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2024-25 Call for applications
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The 捆绑SM社区 Research Group on Constitutional Studies听(听http://www.mcgill.ca/rgcs/听
听) is accepting听applications听for its听2024-25 Charles Taylor Student听Fellowship.听This is the same program that was previously called the RGCS Student Fellowship. Thanks to the support of generous alums and other donors, it has been renamed for professor emeritus and 捆绑SM社区 alum听Charles听听'52.
RGCS brings together the study of political theory, political and legal philosophy,听constitutional听and public听law, and empirical political science about听constitutional听institutions (the judiciary, federalism, separation of powers, etc.). It aims to unify these within an overarching research agenda on the foundations, institutions, and principles of political societies. "Constitutional" is construed broadly. It encompasses both the modern sense of the word (the fundamental institutions of a society's formal political and legal order, including institutional and legal norms limiting and directing political decisions) and the听ancient听(concerned with the match between political听regimes听and the societies they govern, and so concerned with the norms and rules governing family life, economic relations, and social orders). RGCS includes some fifteen faculty researchers in Political Science, Philosophy, and听Law; postdoctoral听fellows; a group of Ph.D.听students; and this Fellowship听of undergraduates and Master's听students.听
Eligibility: The Fellowship is open to听Arts undergraduates (U2 or later) studying political theory and related fields (including political science, philosophy, intellectual history, and the other social sciences, but background preparation in political theory and philosophy is a primary consideration). Pursuing an Honours course of study is an advantage but not a requirement. It is also open to students in the听MA听programs in political science and philosophy, and in听the BCL/ JD program in Law.听Applications are welcome from previous Student Fellows hoping to return for another year. (There's a presumption in favour of accepting such renewal applications, but for students in the second or third year of the MA or the JD/BCL, that presumption may be overridden to ensure that undergraduates make up at least half of the total group while听letting each cohort in the advanced degrees have at least a one-year turn.)
Students finishing their degrees in December are eligible if they are听returning undergraduate members of the fellowship group,听but not otherwise.听
Award: $500, plus free copies of the books.听
Activities: The听RGCS听Student听Fellowship听meets 3-4 Thursdays per month, 4:30-6 pm (and so听Fellows听should protect that block of time every week), for two kinds of activities.
1)听The first, and primary, activity is a reading group with members of the听RGCS听faculty, currently William Roberts and myself.听The reading group is not a for-credit course and cannot be taken as one; it is not graded.
Fellows听are expected to attend the reading group regularly, to do the reading in a听timely fashion, and to take an active, thoughtful part in discussion. The group works as a sustained conversation over months, and can't succeed without continuity from week to week.听
2)听The听second activity is linked to听the听RGCS听Lecture Series, which features speakers on听the听values, institutions, and principles of a free society. They take place in the same time slot, Thursdays 4:30-6 pm. Fellows听are expected to attend听all of听the听lectures. The first question at the lectures is reserved for a member of the听Fellowship. (And this is worth thinking about during the lecture!) There are also dedicated dinners with the speakers following the lectures; normally half of the Fellows attend each dinner (which means each Fellow should expect to attend half of the dinners in the year).
The 2024-25 lecture series will include David Schmidtz (Philosophy,听West Virginia) October 24 and Sean Ingham (Political Science, UCSD) March 20, with at least one and probably two more lectures still in the process of being finalized.
Other activities:听Fellows听will also be occasionally invited to other talks, seminars,听and听conferences in political theory, political philosophy, constitutional law,听and听the听history of political thought; unlike attendance at the lectures, participation in these is optional. There are sometimes small group meetings with visiting speakers outside the RGCS Lecture Series, especially the speakers who give the annual Yan P. Lin Centre Lecture or the GRIPP Charles Taylor Lecture.
Sometimes RGCS is able to secure space in the audience for听Fellows听at other kinds of events; these have included lectures by UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, essayist Roxane Gay, novelist Margaret Atwood, Nobel laureate in Literature Mario Vargas Llosa, and Templeton Prize winner Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.听When possible, RGCS supports other academic opportunities for听Student听Fellows, including support for travel to academic conferences, seminars, summer schools, and workshops; ARIA research assistantships with members of the RGCS faculty; and self-organized听summer reading groups.
RGCS sponsors an annual Arts undergraduate student writing prize; it is not limited to members of the Fellowship but they are encouraged to apply.
Application
To apply, please e-mail听rgcs.mcgill [at] gmail.com听by 5 pm on August听19.听听The听e-mail should contain:
1) Your year听and听program (e.g. "U3, Joint Honours Political Science听and听Philosophy," "MA1, Political Science");
2) 听the听courses you have taken in political theory, political philosophy,听the听history of political thought, constitutional law, jurisprudence,听or related fields (e.g.听the听history of economic thought), including听instructor's name听and听term/year,听and听the听grades you received in them;
3) a brief (1-2 sentence)听description of your educational/ career goals after graduating from听your current program;听
and听
4) copied-and-pasted at听the听bottom of听the听e-mail (not as an attachment), your "unofficial听transcript" from听Minerva (not applicable to MA1听students).
