Conferences
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR TEXAS A&M MEETING
Location and Dates
Texas A&M University
Annenberg Presidential Conference Center
College Station, Texas, 22-24 October 2009The conference will open with a reception on Thursday night, 22 October, and close with a reception on Saturday evening, 24 October. For detailed information on the scheduled of events, sessions, panels, papers, plenary events, and participants, visit the Upcoming Conference Program home page.
For a map of the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, click here.
Conference Fees
Fees for the conference will be:
- Fully-employed faculty and independent scholars – US $130
- Graduate students and others not fully fully-employed – US $70)
For details about registration and fees, and about what is included in registration, please the Conference Registration | Fees page. Fees are due no later than 21 September 2009.
Texas A&M University Host Information
The conference will be co-hosted by Lisa Ellis and Cary Nederman of the Texas A&M University Political Science Department, with the sponsorship of the departments of Political Science and Philosophy, the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, the College of Liberal Arts, and Texas A&M programs.Many events, including plenary sessions, meals, coffee breaks, and the book display, will be held in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, which is adjacent to both the George Bush Presidential Library and to the Allen Building, home to the Political Science Department. The Annenberg Center is a well-appointed conference facility with meeting areas, lecture halls, and banquet rooms, as well as pleasant casual seating areas. The Center is surrounded by the walkways and disc golf course of Research Park and the Bush Library’s grounds, which include picnic areas, a pond, and a rose garden. Most of the panels will meet next door to the Center in Allen Building lecture and seminar rooms.
Thanks to the generous funding of our sponsors, we will be offering events comparable to those of previous years’ meetings. Central Texas is renowned for its music scene, and we will be providing information and possibly transportation to local venues in the evening. Details concerning many conference events appear in the conference Schedule of Events. The third annual "Theoretical Run/Walk" will take place Saturday morning, leaving from the Hilton and returning in time for morning panels. As is our custom, there will be groups of runners and walkers; bring your shoes no matter which group you fall into. For information about dining and entertainment in the region, see the Tourist Information and Dining and Entertainment sections below.
Conference Lodging
The main conference hotel will be the Hilton College Station Hotel, located in the center of College Station, across from bars, restaurants, and coffee shops. The Hilton College Station is a full service hotel and conference center, with over 300 guest rooms, a bar, restaurant, pool, fitness room, and complimentary high-speed Internet access in each room. The Hilton College Station Hotel also offers complementary shuttle service between the Easterwood Airport and the hotel.
Hilton Hotel and Conference Center College Station
801 University Drive East
College Station, Texas 77840
Phone: 1-979-693-7500The conference will provide frequent shuttles between the hotel and the conference center, which is about three miles away.
The Hilton has guaranteed us a block of rooms at $109 plus tax per night (single or double). We have reserved 75 rooms on Thursday night, 100 rooms on Friday night, and 75 rooms on Saturday night.
Conferees should make reservations by calling the College Station Hilton directly, no later than 15 September 2009 in order to receive the special conference rate. Reservations must be made by calling the hotel directly (979-693-7500); those seeking the conference rate will need to identify themselves as attending the Association of Political Theory Conference at Texas A&M University (group/conference code: APT) in order to receive the $109 per night rate. When you make your reservation, it is very important that you mention the Association for Political Theory, because the conference is financially responsible for ensuring that all of the rooms we have booked are in fact sold.
The secondary conference hotel, which has been taking reservations when rooms are not available at the Hilton, is the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Byran-College Station. The conference rate at the TownePlace Suites is also $109 per night. To make a reservation, call them:
TownePlace Suites Bryan College Station
1300 University Drive East
College Station, Texas 77840
Phone: 1-979-260-8500Tourist Information about College Station
College Station and the neighboring historic city of Bryan are at the center of a seven-county region known as the Brazos Valley, approximately 100 miles to the northwest of Houston and 100 miles to the northeast of Austin. The region is dominated by Texas A&M, with its enrollment of over 48,000 students. Weather in the Brazos Valley in late October is usually in the high seventies, with lows in the fifties. For more information on the region, visit the Bryan-College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau website at http://visitaggieland.com/ and the website of the local newspaper, The Eagle, at http://www.theeagle.com.
