Faculty Seminars

    The Institute regularly sponsors seminars that connect with other Institute programming.  Participants receive a small stipend for their work and are expected to engage with various readings and discuss them with their colleagues.  If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, please contact IFC Director Christopher B Chapp.  Past topics have included:

    1. Teaching courses in the Public Affairs Conversation
    2. Introducing a public affairs component into or otherwise enriching their current courses
    3. Enhancing interactions with students and student organizations and activities
    4. Developing deeper engagement with political and policy debates about the future of America and the world

    These seminars are led by the IFC Director or other faculty who are recruited by the Director. The syllabus will overlap with PACON and/or other Institute events, and will include both classic texts and contemporary debates. The main aim of the seminars will be to analyze and understand the past and future importance of the relevant texts, issues, and debates. The emphasis will be on appreciating the diversity of viewpoints — including what are commonly called conservative, liberal, and moderate views — and on the pedagogical ability to elicit from students the capability to debate political policy issues as well as their religious and moral dimensions with competence, integrity, and appropriate respect for views that differ from their own. Key issues include academic freedom, diversity, academic neutrality, and the broader interaction between colleges, universities, and public affairs.

    Seminar participants also will receive special invitations and opportunities to be involved in the ongoing seminars, symposia, and other events sponsored by The Institute.