Tocqueville Conversations

Mallory Boyd

Upon arriving at the Château in the morning, we were welcomed with a lovely spread of breakfast, juice, and coffee so we could fuel up before entering the tent to listen to the line-up of speakers, roundtable discussions, and Q&A panels. We ate lunch outside on the castle grounds, and got to talk with other conference attendees. Dominic, Jennifer and I made friends with some of the students from the Collège d'Europe, and really enjoyed chatting with them between speakers. While it was exceptionally hot outside, I was able to take rests inside the châteauduring the day. At one point when I was joined by a group of attendees, we were offered an impromptu, private tour of the château. We were even allowed inside of Tocqueville's personal library and study, which was just so incredibly cool to see. 

This conference was also a great means of networking with politicians, economists, journalists, and activists in a uniquely beautiful setting. The conference line-up was quite impressive, too. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to pose questions to the speakers and panelists, as it opened up the conversation to the audience and allowed us to respond in real-time to the discussions being had on stage. It was also great seeing how many of the younger attendees were able to ask questions, especially since our little group of students usually carried on with our discussions over lunch! I would also commend the conference for having live translation of the speakers on stage, as it made the conference accessible to all those attending and watching from the livestream! I learned so much about the ongoing Russian conflict in Ukraine (I especially appreciated the roundtable discussions between Ukrainian activists and journalists highlighting their own experiences and testimonies), and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Château de Tocqueville and downtown Cherbourg. 

Jennifer Shoemaker 

I really enjoyed attending the Tocqueville Conversations, it gave me the opportunity to hear about the ongoing Russia/Ukraine War from philosophical, historical, military, and economic perspectives. As someone with family background in both Russia and Ukraine, I think it is important to mix personal and academic perspectives when understanding world events and conflicts. The conference was well organized and gave me an opportunity to meet people that are professionals, researchers, and students. The panel conversations were always intriguing and showed a wide range of opinions and experiences. The Chateau had beautiful grounds, and Cherbourg was a nice town to stay in with great seafood and cute streets. I would really recommend attending the conference, and I would attend the conference again as I had a great time.