Jack Miller Center Events: Spring 2024
Check here for upcoming JMC events this spring!
Have a question about attending an event? Email JMC’s Communications and Design Officer, Anna Zemaitaitis at azemaitaitis@gojmc.org.
January
“The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution was Financed with Paper Money”, University of Georgia
January 12, 2024
Undergraduate students will meet with author Farley Grubb for a Zoom discussion of the economics of the American Revolution.
“Hating School: The Liberal Tradition in American Education”, Jacksonville State University
January 24, 2024
A lecture with Rita Koganzon investigating the connection between American political thought and self-education.
Conference: “Old Lessons for New Challenges: What the Past Can Teach about AI and New Media”, University of Houston
January 26-27, 2024
Specialists in various areas of history, political thought, philosophy, theology, etc. (Ancient Greece, Romans, Middle Ages, Early Modernity, and so forth), will gather for a two-day conference at the University of Houston. Scholars will apply lessons from the humanities to help us in addressing today’s challenges raised by social media and/or AI.
“The Greatest Man in the World: A Global History of George Washington”, University of Mississippi
January 30, 2024
What did other countries think of George Washington? Craig Bruce Smith (National Defense University) will deliver a public lecture exploring George Washington as a global figure during his own lifetime. He’ll follow different nations’ changing perceptions of Washington from the French and Indian War through his death and apotheosis. Framing early America within a global history, the talk will examine Washington as a world figure, rather than one that was exclusively American.
February
“John Jay and St. George Tucker. Lawyers and the Road to the Civil War”, University of Georgia
February 2, 2024
Undergraduate students will discuss law and the Civil War with Peter Hoffer.
Moynihan Model Senate Debate: “The 14th Amendment”, Assumption University
February 6, 2024
Students will assume the roles of senators from the debate over the passage of the 14th Amendment.
Law Seminar: “The Principles of American Constitutionalism: Natural Rights and Natural Law”, University of Notre Dame
February 8-9, 2024
Sessions will feature a discussion led by political theorist Vincent Phillip Muñoz (University of Notre Dame). Together, participants will examine primary source documents including selections of John Locke, Founders including Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Wilson, and James Madison, as well as later thoughts on the relation between natural right theorizing and jurisprudence in the writings of Harry Jaffa, Antonin Scalia, and Robert Bork.
“How the World Became Rich”, University of Mississippi
February 21, 2024
Jared Rubin (Chapman University) and Mark Koyama (George Mason University) will discuss the ideas and policies that make rising wealth possible.
March
“‘Magic Casements’ of the Mind: Winston Churchill’s ‘My Early Life'”, University of Alaska – Anchorage
March 1, 2024
Winston Churchill’s autobiography, My Early Life, is a “story of youthful endeavor” dedicated “to the new generation” after the Great War. Churchill remarks in the preface that it portrays a “vanished world”–but that world and the story of how he launched of his own adventurous life appeal to spirited human beings today. Students will discuss the question, what can we learn from his example and his reflections in the book?
“Judicial Office”, University of Georgia
March 1, 2024
Undergraduate students will discuss the judicial branch with Phillip Hamburger.
Conference: “Democracy and Its Pathologies”, University of Texas at Austin
March 1-2, 2024
Through an analysis of historical texts, papers will address questions such as: what is the best case for democracy, and what is the best case against it? Does the democratic regime have a democratic soul modeled on it? Is modern democracy different in kind than ancient democracy? Does democracy foster its own defective political forms (demagoguery, populism)?
Moynihan Model Senate Debate: “Robert Bork Confirmation”, Assumption University
March 12, 2024
Students will assume the roles of senators from the debate over the passage of the confirmation of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
“Civilization versus Democracy and French Liberalism’s Divide”, University of Houston
March 2024
Gianna Englebert (Southern Methodist University) will deliver a public lecture on democracy and French liberalism.
April
Shakespeare’s Henry IV discussions, University of Alaska – Anchorage
April 4, 2024
Professor Paul A. Rahe of Hillsdale College will join UAA professors Forrest A. Nabors and James W. Muller as faculty for a five-hour student-faculty seminar on William Shakespeare’s plays “Henry IV, Part 1” and “Henry IV, Part II.” After having read the plays carefully beforehand, twelve students will be invited to join the faculty for discussion in two ninety-minute sessions, followed by lunch together and more informal conversation about the plays and what Shakespeare has to teach us about politics and the best life.
“Republic of Georgia. Ordinance of Secession”, University of Georgia
April 5, 2024
Undergraduate students will discuss the Civil War, secession, and Alexander Stephens’ Cornerstone Speech.
Moynihan Model Senate Debate: “The Treaty of Versailles”, Assumption University
April 9, 2024
Students will assume the roles of senators from the debate over the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles.
2024 Bradley Conference: “A Gathering in Celebration of the Bradley Graduate and Post-Graduate Fellowship Program”, Philadelphia, PA
April 12-14, 2024
The biannual Bradley Conference will take place in Philadelphia, bringing together Bradley scholars and JMC fellows for three days of discussion and networking. This year’s conference focuses on the theme of higher education reform and the future of higher education.
“Classical Freedom and Virtue: The Case of Sparta”, Emory University
April 19, 2024
Susan Collins (University of Notre Dame) will deliver a public lecture on Sparta for the Franklin Fellows.
“Thomas Paine and His Times”, University of Mississippi
April 22, 2024
David Wilson will discuss how the work of Common Sense author Thomas Paine was received, and his relevance today.
Theme to be announced, University of Houston
April 2024
Bryan Garsten (Yale University) will present a seminar and public lecture.
May
“Philadelphia and America Celebrate: July 4, 1788”, University of Georgia
May 3, 2024
A Zoom discussion with author Michael Taylor.
June-July
Summer Reading Seminar on Politics & Literature, Lee University
June 3, 2024
Through a mixed cohort of undergraduates and regional high-school students, this day-long seminar will use the lens of American fiction to emphasize the formal and informal institutions that shape our societal mores.
Summer Civics Institute, Coastal Carolina University
June 10-14, 2024
Teachers from surrounding counties will gather at Coastal Carolina University
to study primary texts of American political thought.
“Statesmanship in American History”, Princeton University
July 14-20, 2024
Examination of the meaning of statesmanship and statecraft, as seen through American history.
About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a nationwide network of scholars and civics teachers committed to educating the next generation about the foundational texts and ideas of the American political tradition.
Through its network of more than 1,000 scholars in the fields of American history and political thought, the Jack Miller Center provides professional development for social studies teachers and builds innovative partnerships between higher education institutions and the K-12 teaching force. More information on the Jack Miller Center is available at www.jackmillercenter.org.
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