The Strange Fate of Hamilton and Harry Potter

What do Hamilton, Harry Potter, and Parks and Recreation have in common?
 
All of them, writes Carl Trueman, have fallen from grace in our swiftly-tilting cancel culture.
 
Five years ago they were the toast of the town. But, Trueman comments, “today’s virtuous icons are tomorrow’s vile scoundrels.”
 
Does this phenomenon simply reflect the fading fortunes of the Hillary Clinton brand of liberalism?
 
No, Trueman argues. That’s what happens if you reject permanent moral codes for critical theory and personal taste.
 
So we’re doomed to cultural volatility . . . unless we change a few fundamental things. See what you think of his diagnosis here.
 

Dostoevsky’s influence on Solzhenitsyn . . . and what he can tell us today

Hamilton may be canceled, but Dostoevsky’s novel Demons is more timely than ever, argues Daniel Mahoney.
 
In fact, Mahoney thinks that Demons (which turns 150 this year) offers us a way out of our crippling contemporary crisis.
 
What you find in Dostoevsky today—and what resonated so deeply with Solzhenitsyn in the totalitarian 20th century—is insight into the human condition . . . and the way ideological revolution demonically disfigures it.
 
“Demons is a book for East and West alike,” Mahoney writes, “one for all those who wish to rescue the soul of modern man.”
 
Mahoney closes with a call to engage deeply with this work that “offers us so much light . . . amid the cultural, spiritual, and political darkness of our time.”
 
You can begin to answer that call by reading his full thoughts here.
 

The War on History—And Why It Matters

The ISI Honors Program, Application Deadline: January, 15 (Tomorrow)

• A community of brilliant students and professors. Honors Scholars are welcomed into a tight circle of bright minds from numerous colleges and fields of study. It’s like joining an intellectual club.
   
• An all-expenses paid week-long summer conference. Yes, you read that right. We pay for you to attend a week-long intellectual retreat. You get to read classic works, and have rich discussions with students and professors.
   
• Invitations to exclusive seminars throughout the 2022-2023 academic year. Through the year you’ll be invited to intimate gatherings of students and a handful of professors to dive deeper into the themes you explored during the weeklong summer conference.
   
• An alumni network that includes scholars, authors, government officials, journalists, attorneys, judges, and more. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute network features some prominent names—and the Honors Program is your induction into this impressive community. From Supreme Justice Samuel Alito to Reason editor Katherine Mangu-Ward, you’ll be counted among brilliant and influential people, all of whom are making a difference in every part of society.

• Academic Mentorship. Each Honors Scholar is paired with a mentor to guide and assist you through your academic career—and sometimes beyond!
   
• Intellectual Rigor. ISI students and alumni are noted for their intellectual caliber. By becoming an Honors Scholar, you experience—and advance—the clarity of thought that universities used to be renowned for.
   
• Special Preference. Honors Scholars are given priority when it comes to future ISI conferences, events, and even scholarships.
   
• Lifelong Friendships. Many Honors Scholars have described their Honors experience as life-changing. That’s because the friendships they made were just as significant to their growth as the education.
   
• Thought Leadership. Honors Scholars have the opportunity to become leaders as well as thinkers, no matter where they go after college.
   

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