If the word “rhetoric” inspires a bit of suspicion in us—if it conjures an impression of ulterior motives or the empty bluster of salesmen and politicians—we are in good company. About 2,400 years ago, Plato raised a question about the ethics of rhetoric. A major theme of his dialogue Gorgias is the issue of how…
On the morning of March 15th, 44 BC, a crowd of senators marched triumphantly from the curia, claiming they had restored liberty and rescued the republic from crisis. But where they expected applause, they were met with stony silence. There was just one hitch in their otherwise foolproof plan: the man they had murdered was…
After the pathbreaking rock of the 60s and 70s, “rock stars” have become cultural symbols of transgressive freedom, artistic innovation, and edgy glamour that captures the hearts of fans—sometimes to the point of mania. And their 19th-century musical ancestors were not so very different. In our free online course, “The History of Classical Music: Chopin…
Many of us are familiar with Disney’s modern films. After all, they are some of the highest-budget films in Hollywood’s production schedule, and their cutting-edge voice acting, scores, and world-famous songs are nothing to sneeze at. Disney’s Frozen, in particular, was a smashing success, reaching No. 1 on the worldwide box office charts at its…
“Capitalism is just ideology.” “Businesses and the wealthy need to give back.” “You didn’t build that.” These and similar sentiments have become central to popular economic understanding. However, they are based on flawed assumptions, and their intention to portray capitalism as morally contemptible succeeds only insofar as they confuse the issue. So, what is capitalism,…
In recent years, a sort of impatience with stories of the first Thanksgiving has arisen, as though reverent memory of the 1621 event is tantamount to mythologizing it and denying the hard realities surrounding the genesis of the early American colonies. Despite popular denunciations of the “myth” of the first Thanksgiving, the remarkable gathering of…
“And there were in the same country shepherds, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings…
The question of America’s foreign policy is both timeless and timely. As Tom Conner sketches in Lesson Nine of our free online course, “American Heritage: From Colonial Settlement to the Current Day,” the United States has cycled through different postures toward the world abroad. In the earliest days of the republic, there was generally much…
Critical readers have long noted the erotic motif running through George Orwell’s 1984. In Lesson 2 of our free online course, “Totalitarian Novels,” the seminar discussion quickly turns to this theme. As the conversation begins, Addison Longenecker doubts that the story’s hero and heroine, Winston and Julia, truly love each other. In reply to this,…
The two world wars reshaped the modern age at a staggering human cost. The First World War’s trench lines turned much of Europe into a wasteland, and the Second World War soon eclipsed even that horror. Each year on November 11, the anniversary of the 1918 armistice, many nations pause to remember. Across much of…