Ciceronian Society conferences are typically a combination of curated panels supported by key partners and more “organic” sessions arising out of the proposals sent in response to the Call for Papers.
If you’ve come to this page, you may be thinking, “What could I present on? What topics does the Ciceronian Society gravitate toward?” As an interdisciplinary organization, there are a remarkable number of topics we could cover. If you value “tradition, place, and ‘things divine'” and there is a scholarly subject or some issue that matters to you, it probably fits with what we’re doing.
If you’re still unsure, feel free to ask us by emailing info@ciceroniansociety.org
It may be helpful to review some prospective panel topics so you can get a better idea of what we tend to do. The following is just a list of ideas. They are not guaranteed to be part of any program, nor should anyone feel obligated to propose papers on these subjects. But if you would like to be part of one of these panels or sponsor its subject matter, we’d love to hear from you. We also welcome your suggestions for other panels and topics.
These might also work as ideas for symposiums and articles in Pietas.
Updated 8 April, 2023
- Can a Christian be a Libertarian?
- Christianity is a faith centered on following and loving Jesus by way of obedience and self-denial. It is also a religion that emphasizes particular conceptions of authority, right-and-wrong, and the Bible even instructs Christians to pay their taxes, turn the other cheek, submit to the governing authorities, and pray for our enemies. Some have suggested libertarianism is, then, antithetical to Christianity. Others see the possibility of Christian libertarianism as promising and consistent with Biblical teaching. This panel is meant to explore both sides of the debate.
- Kuyper at a Classical School
- How might the works of Abraham Kuyper be used in the curriculum and development of students and faculty in the context of Classical Christian education?
- How might the works of Abraham Kuyper be used in the curriculum and development of students and faculty in the context of Classical Christian education?
- Teaching Music and Art for Homeschool and Moral Formation
- The arts have often, alongside the humanities, been disparaged and defunded in declining educational institutions. Classical and homeschooling educators have been keeping alive the study of music and art in various ways. How do these artistic pursuits help with the moral formation of students and faculty? How might the use of art and music as a form of moral formation be extended to the local church?
- Imagination and Economics
- Inspired by the work G.L.S. Shackle and others, how might we reconceive fundamental economic ideas and assumptions in light of the human imagination?
- Place in the City / Jane Jacobs
- The Ciceronian Society loves to talk about having a sense of “place.” This is typically interpreted as an affection for small rural communities. While we do not mean something less than that, we recognize that a sense of place and an affection for the local community can take place in urban contexts as well. Drawing on the work of Jane Jacobs and others, how might we think about the concept of “place” in non-rural areas?
- Civic Education in the Church and/or Classical Education
- Poll after poll has shown that Americans’ basic knowledge of American politics, government, law, and history is quite dismal. This, in turn, is reflected in low levels of voter participation and civic responsibility. Many Americans are forgetting what it means to be a citizen. Relying on traditional institutions of taxpayer-funded education to correct this problem seems unlikely to make the situation any better. How might Churches, homeschooling communities, and classical schools step up and address the lack of quality civic education?
- Should Ciceronian Rhetoric Be Revived?
- Among Marcus Tullius Cicero’s greatest legacies is his study and practice of rhetoric. How might we view this legacy today? What relevance does it have for us in education, politics, art, discipleship, and so on?
- Remembering the Underground Church
- Communist countries are infamous for their intolerance of religious institutions that they are not able to co-opt and control. This has inspired networks of “underground churches” in China, Cuba, and North Korea and they were used throughout the existence of the U.S.S.R. Persecution of the church is as old as Christianity, but what can we learn from these communities about discipleship, leadership, preaching, service, education, and ministry generally? What do these communities – past and present – have to teach us about living faithfully in the face of state-sanctioned persecution?
- Religious Liberty and Free Assembly
- The work of John Inazu, Luke Sheahan and others has provoked a number of debates regarding the neglected First Amendment “right of the people to peaceably assemble.” This right not only exists alongside freedom of speech but also alongside religious liberty. How might historical, constitutional, sociological, and philosophical insights better inform our understanding of the way these rights are (or are not) connected? How might we better identify and respond to threats of such rights?
- Serving the Unaffiliated Intellectuals and “Pracademics”
- When we think of intellectuals, we tend to think of a scholar in a university setting or someone in a think tank. But the success of online communities, long-form podcasts, and the so-called “intellectual dark web,” has exposed the existence of many high-level readers and thinkers in all manner of fields. They may not be affiliated with a university, but they are hungry for conversation and learning. How might Churches and groups like the Ciceronian Society engage with these people? Where do we find them?
- The “other Inklings”
- C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are, justifiably, the most famous of the informal Oxford literary club known as “The Inklings.” What might we learn from other regular attendees of the group though? Who were these men in whose company Lewis and Tolkien spent considerable time discussing great texts and questions? This panel might consider, for example, the work of Owen Barfield, Jack A. W. Bennett, Lord David Cecil, Nevill Coghill, Hugo Dyson, Adam Fox, Robert Havard, Warren Lewis (C. S. Lewis’s older brother), Christopher Tolkien, Charles Williams, and others.
- How to lead a meaningful/subversive reading group or book club
- One of the greatest joys of life in a university, homeschool, or classical school is the opportunity to read great texts, listen to great music, and admire great art with one’s friends and peers. What are some ways to experience such community in reading groups outside the academy, and especially in the local church and community? How might reading groups be rethought? How might they be “done well?”
- What is Courage?
- In his 1978 commencement address to Harvard University, Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote that “A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today.” Over 45 years later, his observation is more true today. But, for Christians, what would such courage look like in theory and practice? How do we cultivate it?
- “Adulting” in Narnia
- C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia were written for children, but they are read and loved by adults the world over. Indeed, one could argue that reading The Chronicles of Narnia as an adult is different than when we are children. Or is it? What might the adult Christian gain from returning to Narnia?
- Moral Imagination in the First and Second Ages of Middle Earth
- [Title is self-explanatory?]
- Panels on the following thinkers:
- Cicero
- George McDonald
- George Grant
- Russell Kirk
- Robert Nisbet
- Oliver O’Donovan
- Fulton Sheen
- Wallace Stegner
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Michael Polanyi
- Christopher Dawson
- Stanley Jaki
- Walker Percy