The Russell Kirk Center

In 2022, Mark S. Schlissel, president of University of Michigan was fired in a scandal. John Rodden begins his examination on the impact of the #MeToo movement by looking back to 1970's "Future Shock" by Alvin Toffler, a read he believes can shed some light on the current situation. "Where are we headed? Are we committed to the creation of an Orwellian surveillance culture in which corporations, universities, and government bureaucracies determine the private lives of adults?" Read his full review here: https://buff.ly/iDOgfj6

If America is about anything, it’s about freedom. So we are told. But what does this mean? Join us on April 22 at 7pm with Bookman editor Luke Sheahan and Dr. Brad Littlejohn for Called To Freedom--a Book Gallery Discussion of Littlejohn's latest book: https://buff.ly/lAKPdID The word “freedom” has many different meanings and expressions, depending on who is speaking. Even Christian theology makes use of the word. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” What does that mean? What does it have to do with freedom as it appears in our cultural discussions? Most of the discussion around freedom obscures the traditional demarcation between liberty and license. Is it for license that Christ has set us free? If not, then what for? Dr. Bradford Littejohn, Director of Programs and Education at American Compass, has entered the breach to define this ill-understood concept in light of Christian theology, ethics, and moral teaching. In Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License, he disentangles the philosophical, political, and theological concepts of freedom to illuminate what the Christian means by freedom, “liberation from the bondage of fear and sin.” Littlejohn begins with the classic Christian understanding of freedom, then turns to the contemporary debates over technology, the market, and religious liberty to demonstrate how a Christian conception of freedom not only may help us navigate our fraught cultural and political times but also provide a compelling vision of living in rightly ordered freedom. Register here: https://buff.ly/lAKPdID.

Luke C. Sheahan reviews "The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage" by Jonathan Turley. The review and book explain the misstep in protecting free speech for utilitarian purposes, but rather as an intrinsic good and need itself. "But consider what this means for persons in community. It means, first, that our brains are at their best when communicating with each other, an essential aspect of community...The human brain isn’t made merely for expression but for communication with other human beings." Read Sheahan's review on our site: https://buff.ly/iCzo5Gy

We're pleased to share details of our upcoming summer conference: Prospects for Anglo-American Conservatism in the Tradition of Russell Kirk and Roger Scruton. The free conference will be held June 27 and 28 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Registration and complete agenda can be found here: https://buff.ly/X7Z26Uc

Sister Mariella Gable, while not well remembered, served a great role in editing anthologies and introducing readers to great authors and rich short stories. Daniel James Sundahl reviews "A Theology of Fiction" by Cassandra Nelson, which helps to chart the importance of literature that is not explicitly religious, but helps to uncover truth. "Sister Mariella was silenced for four years. But she refused to compromise and continued to argue that Catholic fiction needs to reside above the usual didactic and sweetly pious fictions of rosary beads and crucifixes." For a fascinating look into her life and teachings, read Sundahl's review: https://buff.ly/PgXf1yD

Paul Krause examines the lives of saints throughout history and reiterates their importance today in his review of "The Stigmatists: Their Gifts, Their Revelations, Their Warnings" by Paul Kengor. Krause recounts Saint Francis' experience, "For many, having the physical wounds of Christ would be a detriment to one’s work. Yet for Francis, it was the opposite. He was invigorated and spirited to continue Christ’s work of repairing the church, calling all to holiness, and inspiring his brother friars to repentance and charity, despite growing frailer and frailer every subsequent year." Read Krause's review on our site: https://buff.ly/01vVDTD

Sarah Reardon reviews "Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth" by Catherine Ruth Pakaluk. She explains Pakaluk's stance as an economist studying 55 women with 5 or more children and why growing families is so important. "We live in an age dominated by the desire to control and limit childbearing, much to our detriment. What should come naturally from human life and union has been hindered, and the result is a great decline in our culture. The decline only continues, and the future looks dim." Read Reardon's article here: https://lnkd.in/eq-UMiX8

Following Women's Day last Saturday, we have an article from Nicholas R. Swanson on the topic of childbearing in our modern era. He reviews "Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth" by Catherine Ruth Pakaluk. Swanson says, "Her book takes a narrative approach. Most chapters relay the story of an individual woman—her motives and the significance she attributes to her childbearing. The book is thus refreshingly open-ended, and the women become the focus. The women—souls, not hypotheses—are the objects of investigation." Read his full review on our blog: https://lnkd.in/excwbMjz

Arthur Milikh, editor of "Up From Conservatism: Revitalizing the Right after a Generation of Decay" exposes the shortcomings and blindspots of Conservatism throughout the last 70 post-war years. "In fact, one of the reasons the Right has lost to the Left on so many fronts is that its focus on the private, the economic, and the individual—over against the public, the political, and the common—left it unable to address itself to basic human needs, including the need for justice and community." Read Shaun Rieley's full article here: https://buff.ly/GTtAGbS

"What if the elements of our child’s future success are actually in more simple things? "This question occurred to me while reading the autobiography of Russell Kirk, called “The Sword of Imagination.” Kirk, although not necessarily a household name, certainly led a successful life—in fact, he is considered to be one of the leading conservative thinkers of the 20th century, influencing millions of Americans by founding—and writing in—such prominent publications as National Review and Modern Age. "One would think that such a successful, influential man was raised with the best of everything—and he was, but not in the way many of us would think. In reality, his childhood was one of simplicity, characterized by the following four things: A Happy Family Extended Family Interaction Regular Reading Exposure Freedom to Explore Read the entire article at