversary of Francesco Guicciardini’s political masterpiece, the Dialogue on the Government of Florence (1525), this workshop will use the text of the Dialogue as a starting point for a broader discussion on political thought in Renaissance Florence and beyond, exploring the relationship between Machiavelli and Guicciardini as well as the literary and ideological afterlives of their texts. 

We will be joined by two distinguished scholars of Guicciardini: Natasha Piano (UCLA) and Mark Jurdjevic (York University, Toronto). The workshop will consist of two sessions, one for each book of the Dialogue. Each session will be opened by remarks from the guests and organizers on the main interpretive issues posed by the text, as well as on its connections to more general historiographic, literary, and political themes in Guicciardini's oeuvre. The introductory remarks will be followed by an open conversation among the participants, who will be asked to prepare for the workshop by (re-)reading the text of the Dialogue. 

We are planning to provide light breakfast and lunch in an informal setting, as well as coffee and refreshments throughout the day. Please RSVP to guicciardiniworkshop@gmail.com by March 7. 

Supported by: the Designated Emphasis in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies; the Townsend Center for the Humanities; the Departments of Italian Studies and Political Science. If you require accommodation for a disability for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact Gio Maria Tessarolo at giomaria_tessarolo@berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.

Graduate Conference Poster

Berkeley Graduate Conference on Early Modern Political Thought, 1400-1800

We are pleased to announce that the Berkeley Graduate Conference on Early Modern Political Thought (1400-1800) will take place on Saturday May 3rd, 2025.

Alison McQueen (Stanford University) will deliver the keynote address.

We are accepting abstracts of 300-500 words on any topic or geographic area so long as it substantively engages with the timeframe. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, and they must not yet have a PhD.

Submission deadline: January 10th, 2025 at midnight PST.

Accepted speakers will be notified in February 2025.

Participants will submit their materials two weeks before the conference. We are expecting finished research papers that are roughly article-length. Each presenter will receive feedback from a Berkeley discussant.

Funding: We have a set budget to help the speakers cover travel expenses. We will allocate funding on the basis of distance and need. The event is generously supported by the Designated Emphasis in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies and by the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science.

Please email any questions to a.alksnis@berkeley.edu / giomaria_tessarolo@berkeley.edu.

APPLY HERE