Curriculum
Academics
A canon of the Christian moral and intellectual tradition comprises the texts for reading and discussion. Classes are structured by the block model. The resident semester consists of five block course modules of three weeks duration each. Classes meet for three hours each day Monday - Thursday. This block course plan allows the fellow to concentrate full attention to each course. Courses are designed to build upon the knowledge base of the preceding course. With only twelve fellows in residence, classes are small, lectures rare, and seminar discussions and Socratic dialogue are the norm. In addition to the block courses, the Institute hosts an ongoing public lecture series where leading intellectuals are invited to speak on cultural and political issues of moment in the context of Christian reflection and application.
Brief Block Course Descriptions:
- The Bible, Christianity, Culture and Politics explores the Judaic and Christian roots of Western civilization with specific attention focused on the Bible's contribution to the formation of Western culture and its attendant social, political, and legal institutions. The Bible is examined as a meta-narrative account of human nature-its meaning, purpose, and destiny-and how this story has historically informed conceptions of society, politics and law. Classic biblical texts including Genesis 1-11, the Decalogue, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Amos, Matthew 5-6, 22, Romans 13, the Revelation, etc. are studied in light of political theology. This course also explores the relationship of Christianity to culture with particular attention paid to the theological concepts of grace and nature, faith and reason, gospel and law, the church and the world, and the kingdoms of God and man as they relate to the political task. Readings from H. Richard Niebuhr, T. S. Eliot, Christopher Dawson, J. Gresham Machen, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and others are discussed.
- Christianity and the State through the Reformation explores Christian theology in political discussion from the Patristic Age through the Reformation. As a survey of a millennium and a half of Christian political thought, this course examines themes of creation, fall, Christology, the church, and eschatology through primary sources. Designed especially for legal and political students interested in how theology has informed politics and law as well as for theological students interested in how politics and law have been informed by theology, this course assumes that "theology is an elevated branch of legal studies" (Ullmann). The writings of Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, Augustine, Gelasius I, Justinian, Gregrory I, Gregory VII, John of Salisbury, Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Marsilius of Padua, Jean Gerson, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, John Knox, John Ponet, Thomas Cartwright, Richard Hooker, Johannes Althusius, etc. are examined in light of discussion of kingship, empire, political community, individual right, legal theory, etc.
- Modern Political Theory and Christian Thought explores the rise of political liberalism in the 17th and 18th centuries and various Christian responses to it. Beginning with English Puritan political thought, this course traces the influence of the ideas of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau on modern liberal democracy and the precipitated response of Christian political thinkers like Edmund Burke and Alexis de Tocqueville. Burke and Tocqueville represent liberal-conservative and conservative-liberal responses respectively. The Christian intellectual currents of Burkean conservatism and Tocquevillian liberalism are traced through their 19th and 20th century heirs to the present day. In addition to the authors mentioned above, John Milton, Richard Baxter, William Wilberforce, Jeremy Bentham, Samuel T. Coleridge, Groen Van Prinsterer, Abraham Kuyper, Leo XIII, John Courtney Murray, T.S. Eliot, Reinhold Niebuhr, John Paul II, and Richard Neuhaus are read and discussed.
- Christianity, American Constitutionalism and Jurisprudence explores the thesis that that the American republic is in political and legal continuity with the constitution and jurisprudence of its Mother County - England. Specifically, the political theory and jurisprudence of the English jurists Edward Coke, John Seldon, Matthew Hale, and William Blackstone are examined in relationship to their influence on American colonial and revolutionary governments as well as the making of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Primary sources include colonial charters and fundamental laws; the organic law of the United States including the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Northwest Ordinance, and 1787 Constitution and Bill of Rights; Federalist and Anti-Federalist writings. Various works of John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, etc. are examined. English jurisprudence (especially Common Law) and its influence upon early American jurisprudence are studied in the writings and rulings of Chief Justices John Jay and John Marshall, Chancellor James Kent, and Associate Justice Joseph Story. Lastly the British conservative jurisprudence of James Fitzjames Stephens is also contrasted with the libertarian jurisprudence of John Stuart Mill with application for contemporary judicial debate.
- Natural Law and Public Moral Discourse explores the history and development of the concept of natural law from the ancient Greeks to the contemporary world. If it is the case that all humans share, by virtue of the imago dei, knowledge of basic moral principles, then one should not be surprised that certain moral beliefs are traceable throughout human history and across human cultures and societies. But, because to acknowledge natural law is to acknowledge obligations that transcend individual will, and because autonomy is cherished by modern people, it is not surprising that the idea of natural law should in our day be denigrated. In that light, responses to modern skepticism about moral truth will be considered. This course seeks to develop common ground for public moral discourse with opponents by employing natural law concepts in addressing a variety of issues including politics, technology, sexuality, and human life. Thinkers such as Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Aquinas, John Calvin, Richard Hooker, C.S. Lewis, and J. Budziszewski are considered as well as modern challengers to natural law such as Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, and Peter Singer.
Spiritual Formation
Fellows are encouraged to view their religious devotion as integral to the whole of their lives and callings. To assist in developing an integrated and holistic view of religious life, Chapel services are held regularly and draw upon liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer as well as traditional hymnody. Weekly discussions on the spiritual disciplines are required as well as tutorials in spiritual direction to help the fellow nurture the spiritual foundations for public leadership. Regular church attendance in one's faith tradition is expected.
Practicum
Following a semester residency at the Institute each fellow is offered a three month practicum placement in a public affairs related internship. Internships are external to the Institute. Placements are tailored to each fellow's interests, skills, abilities, and experience and can be located in Washington, D.C., various state capital cities, and international political centers.