Dining and Entertainment Guide
Conference co-host Cary Nederman, with Peyton Wofford, has assembled a helpful guide to dining and entertainment in the Bryan-College Station area. Download the Conference Dining and Entertainment Guide here (pdf).
Air Travel Information
Several options for reaching College Station, Texas, by air are available. Texas A&M’s Annenberg Center is visible from College Station’s Easterwood Airport and is a two-hour drive from larger airports in Houston and Austin.College Station Easterwood Airport (CLL) is served (as of July 2009) by three flights daily from Dallas via American Eagle on 60-seat regional jets and by six flights daily from Houston via Continental Express on 33-seat turbo props. If you plan to fly to Easterwood, it is a good idea to make your reservations early.
Conferees could also fly to two airports in Houston, which is about two hours (100 miles) southeast of College Station by car or shuttle. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the major Houston airport, is a hub for Continental Airlines and is served by all the major airlines, as well as by low-cost carrier Frontier. Shuttles between Houston Intercontinental Airport and College Station are available (see below), though renting a car and driving may be equally cost-effective.
Hobby Airport is Houston’s smaller airport, located on the south side of the city. Some find its size makes it more manageable, but it is also 45 minutes further away from College Station. It is served by major carriers American and Delta, and low-cost airlines AirTran, JetBlue, and Southwest. Shuttles to College Station are available (see below).
Many also find Austin’s Bergstrom Airport (AUS) very convenient. All of the major airlines, as well as low-cost carriers Southwest, JetBlue, and Frontier, serve it. Like Houston’s Intercontinental Airport, Austin’s Bergstrom is about two hours (100 miles) from College Station by car. There is no shuttle service to College Station, so conferees flying to Austin would need to rent a car or share a ride.
Airport Transportation
For conferees arriving at College Station Easterwood Airport, the Hilton College Station offers complimentary shuttle from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Cabs are also available, and cost about $10.Conferees flying to George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport or Houston Hobby Airport have the options of taking a shuttle or renting a car. GroundShuttle.com offers scheduled service between the two Houston airports and the College Station Easterwood Airport for $25.99, each way (as of 1 June 2009). You can be dropped off in College Station for an addition $4.99. Reservations can be made on their website or by calling them at (979)739-2836.
Conferees flying to Austin’s Bergstrom airport will need to rent a car for the drive to College Station.
For a concise summary of driving directions, including from Austin Bergstrom Airport and Houston Intercontinental airports to the Hilton College Station and from both conference hotels to the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, download a copy of our hosts' general driving directions. In addition, our hosts have provided a useful map from the hotels to the conference center and a parking map. Be sure to use the parking map - fines for illegal parking at A&M can be high!
GENERAL DRIVING DIRECTIONS (pdf)
In addition, conferees might find some of the following direction resources useful. For driving directions to Texas A&M University from Dallas, Houston, or Austin, visit the A&M map and directions page:
For driving directions to the Hilton, see also the Hilton College Station directions page:
For driving directions to the Annenberg Presidential Center at Texas A&M, download their pdf at this site:
Parking at the Annenberg Center is available on the west end of the building adjacent to the George Bush Library & Museum parking lot (Lot No. 41). For a map locating the Bush Library complex within the Bryan/College Station region, see:
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/museum/directions.php
or click here to download a printable map.
A map of the Texas A&M campus may be downloaded at:
Travel and Lodging Blog
Any conferees interested in sharing a hotel room or airport transportation are welcome to join the Texas A&M Travel and Lodging Blog. To join, please write to the Executive Co-Directors for an invitation (click below for address). On the blog, you can search for a partner or partners to share lodging or transportation, or both. The conference organizers also hope to arrange a small number of beds (or couches) available for graduate students hosted by fellow students at Texas A&M. Further information about this opportunity will be forthcoming.Revised 11 October 2009