Fall 2026
Pre-Term Seminar
Duty in One’s Calling: The Ethics of Work
Monday 8/25 | Elm Library
A half-day seminar exploring fundamental questions about the nature and the ethics of work: Is work a burden or a blessing? Under what conditions do we experience work as meaningful and fulfilling? What does it mean to treat work as a calling? What distinguishes the professions (law, medicine, ministry, engineering, etc.) from other forms of work, and what are the obligations involved in professional life? More info…
Reading & Discussion Groups
The Philosophy of Everyday Life
Thursdays | 6.00–7.30pm | Elm Library
A series of discussions about the deep questions that underlie everyday human experiences and activities, from sharing meals and playing games, to making friendships and pursuing professional and personal success. The topics discussed this semester include hospitality, craftsmanship, writing, and apologies and forgiveness. Led by Peter Wicks. More info…
What is Liberal Education For?
Tuesdays | 6.00–7.30pm | Elm Library
What is a liberal education? Is it defined by its content, methods, goals, or some combination of all three? What should a liberally educated person know? What are the role that classic texts and conversation play in liberal learning, and how can the project of liberal education be pursued in the context of the modern university?. More info…
Seminar
By Nature and by Law: Property, Rights, and Justice
October 2-3 | Elm Library
A seminar for law students examining theories of natural law and their relationship to accounts of the nature of positive law and exploring theories of private property in the natural law tradition and their implications for a variety of contemporary debates concerning the nature of private property, the principles governing property rights, and intellectual property. Led by Sherif Girgis. More info…
Augustinian Humanism
Thursdays | 12.00–1.15pm | Elm Library
A reading group exploring Augustine’s answer to the central question of ancient ethical humanism: what is the happy life? To what degree does the fact that Augustine was so interested in human happiness call into question his reputation as a thinker preoccupied with human sin and a political pessimist? Is it possible to understand Augustine as a humanist? Readings from Seneca, Augustine, and Boethius. Led by Justin Hawkins. More info…
Markets & Morals
Tuesdays | 4.30–6.30pm | Elm Library
A three-part seminar examining debates about the relationship between a society’s economic structures and the character of its members: Is it true that commercial relations makes people more cooperative, trustworthy, and tolerant, while promoting peace between nations? Are there moral limits on what may legitimately be bought and sold? How has the nature of work been changed by development of modern capitalism, and what effect does the work we do have on the people we become? Led by Greg Collins and Peter Wicks. More info…
Friday Speakers
Galileo Reconsidered: Science, Faith, and Religion
9/25 Benjamin Doolittle (Yale School of Medicine / Yale Divinity School)
Reimagining Politics After AGI
10/30 Joan O’Bryan (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
Writing as a Formative Practice
11/13 Lily Abadal (University of South Florida)