Academia Tocqueville: 2024 Summer Seminar for Advanced Undergraduate, Graduate Students, & Young Professionals
Academia Tocqueville invites applicants for its 2024 Summer Seminar. Academia Tocqueville is a summer seminar that provides an intensive introduction to French political thought and culture. Founded in 2023, it is a twelve-day seminar which located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Paris). The curriculum focuses on the different schools of thought that comprise the French Right.
This year’s seminar will take place in Paris from June 30th – July 12th, 2024.
The seminar is open to advanced undergraduate, graduate students, and young professionals who are working in an area related to the seminar’s topic.
Over the course of their studies in Paris, guided by distinguished scholars and writers, participants study the liberal-conservative tradition and encounter representatives of counter-revolutionary thought. They discover French conservatism’s critical and constructive engagement with Bonapartism and Caesarism. Finally, they discover how Catholic political thinkers interacted with French conservative thought.
Thinkers studied include Blaise Pascal, Charles-Louis de Montesquieu, Alexis de Tocqueville, Louis de Bonald, Joseph de Maistre, François-René de Chateaubriand, Charles Péguy, Simone Weil, Georges Bernanos, Jacques Maritain, Charles de Gaulle and Raymond Aron.
Students also examine contemporary French politics and society with notable public figures and journalists.
Evenings are enlivened by various cultural activities that introduce the French way of life. An excursion to a prominent château in the vicinity of Paris provides a capstone experience.
The program will be conducted in English. Some sessions will be in French with English translation provided. No knowledge of French is required.
Space is limited; early applications will be given priority.
Application Instructions:
Submit an application containing the following to contact@academia-tocqueville.org:
- a one-page statement of interest;
- a CV;
- and names and contact of two references, and one or two letters of recommendation. Please arrange to have these letters sent to contact@academia-tocqueville.org before the deadline.
For questions about the seminar, please contact: contact@academia-tocqueville.org
The application deadline for the seminar is March 22, 2024.
Applicants can expect to receive a decision by March 29th, 2024. Space is limited so apply early.
From the organization:
Committed to the highest academic standards, Academia Tocqueville provides a comprehensive introduction to French political thought. Its curriculum is dedicated to the thinkers neglected by American and British universities. It is an independent program that teaches students what they can learn culturally, politically, and spiritually from France’s intellectual tradition. Their task is to understand the answers French thinkers have offered to the most difficult questions of the modern era.
But the program goes beyond the classroom. Students are introduced to the French political tradition in the fullest sense, connecting culture, history, and religion with politics. They learn to distinguish a Bordeaux from a Burgundy and discover beautiful art and music. They visit the hidden sites of Paris that are closed to tourists. Finally, they forge new transatlantic alliances and friendships that help Western nations learn from each other.
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