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Dear  John,

On March 15 and 16, we will be holding our first back-to-back Kirk on Campus events. Two nights, two campuses, and two top speakers will consider one of today’s most talked about intellectual and social movements in a more extensive context than is usually the case. 

In the past few years, Critical Race Theory has become widespread, well known, and controversial as a “lens” through which to view race relations. Are there better, broader, and more productive options available to us? Does the American tradition offer another way of thinking about race matters? I hope you can join us at Calvin University and Hope College for a wide-ranging conversation on these and other issues.

Since the beginning of the American Constitutional system the question of whom is included in “We the People” has been vexing. Over the past three generations, race, gender, and other “identities” have dominated that debate. Whether in civic places, main streets, or college quads, Americans have engaged in heated debates over America’s past record on race, but also over the problem of how we are to understand the promise of American freedom, order, and justice moving forward.

How we address these challenges as a people will help determine whether America can forge a more just and free future. 

The Russell Kirk Center is partnering with the Henry Institute at Calvin University on March 15, and the Tocqueville Forum at Hope College on March 16, 2022, for evening conversations that explore in an open and engaging spirit many of these contentious questions.

The first event at Calvin University on March 15 will feature Ian Rowe of the American Enterprise Institute alongside professor Micah Watson of the Henry Institute at Calvin University.

The event at Hope College on the evening of March 16 will also include Ian Rowe, joined by John Wood Jr. of Braver Angels out of Los Angeles. Professor Jeffrey Polet of the Tocqueville Forum at Hope College will facilitate that discussion. 

Both Ian Rowe and John Wood Jr. are dynamic and highly-regarded public intellectuals. They will provide  insight and reflection on the state of race relations, but especially about how best to chart a path forward for America to be whole, hopeful, and an authentically inclusive “We the People.”

Those of you in West Michigan, please come and join us! While admission is free, space for these gatherings will be limited, so please reserve your spot by following these links for the event at Calvin University on March 15 and at Hope College on March 16. 

Campus locations are Calvin's Chapel at 1845 Knollcrest Circle Southeast #1835, Grand Rapids, MI 49546; and Hope College’s Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts located at 221 Columbia Ave, Holland, MI 49423. Feel free to email me directly if you have any questions: [email protected].
In other news, the latest issue of the Edmund Burke Society’s journal Studies in Burke and His Time (Vol. 30) is now available on the Center’s website, and features the following essays:

 

  • Madeleine Armstrong, Burke’s ‘Age of Chivalry’: The Foundation of Civilized Liberty
     
  • Nobuhiko Nakazawa, Burke’s Nuanced Praise of Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments: the Religious Character of Burke’s Notion of the Sublime in his Philosophical Enquiry
     
  • E. Wesley Reynolds, London’s Coffeehouse Literati and the Rise of the Public Man in the Eighteenth Century

All of the writers are respected authorities on the eighteenth century in general and Edmund Burke in particular. The Kirk Center believes in the importance of contributing to the scholarly literature in these areas as a means to renewing their teaching in higher education.

Finally, this month’s Classic Kirk piece is from an introduction Russell Kirk wrote on the continued significance of Marcus Aurelius and his high Stoic philosophy to the modern era:
 

“The Meditations, one of the most intimate of all books (its real title is Marcus Aurelius to Himself), seems indeed to be the work of some dear friend of ours, so that the eighteen centuries that lie between the great emperor and us are as nothing. Appreciation of Marcus Aurelius’ thought, however, is a modern thing, for his little book was not generally known until late in the sixteenth century. Ever since then, it has been read more than any other work of ancient philosophy….”

As always, in these programs and publications the Kirk Center seeks to continue Russell Kirk’s work of championing right reason and the moral imagination in our own day. Thank you for partnering with us in advancing this mission.

Sincerely,
 

Jeffrey O. Nelson, Ph.D.
Executive Director & CEO

P.S. If you know someone who would be interested in receiving this e-letter, please invite them to sign up for this monthly email and our twice-yearly print newsletter, Permanent Things, at this link.

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