CAU > Seminars and Study Tours > The 2006 Midterm Elections: A Weekend Seminar at the Mohonk Mountain House

The 2006 Midterm Elections: A Weekend Seminar at the Mohonk Mountain House

November 3-5, 2006

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CAU's biennial election-eve gatherings at Mohonk Mountain are one of our favorite traditions. After two years of highly contentious national politics, war, the growing clout of the Christian right, the current malaise of the Democrats, and debates over Social Security and the courts, there will be no shortage of people, issues, and campaign tactics to assess, and plenty of time to weigh the significance of where we've been during the first two years of the second Bush administration. As always, Mohonk Mountain House will provide a marvelous setting, good food, and wonderfully traditional Victorian surroundings for our deliberations.

Glenn C. Altschuler, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies and dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, will bring his seasoned background as social analyst to bear as he examines the cultural and ideological temper of the nation on the eve of the elections. Richard V. Burkhauser, the Sarah Gibson Blanding Professor of Policy Analysis and chairman of Cornell's Department of Policy Analysis and Management, will once again tell us if we are better off today than we were two years ago, and whether voters will care. He will also be our guru on the ongoing Social Security debate and the current national economic situation. Joel H. Silbey, the President White Professor of History, Emeritus, fresh from his stint as the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University, will be back at the podium to assess the state of national politics and the political parties, and to peer into his crystal ball for predictions about the 2008 presidential race.

The program will begin with drinks and dinner on Friday and end after lunch on Sunday. We'll set aside some free time on Saturday afternoon for you to enjoy Mohonk's splendid surroundings, including its nine thousand acres of woods, craggy outcroppings, and walking trails, and its exquisite mountaintop lake and various sports facilities. Mohonk is located a few miles west of New Paltz, New York, about two hours from the New York City area. The program fee of $1,045 (per-person, double-occupancy), includes all lodgings, meals, receptions, gratuities, taxes, escort services, and the full educational program. The supplement for single occupancy is $230. This is not a physically demanding program, but please note that there are assorted steps and stairways at Mohonk, and we will be walking up a slight hill back and forth between the main building and our program sessions in the conference house.