March 20, 2026
Political Science
Jane Mansbridge delivers the keynote address at the Deliberation and Division: Making Change at the New England Town Meeting symposium March 11 at Old Chapel. Top: Attendees listen during the symposium.

More than 150 students, academics, and state and local government practitioners recently gathered at UMass Amherst and online to discuss the past, present and future of the New England Town Meeting, a tradition dating back to the 1600s.

The Department of Political Science hosted Deliberation and Division: Making Change at the New England Town Meeting, a symposium focusing on the history and contemporary issues surrounding local community governance, on March 11 in Old Chapel. Sawyer Rogers, a doctoral student in political science at UMass Amherst and the project’s principal investigator, help lead the the organizing team. Read more about the event here