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Hello
John,
The Kirk Center’s fall programs are proceeding apace and on the road with some exciting educational lectures, including in New York and Detroit.
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November 13: The Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture
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The University Bookman and friends will hold the third annual Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture in honor of the longtime, and much-revered, editor of the University Bookman (2005-2021) on November 13. This year, Rusty Reno, editor of First Things, will speak on "The Conservative Paradox: Mourning and Gratitude,” and include some remembrances of Gerald’s First Things contributions.
The Wednesday evening event will be held at Fordham University’s Law School at the Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan, beginning with a reception at 6:00 p.m. and the lecture to follow. Location details and registration may be found at this link.
I am especially excited to note that the event will be something of a book party too. The new book, How Do You Do It? The Selected Works of Gerald Russello will make its debut and be available from Cluny Press for this occasion. Edited and introduced by David Bonagura, loyal friend of Gerald’s and the Bookman’s Religion Editor, the selection contains essays and reviews written by Gerald over three decades. It is really well done and full of great conservative writing and reviewing--a monument to Gerald’s literary life.
All are welcome to join University Bookman editors, reviewers, and readers as we honor Gerald’s life, work, and legacy and look forward to carrying on his memory and dedication to the Permanent Things.
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November 21: Christianity and Culture Lecture Series
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The following week, on November 21, the Kirk Center will be in the Detroit area collaborating with the G. K. Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Guadalupe for what promises to be a fruitful evening, full of insights on the meaning of history. Joining us is Dr. Joseph Stuart, who will speak on “The Medium of Culture in the Thought of Christopher Dawson.”
Christopher Dawson was a twentieth-century British historian best known for his work explaining the significance of religion as a driving force in the history of culture. His immensely learned books include The Making of Europe, Religion and the Rise of Western Culture, Dynamics of World History, and Progress and Religion. He was the first professor to hold the Chair of Roman Catholic Studies at Harvard University. Dawson was a central intellectual figure for Russell Kirk, among other leading writers of his time and ours.
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A native of Michigan, Joseph Stuart discovered Dawson’s writings while studying at the Kirk Center as a Wilbur Fellow. He went on to earn his doctoral degree in Modern Intellectual History from the University of Edinburgh and is now professor of History at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND.
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His most recent book is Christopher Dawson: A Cultural Mind in the Age of the Great War (CUA Press, 2022). Joseph will be an excellent and lively guide to how Dawson’s contributions can inform our understanding of culture and the prospects for renewing it today.
This series is a joint initiative of the Kirk Center and the Chesterton Academy of our Lady of Guadalupe in Clinton Township, Michigan. Details about the event, including the location in Troy, MI, may be found here.
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Public Policy Fellows from Washington, D.C.
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The Kirk Center recently hosted an impressive group of young professionals from The Fund for American Studies’ Woodhouse Public Policy Fellowship for their fall intellectual retreat. These twenty-three Fellows live and work in Washington, D.C. as legislative aids, as journalists for The Dispatch and the Washington Free Beacon, and for organizations such as AEI and the Hertog Foundation.
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Their topic for the weekend was,“The Roots of American Order as the Foundation for a New Fusionism.” Over the course of four days, the Fellows discussed Kirk’s work The Roots of American Order, exploring his perspectives on order and virtue in American society. They also read other key conservatives such as Frank Meyer, Donald Devine, and Sir Roger Scruton, each with the aim to better understand the foundations of freedom as a means to renew America’s shaken political order.
Conversations were expertly guided by Dr. David Corey, Professor of Political Science at Baylor University, and Dr. Bradly Birzer, professor of History at Hillsdale College.
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We were delighted to have Roger Ream, president of TFAS, join the Fellows for his first visit to the Kirk Center. Roger himself is the embodiment of a thoughtful fusionist, capable of holding the claims of both order and freedom in balance in all that he does.
Below are a few reflections of the weekend by the Woodhouse Fellows:
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“I found the seminar to be so helpful in both understating Kirk’s works and forming my own belief on Conservatism. Genuinely, I would not have a firm grasp on my schema of conservative thought and its traditions without this experience.”
“Regardless of whether you are a Kirkian or even a conservative, there is no better plan to gain a deeper understanding of American conservative than at the Kirk Center.”
“I would absolutely recommend it! There is so much history that came alive at the Kirk Center and I would warmly encourage anyone to come visit and learn."
“It was an idyllic setting… to study conservatism, liberalism, and the American project.”
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I look forward to seeing some of you at our fall events. At them you’ll join Kirk Center alumni in deepening your appreciation for a conservative tradition that is animated, as Jaroslav Pelikan once put it, “by the living faith of the dead.” That is always an important insight, but especially this time of year.
In Ordered Liberty,
Jeffrey O. Nelson, Ph.D.
Executive Director & CEO
P.S. For any of you who live in, or originated from, the Midwest, don’t miss this University Bookman review of the week: Can the United States Have a Good History?
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And as a reminder, today is the last day to join our Kirktober campaign to help fund the University Bookman through the spring. All contributors will get access to an exclusive new recording of a classic Russell Kirk short story, produced by one of his former literary assistants, David Schock.
We're within striking distance of our $20k goal, and would love to have your support. Make your contribution of any size to help us keep this important work going here.
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