You may also include听
5) mention of any exposure you have had to political theory, constitutional law, and related fields outside of formal coursework, such as conferences and workshops you've attended.
Please put all of this in the body of the e-mail, not an attachment.
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The first meeting of the Fellowship will be on August 29 at 4:30 pm.
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Permanent information
The RGCS Charles Taylor Student Fellowship is the same program that was previously called the RGCS Student Fellowship. Thanks to the support of generous alums and other donors, it has been renamed for professor emeritus and 捆绑SM社区 alum Charles Taylor '52.
RGCS, a unit of the听Yan P. Lin Centre for the Study of Freedom and Global Orders in the Ancient and Modern Worlds,听brings together the study of political theory, political and legal philosophy, constitutional and public law, and empirical political science about constitutional institutions (the judiciary, federalism, separation of powers, etc.). It aims to unify these within an overarching research agenda on the foundations, institutions, and principles of political societies. "Constitutional" is construed broadly. It encompasses both the modern sense of the word (the fundamental institutions of a society's formal political and legal order, including institutional and legal norms limiting and directing political decisions) and the ancient (concerned with the match between political regimes and the societies they govern, and so concerned with the norms and rules governing family life, economic relations, and social orders). RGCS includes some fifteen faculty researchers in Political Science, Philosophy, and Law; postdoctoral fellows; a group of Ph.D. students; and this Charles Taylor Student Fellowship of undergraduates and Master's students.听
Since 2010, the Fellowship has provided intellectual community and academic opportunities to an interdisciplinary group of students interested in reading and discussing books on politics, law, and ethics outside the formal classroom. The Fellowship has been able to help them pursue research opportunities, attend conferences and seminars around the world, and meet with leading scholars, writers, and visiting speakers. The core of the Fellowship lies in the conversation: 18-20 students meeting in the Ferrier library, patiently working their way through important books and arguing about the ideas they contain鈥� discussions that make up the heart of student participation in RGCS and in the Yan P. Lin Centre. For many students, these conversations have provided a valuable transition between a liberal arts education and advanced graduate study in the social sciences, philosophy, or law. For many more, they鈥檝e been a capstone liberal arts experience in their own right.
The Fellowship is open to Arts undergraduates (U2 or later) studying political theory and related fields (including political science, philosophy, intellectual history, and the other social sciences, but background preparation in political theory and philosophy is a primary consideration), as well as students in the MA programs in political science and philosophy, and in the BCL/ JD program in Law.听
It is an ungraded, non-credit activity. Fellows receive a small stipend, plus free copies of the books. The Fellowship meets most Thursdays of the academic year for two kinds of activities.
The first, and primary, activity is a reading group with discussion moderated by one or two members of the RGCS faculty, dedicated to patient and thorough reading of major texts in the history of political, social, and moral thought. Texts in recent years have included Adam Smith's听Wealth of Nations听and听Theory of Moral Sentiments;听Montesquieu's听Spirit of the Laws;听Tocqueville's听Democracy in America;听Frederick Douglass'听My Bondage and Freedom;听and Jean-Jacques Rousseau's听Emile.听These long major texts are complemented with relevant shorter texts and contemporaneous works of literature, ranging in recent years from Jane Austen's听Sense and Sensibility and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein听to Franz Kafka's听Trial听and Richard Wright's听Native Son.
The second activity is linked to the RGCS Lecture Series, which features speakers on the values, institutions, and principles of a free society. They take place in the same time slot, Thursdays 4:30-6 pm. Fellows are expected to attend all of the lectures. The first question at the lectures is reserved for a member of the Fellowship. There are also dedicated dinners with the speakers following the lectures; normally half of the Fellows attend each dinner.
Other activities: Fellows will also be occasionally invited to other talks, seminars, and conferences in political theory, political philosophy, constitutional law, and the history of political thought; unlike attendance at the lectures, participation in these is optional. There are sometimes small group meetings with visiting speakers outside the RGCS Lecture Series, especially the speakers who give the annual Yan P. Lin Centre Lecture.
Sometimes RGCS is able to secure space in the audience for Fellows at other kinds of events; these have included lectures by UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, essayist Roxane Gay, novelist Margaret Atwood, Nobel laureate in Literature Mario Vargas Llosa, and Templeton Prize winner Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. When possible, RGCS supports other academic opportunities for Taylor Fellows, including support for travel to academic conferences, seminars, summer schools, and workshops; ARIA research assistantships with members of the RGCS faculty; and self-organized summer reading groups. See here for 捆绑SM社区 coverage of RGCS' support for students who took part in academic events around the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith's birth.
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