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Political Theory Institute
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
–Socrates

Contact Us
Welcome to PTI
The mission of the Political Theory Institute (PTI) is to encourage the serious study of the great questions of political theory and to bring the insights of political theorists to bear on current issues and events.
Mission Statement
Spring 2023 Events
All events 5:30-7:00 pm ET.
Feb 9: Eve Fairbanks, award winning journalist, on learning from South Africa to shed light on questions of race and reckoning, the possibility of change by individuals or societies, etc. Live via Zoom.
Feb 23: Teresa Bejan, Oxford, on Toleration and Civility. Live via Zoom.
March 30: Matt Continetti, AEI & AU, on Conservatism today. In person at AU.
April 1: Lincoln Scholars retreat with Chris Arnade on appreciating America’s dispossessed. In person at AU.
April 20: David Bromwich, Yale, on Edmund Burke. Live via Zoom.
American University School of Public Affairs
Political Theory Institute Guest Lectures
Videos in this playlist
To play a specific video, use the playlist icon in the player or view each video on YouTube.
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American University School of Public Affairs
Cornel West and Robert George Talk About the Purpose of a Liberal Education
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American University School of Public Affairs
John McWhorter on “Anti-Racism as Practiced Today: A Dissent” with Alan Levine
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American University School of Public Affairs
"Lessons from Walden: Thoreau & the Crisis of American Democracy" w/ Robert Pepperman Taylor
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American University School of Public Affairs
2022 Lincoln Scholars Lecture: “Why You Shouldn’t Want to Rule the World w/ Zena Hitz
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American University School of Public Affairs
Political Theory Institute's The Idea of Decline in Western History
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American University School of Public Affairs
The Political Theory Institute Presents: "Is Patroitism Worth Preserving"
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American University School of Public Affairs
When is Dialogue Damaging? Nietzsche on the Conditions of Creating New Moralities
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American University School of Public Affairs
Catching Up with Ralph Ellison: The Blackness of Blackness
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American University School of Public Affairs
The Crush of Democracy: Tocqueville and the Egalitarian Mind
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American University School of Public Affairs
What is Identity Politics, and Does it Undermine our Liberal Polity?
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American University School of Public Affairs
Why We are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment
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American University School of Public Affairs
Populism, Polarization, and National Identity w/ Francis Fukuyama
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American University School of Public Affairs
What Can We Learn from Political History?: Strauss and Aron on Thucydides
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American University School of Public Affairs
The Political and Constitutional Thought of Alexander Hamilton
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American University School of Public Affairs
Progressivism and the Successor Ideology w/ Author Wesley Yang
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American University School of Public Affairs
What Went Wrong with Modernity? w/ Rémi Brague
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American University School of Public Affairs
Democratizing the Great Books w/ Roosevelt Montas
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American University School of Public Affairs
PTI: The Life and Work of Gertrude Himmelfarb
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American University School of Public Affairs
PTI Event: After the Backlash: Immigration, Populism, and Liberal Nationalism
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American University School of Public Affairs
What is the National Interest? w/ Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster
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American University School of Public Affairs
"Does Conservatism Have a Future in the United States?" w/ Patrick Deneen
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American University School of Public Affairs
Does Socialism Have a Future in the United States? w/ Bhaskar Sunkara
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American University School of Public Affairs
Does the Center Have a Future in the United States?” w/ William Galston, Brookings Institution
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American University School of Public Affairs
Do the Humanities Have a Future? The Liberal Arts Between Technocracy and Radicalism”
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American University School of Public Affairs
Facebook Live: Lincoln Scholar Lecture with Danielle Allen
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American University School of Public Affairs
Free Speech on Campus
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American University School of Public Affairs
Fashion, Identity, and Freedom of Expression w/ Gwenda-lin Grewal
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American University School of Public Affairs
PTI Webinar: Athens’ Plague and Ours
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American University School of Public Affairs
Facebook Live: Immigration, What Should U.S. Policy Be?

Politics and the Humanities is a podcast hosted by Tom Merrill (SPA Government) and Sarah Marsh (CAS Literature) on books, ideas, and liberal education.
2018 Students>
The Political Theory Institute prepares students for a diverse array of graduate programs and career paths.
Jonathan Rauch's Top Ten Reasons Not to Silence Speech>
Jonathan Rauch's Top Ten Reasons Not to Silence Speech