Virtual Reading Groups

4:00-5:30 pm EST

with Sarah Skwire

Like Much Ado About Nothing and Othello, the plot of The Winter’s Tale turns on false accusations against a faithful woman. Why return so often to the question of fidelity and broken trust? Why… more

12:00-1:30 pm EST

with Sarah Skwire

The Taming of the Shrew and its story of an overbearing husband taming a shrewish wife may not have aged particularly well, but critics have long debated how seriously it is meant to be taken,… more

2:00-3:30 pm EST

with Sarah Skwire

The physical action of As You LIke It, where Rosalind and Celia are exiled from their home into the forest mirrors the psychological action, as characters find their way through confusion and… more

12:00-1:00 pm EST

with Alberto Mingardi

Eric Hoffer is perhaps the most unlikely protagonist of the 20th century political philosophy. Completely self-taught, Hoffer worked as a longshoreman in San Francisco, after being rebuffed… more

12:00-1:30 pm EDT

with Sarah Skwire

Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus is famously the bloodiest and most violent of Shakespeare’s often bloody and violent tragedies. Its horrors reflect the collapse and decay of the Roman empire and… more

Wednesdays October 30, November 6, 13, and 20, 2024, 4:00-5:00 pm EDT

with Dan Kapust

Realism has emerged as an important field of inquiry within political theory and philosophy in recent years. While much political and ethical… more

Tuesdays October 1, 8, and 15, 2024, 2:00-3:00 pm EDT

with Steve Ealy

This VRG will examine three aspects of Franklin’s thought through his writings, both private and public. We will be able to trace the development of his ideas… more

Tuesdays October 1, 8, 15, and 22, 2024, 1:00-2:30 pm EDT

with Ted Harpham

The idea of the social contract — the idea that individuals enter into an agreement to cooperate for larger social and political benefits out of a state… more

1:00-2:30 pm EDT

with Sarah Skwire

Here we see Hal, now King Henry V, on his throne. What lessons has he brought with him from his former wild days? What problems still haunt him? Hal is faced by a series of challenges at home… more

12:00-1:30 pm EDT

with Paul Lewis

In this essay, which was first published by Liberty Fund in 1979, Nobel Laureate James Buchanan examines the significance of what he describes as man’s ‘artifactual’ nature. As understood by… more

with Bradley Birzer

Along with Russell Kirk, C.S. Lewis, Robert Nisbet, Leo Strauss, and Friedrich Hayek, Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990) was one of the most interesting and thoughtful conservatives of the twentieth century.… more

Tuesdays September 10, 17, and 24, 2024, 1:00-2:00 pm EDT

with Renee Wilmeth

One of the benefits of literature is that we as readers can explore new philosophies and theories through the eyes of characters and their actions. Add… more

In this virtual reading group, we will reflect on the achievement of Michael Oakeshott, using Timothy Fuller’s book of essays, Michael Oakeshott on the Human Condition, as our primary text. Fuller and Oakeshott were close… more

When considering the scope and ultimate shortcomings of Reconstruction, Americans typically resort to asking an inescapable yet unanswerable question: “what if Abraham Lincoln had lived?” Indeed, what if the author of the United… more

Our new series of Shakespeare Virtual Reading Groups will explore all of Shakespeare’s plays over the course of about 3 years. We’ll look at one play a month, with Liberty Fund’s Sarah Skwire leading one 90 minute discussion for… more