The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                  

Course # 3. Plato's Republic (Allan Bloomtranslation).

Dr. Timothy Minella, a historian of science and professor inthe Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky, will direct a course onPlato’s Republic.   Contact tim.minella@gmail.com

The Republic is the greatest of the Greek philosopherPlato's dialogues, exploring timeless themes of justice, truth, and the pursuitof the good life. In the dialogue, Socrates (Plato's teacher) leads aconversation about the origin and nature of justice. This inquiry takes thediscussants on an epic journey through the founding of a "city inspeech," culminating in an argument for the necessity of philosophy forthe pursuit of justice in the political community. Reading The Republic is arewarding adventure, for all is not as it seems in this strange and challengingtext. Participants in this cluster will read and discuss the entirety of thedialogue.

The cluster will meet Monday, September 12, to Monday,November 28, 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM EST. No meeting will be held on Monday, October24.

A copy of TheRepublic of Plato, translated by Allan Bloom, is required (currently $12 onAmazon). If need be, AHI willpurchase the book for your use.

Dr. Minella earned a B.A. with a double major in Physics andGovernment at Hamilton College in 2009. He holds a Ph.D. in History from theUniversity of South Carolina. He has taught courses in the history of science,American history, and the humanities. Minella’s scholarship examines theEnlightenment in early America by analyzing how the philosophy of mind shapedscientific practice in agriculture, natural history, politics, and otherfields. He has a wide range of publications, from Republican populism to scientificauthority in Early Nineteenth-Century America.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.   

Course #2. “The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn and America”

Lauren Weiner will direct a course “TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn and America.”  Contact Ms. Weiner lweiner6@gmail.com

“Yes, high and fine literature is wine,and mine is only water, but everybody likes water.” —Samuel Langhorne Clemens,a.k.a. Mark Twain.

Mark Twain occupies a special place inthe hearts of reading Americans, and among his many writings, none plumbs theessence of the nation better than Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This 1884novel abounds in incongruities. Written in the genre of the “boy book,” itconfronted one of pre-Civil War America’s most wrenching issues, the fate offugitive slaves, which the adult fiction of the time studiously avoided. It wasentertainment for the general reader, but came to be studied by scholars as“high and fine” literature. The characters speak in vernacular, but the storyis full of sophisticated authorial moves. The book is light yet profound.

Over the course of 10 one-hour sessions,we will explore the literary qualities of Twain’s book even as we try to discernwhat Adventures of Huckleberry Finn says about the United States of America.The controversies that swirl around it today will also be part of thediscussion.

The group will meet via zoom onTuesdays, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. The first session will be held onSeptember 13, the final session on November 22. (No class on October 4, whichis Yom Kippur.)

Ms. Weiner will be using the NortonCritical Edition of the book.  https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Huckleberry-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393966402/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KSXDR9FWCAKO&keywords=norton+critical+edition+huckleberry+finn&qid=1660605305&s=books&sprefix=norton+critical+edition+huckleberry+finn%2Cstripbooks%2C89&sr=1-1

If need be, usethe one you prefer; AHI will purchase the book for your use.

Lauren Weiner’s writing life has takenher to jobs as an editor, reporter, Capitol Hill staffer, and Pentagonspeechwriter. She has written literary reviews as well, and these have appearedin such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, theFederalist.com,the Weekly Standard, AmericanPurpose.com, the New Criterion,the Washington Times, and the Baltimore Sun.        

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                  

Course # 3. Plato's Republic (Allan Bloomtranslation).

Dr. Timothy Minella, a historian of science and professor inthe Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky, will direct a course onPlato’s Republic.   Contact tim.minella@gmail.com

The Republic is the greatest of the Greek philosopherPlato's dialogues, exploring timeless themes of justice, truth, and the pursuitof the good life. In the dialogue, Socrates (Plato's teacher) leads aconversation about the origin and nature of justice. This inquiry takes thediscussants on an epic journey through the founding of a "city inspeech," culminating in an argument for the necessity of philosophy forthe pursuit of justice in the political community. Reading The Republic is arewarding adventure, for all is not as it seems in this strange and challengingtext. Participants in this cluster will read and discuss the entirety of thedialogue.

The cluster will meet Monday, September 12, to Monday,November 28, 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM EST. No meeting will be held on Monday, October24.

