Dear  John,

Summer is the busiest time for programs at the Kirk Center. Students are freer to commit to intellectual retreats here, professors have time to complete research projects, and the surrounding beauty of Michigan lake life brings increased visitors. 

I am glad to give you an update on the first half of our 2023 summer. In June, it was once again terrific to welcome Dr. Jason Jewell and his promising graduate students from Faulkner University’s Humanities Program. Sixteen participants gathered for a seminar on “The Essential Russell Kirk.” They discussed key areas of Kirk’s thought over two intense days, including topics such as order and liberty, the moral imagination, place, ideology, conservatism, education, and the American republic. 

Dr. Jewell was joined in leading the discussion by Dr. Benjamin Lockerd, a Kirk Center trustee and former literature professor. The Faulkner program has produced a number of fine dissertations on Dr. Kirk and related thinkers in the Christian humanist tradition. If you are looking for a bright spot in contemporary higher education, Faulkner’s humanities program is one of them. 

In mid-July, a group of school teachers who are part of the McConnell Center Teacher Scholar program, a professional learning opportunity for Kentucky educators offered through the University of Louisville, made the drive from Kentucky to Michigan for a seminar on “Prescription and Progress: The Burke-Paine Debates.” 

Inspired by Dr. Gary Gregg, this group of educators explored the foundations of the modern Right-Left political debate in Russell Kirk’s library. As some of the teachers commented: “The seminar really helped me delve into the philosophies of Burke and Paine and deepened my understanding of liberal and conservative thought.” And: “There is no better respite for true scholarly discussion and examination of the permanent things than Piety Hill.”

Next the Kirk Center welcomed interns from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy for their annual intellectual retreat. This year the seminar’s focus was on specific dimensions of “The Politics of Prudence.” Kirk Center trustee and director of Save Our States, Michael Maibach, gave a broad historical, political, and practical defense of the Electoral College. This exciting and effective presentation garnered a lot of interest and discussion as students reported the debate over the ongoing viability of the Electoral College is heated and not well-informed. As one participant put it, “I would highly recommend this to others my age because of how important these views are to the incoming generation.”

Announcements from the Bookman

Substantive engagements with conservative thought elsewhere

Each summer we are pleased to welcome interns from the Acton Institute for an intellectual retreat. I will tell you more about that in my next letter, but for now you might like some reading that cuts across an already stale narrative about conservatism, published in Acton’s Religion & Liberty and entitled, “The Death of Conservatism Is Greatly Exaggerated."

Finally, given discussions between and among conservatives about the nature of and prospects for national conservatism, you might be interested in Kirk Center friend and speaker John Wood Jr’s interview with Yoram Hazony at Braver Angels.

Enjoy a beautiful and restful summer, and thank you for your interest and support.

All the best,