A copy of TheRepublic of Plato, translated by Allan Bloom, is required (currently $12 onAmazon). If need be, AHI willpurchase the book for your use.

Dr. Minella earned a B.A. with a double major in Physics andGovernment at Hamilton College in 2009. He holds a Ph.D. in History from theUniversity of South Carolina. He has taught courses in the history of science,American history, and the humanities. Minella’s scholarship examines theEnlightenment in early America by analyzing how the philosophy of mind shapedscientific practice in agriculture, natural history, politics, and otherfields. He has a wide range of publications, from Republican populism to scientificauthority in Early Nineteenth-Century America.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.   

Course #2. “The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn and America”

Lauren Weiner will direct a course “TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn and America.”  Contact Ms. Weiner lweiner6@gmail.com

“Yes, high and fine literature is wine,and mine is only water, but everybody likes water.” —Samuel Langhorne Clemens,a.k.a. Mark Twain.

Mark Twain occupies a special place inthe hearts of reading Americans, and among his many writings, none plumbs theessence of the nation better than Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This 1884novel abounds in incongruities. Written in the genre of the “boy book,” itconfronted one of pre-Civil War America’s most wrenching issues, the fate offugitive slaves, which the adult fiction of the time studiously avoided. It wasentertainment for the general reader, but came to be studied by scholars as“high and fine” literature. The characters speak in vernacular, but the storyis full of sophisticated authorial moves. The book is light yet profound.

Over the course of 10 one-hour sessions,we will explore the literary qualities of Twain’s book even as we try to discernwhat Adventures of Huckleberry Finn says about the United States of America.The controversies that swirl around it today will also be part of thediscussion.

The group will meet via zoom onTuesdays, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. The first session will be held onSeptember 13, the final session on November 22. (No class on October 4, whichis Yom Kippur.)

Ms. Weiner will be using the NortonCritical Edition of the book.  https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Huckleberry-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393966402/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KSXDR9FWCAKO&keywords=norton+critical+edition+huckleberry+finn&qid=1660605305&s=books&sprefix=norton+critical+edition+huckleberry+finn%2Cstripbooks%2C89&sr=1-1

If need be, usethe one you prefer; AHI will purchase the book for your use.

Lauren Weiner’s writing life has takenher to jobs as an editor, reporter, Capitol Hill staffer, and Pentagonspeechwriter. She has written literary reviews as well, and these have appearedin such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, theFederalist.com,the Weekly Standard, AmericanPurpose.com, the New Criterion,the Washington Times, and the Baltimore Sun.        

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                  

Course # 3. Plato's Republic (Allan Bloomtranslation).

Dr. Timothy Minella, a historian of science and professor inthe Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky, will direct a course onPlato’s Republic.   Contact tim.minella@gmail.com

The Republic is the greatest of the Greek philosopherPlato's dialogues, exploring timeless themes of justice, truth, and the pursuitof the good life. In the dialogue, Socrates (Plato's teacher) leads aconversation about the origin and nature of justice. This inquiry takes thediscussants on an epic journey through the founding of a "city inspeech," culminating in an argument for the necessity of philosophy forthe pursuit of justice in the political community. Reading The Republic is arewarding adventure, for all is not as it seems in this strange and challengingtext. Participants in this cluster will read and discuss the entirety of thedialogue.

The cluster will meet Monday, September 12, to Monday,November 28, 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM EST. No meeting will be held on Monday, October24.

A copy of TheRepublic of Plato, translated by Allan Bloom, is required (currently $12 onAmazon). If need be, AHI willpurchase the book for your use.

Dr. Minella earned a B.A. with a double major in Physics andGovernment at Hamilton College in 2009. He holds a Ph.D. in History from theUniversity of South Carolina. He has taught courses in the history of science,American history, and the humanities. Minella’s scholarship examines theEnlightenment in early America by analyzing how the philosophy of mind shapedscientific practice in agriculture, natural history, politics, and otherfields. He has a wide range of publications, from Republican populism to scientificauthority in Early Nineteenth-Century America.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.   

Course #2. “The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn and America”

Lauren Weiner will direct a course “TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn and America.”  Contact Ms. Weiner lweiner6@gmail.com

“Yes, high and fine literature is wine,and mine is only water, but everybody likes water.” —Samuel Langhorne Clemens,a.k.a. Mark Twain.

Mark Twain occupies a special place inthe hearts of reading Americans, and among his many writings, none plumbs theessence of the nation better than Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This 1884novel abounds in incongruities. Written in the genre of the “boy book,” itconfronted one of pre-Civil War America’s most wrenching issues, the fate offugitive slaves, which the adult fiction of the time studiously avoided. It wasentertainment for the general reader, but came to be studied by scholars as“high and fine” literature. The characters speak in vernacular, but the storyis full of sophisticated authorial moves. The book is light yet profound.

Over the course of 10 one-hour sessions,we will explore the literary qualities of Twain’s book even as we try to discernwhat Adventures of Huckleberry Finn says about the United States of America.The controversies that swirl around it today will also be part of thediscussion.

The group will meet via zoom onTuesdays, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. The first session will be held onSeptember 13, the final session on November 22. (No class on October 4, whichis Yom Kippur.)

Ms. Weiner will be using the NortonCritical Edition of the book.  https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Huckleberry-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393966402/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KSXDR9FWCAKO&keywords=norton+critical+edition+huckleberry+finn&qid=1660605305&s=books&sprefix=norton+critical+edition+huckleberry+finn%2Cstripbooks%2C89&sr=1-1

If need be, usethe one you prefer; AHI will purchase the book for your use.

Lauren Weiner’s writing life has takenher to jobs as an editor, reporter, Capitol Hill staffer, and Pentagonspeechwriter. She has written literary reviews as well, and these have appearedin such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, theFederalist.com,the Weekly Standard, AmericanPurpose.com, the New Criterion,the Washington Times, and the Baltimore Sun.        

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.

The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of WesternCivilization (AHI) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have joinedforces to offer three courses to a national audience, using Zoom.                 

Course #1. “LeadingUp to the Civil War”

AHI ResidentFellow Dr. David Frisk will offer a class next semester on the United States inthe years just before the Civil War. A reading group focused mainly on onebook, the class will meet by Zoom call on Wednesday evenings from September 7through December 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Our book willbe America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink, an intensively researchedmajor work by the prominent historian Kenneth Stampp. The group is free andopen to the public. Participants are asked to purchase the book.  If need be, AHI will purchase the book foryou.

https://www.amazon.com/America-1857-Kenneth-M-Stampp/dp/0195039025/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18S0XHEK3YBUJ&keywords=america+in+1857&qid=1660114878&s=books&sprefix=america+in+1857%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1

From its Amazon page:

“The Supreme Court outraged northernRepublicans and abolitionists with the Dred Scott decision … And when aproslavery minority in Kansas Territory tried to foist a proslaveryconstitution on a large antislavery majority, President Buchanan reneged on acrucial commitment and supported the minority, a disastrous miscalculation … ”

“In America in 1857 … Stamppoffers a sweeping narrative of this eventful year, covering all the majorcrises while providing readers with a vivid portrait of America at mid-century… He examines the outrageous political frauds perpetrated by proslaveryKansans, Buchanan's calamitous response and Stephen Douglas's break with thePresident (a rare event in American politics, a major party leader repudiatingthe president he helped elect) … ”

“1857 marked a turning point, at whichsectional conflict spun out of control and the country moved rapidly toward …the Civil War. Stampp's intensely focused look at this pivotal year illuminatesthe forces at work and the mood of the nation as it plummeted toward disaster.”

Dr. Frisk, a resident fellow at AHIsince 2013, holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont GraduateUniversity. He has taught one or more classes each semester on a wide range oftopics in history, political science, and political philosophy. The book forthis reading group is history, but its central topic—the conflict overslavery—also relates to political philosophy.

We will read 25 to 30 pages per week.Some weeks, a reading from another scholar or Abraham Lincoln will be providedas an optional supplement.

Class sessions begin with a briefinformal lecture, then move to questions and discussion. We take a five-minutebreak near the midpoint.

For more information and to join theclass, please contact Dr. Frisk at dfrisk@theahi.org or 202-999-5751, or AHI PresidentRobert Paquette at bob@theahi.org. Due to our classes’ popularity, advance signup is stronglyrecommended.