Vital Remnants

Vital Remnants, a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, walks you through great texts in human history.

This season, join your host - the Center's Director, Dr. Gary L. Gregg - as he leads an exploration of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America.

In this episode, Dr. Gregg starts the journey into what is considered one of the greatest books on democracy ever composed.

Find out more about this season: https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/tocquevilles-america-and-ours

And learn more regarding the work of The McConnell Center:

www.mcconnellcenter.org

Vital Remnants, a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, walks you through great texts in human history.

This season, join your host - the Center's Director, Dr. Gary L. Gregg - as he leads an exploration of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America.

For this episode, Gary welcomes John Wilsey, PhD, to deliver a lecture titled "Alexis de Tocqueville in Space and Time."

Dr. Wilsey, associate professor of church history and philosophy at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, speaks as part of the "Tocqueville's America - and Ours" series.

"Tocqueville's America - and Ours" is the McConnell Center's 2023-2024 programming, focused on studying Alexis de Tocqueville's 19th century work, "Democracy in America."

Long considered a classic consideration of the origins, evolution, and future of democratic self-governance in America, we seek to read, understand, and examine Tocqueville's analysis and its implications for the United States today.

Founded in 1991, the non-partisan McConnell Center at the University of Louisville seeks to identify, recruit and nurture Kentucky's next generation of great leaders. Our core principles—leadership, scholarship and service—guide us as we (1) prepare top undergraduate students to become future leaders; (2) offer civic education programs for teachers, students and the public; and (3) conduct strategic leadership development for the U.S. Army.

Find out more about this season: https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/tocquevilles-america-and-ours

And learn more regarding the work of The McConnell Center:

www.mcconnellcenter.org

• Download the corresponding reading guide to The Roots of American Order here
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox
• McConnell Center Podcast, "A Fiery Gospel: The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the Road to Righteous War with Dr. Richard M. Gamble"

• Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
• Instagram: @ulmcenter
• Twitter: @ULmCenter

• Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II, McConnell Center Director
• Guest: Dr. Richard Gamble, Hillsdale College
• Producer and Editor: Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar

McConnell Center Director Dr. Gary Gregg and Dr. Michael P. Federici, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Middle Tennessee State University, explore the two foundational documents of the American founding period and discuss the nature of America's political order.

Corresponding Reading

Chapter 11, pp. 393-440 of Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order

Important Links

• Download the corresponding reading guide to The Roots of American Order here
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox
• Pauline Maier, American Scripture
• Michael P. Federici, Rethinking the Teaching of American History

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

• Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
• Instagram: @ulmcenter
• Twitter: @ULmCenter

Contributors

• Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II, McConnell Center Director
• Guest: Dr. Michael Federici, Middle Tennessee State University
• Producer and Editor: Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar

McConnell Center Director Dr. Gary Gregg and Dr. Khalil Habib, Associate Professor of Politics at Hillsdale College, explore four of the leading intellects of the Eighteenth Century who influenced American Order: Baron de Montesquieu, Edmund Burke, William Blackstone, and David Hume.

Corresponding Reading

Chapter 10, pp. 347-391 of Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order

Important Links

• Download the corresponding reading guide to The Roots of American Order here
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox
• Russell Kirk, Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

• Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
• Instagram: @ulmcenter
• Twitter: @ULmCenter

Contributors

• Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II, McConnell Center Director
• Guest: Dr. Khalil Habib, Hillsdale College
• Producer and Editor: Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar

Chapter 9, pp. 301-345 of Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order

Important Links

• Download the corresponding reading guide to The Roots of American Order here
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Additional Resources

• Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
• Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic
• Jack Greene, The Quest for Power: The Lower Houses of Assembly in the Southern Royal Colonies, 1689-1776.
• Jack Rakove
• Pauline Maier
• Mary Beth Norton, Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800.
• Richard B. Bernstein
• Peter C. Hoffer
• Alan S. Taylor
• John P. Demos
• Timothy H. Breen
• Fred Anderson

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

• Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
• Instagram: @ulmcenter
• Twitter: @ULmCenter

Contributors

• Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II, McConnell Center Director
• Guest: Dr. Thomas Mackey, University of Louisville
• Producer and Editor: Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar

McConnell Center Director Dr. Gary Gregg and Dr. Susan Hanssen, Associate Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at the University of Dallas, explore the roots of church and state in American order. The two discuss the history of 17th century Britain and the English Civil War, Hobbesian and Lockean political theory, and more.

Corresponding Reading

Chapter 8, pp. 259-300 of Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order

Important Links

• Download the corresponding reading guide to The Roots of American Order here
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Martin J. Wiener, English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit, 1850-1980
• Russell Kirk, America's British Culture
• David Hackett Fischer, Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at [email protected].

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

• Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
• Instagram: @ulmcenter
• Twitter: @ULmCenter

Contributors

• Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II, McConnell Center Director
• Guest: Dr. Suan Hanssen, University of Dallas
• Producers and Editors: Connor Tracy, McConnell Center SBS Coordinator & Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar

McConnell Scholar and assistant podcast producer Will Randolph is joined by Dr. Glenn Moots, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Northwood University, to discuss the significance of the Protestant Reformation. The two explore the history of the Reformation, the different groups and strands of thought that it produced, and how the ideas of the Reformation impacted American order.

Corresponding Reading

Chapter 7, pp. 221-258 of Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order

Important Links

• Download the corresponding reading guide to The Roots of American Order here
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Glenn Moots, Politics Reformed and Justifying Revolution
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at [email protected].

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

• Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
• Instagram: @ulmcenter
• Twitter: @ULmCenter

Contributors

• Host: Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar
• Guest: Dr. Glenn Moots,
• Producers and Editors: Connor Tracy, McConnell Center SBS Coordinator & Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar

Vital Remnants Producer Connor Tracy is joined by Dr. Justin Stover, Senior Lecturer of Medieval Latin at the University of Edinburgh, to explore what Russell Kirk calls our "neglected inheritance" from the Middle Ages. In addition to the influence of the Medieval world on America, the two discuss the culture of the Middle Ages and address some of the common misconceptions about the period.

Corresponding Reading

Chapter 6, pp. 177-219 of Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order

Important Links

• Download the corresponding Reading Guide to The Roots of American Order here.
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox.
• Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at [email protected]

Further Reading from the Middle Ages:

• Dante, The Divine Comedy
• Bernardus Silvestris, Cosmographia
• Hugh of Saint Victor, Didascalicon: A Medieval Guide to The Arts
• Alan of Lille, De Planctu Naturae (Lament of Nature)
• Alan of Lille, Anticlaudianus
• Sermons of Bernard of Clairvaux
• The Song of Roland
• The Song Of El Cid
• Beowulf

Further Reading about the Middle Ages

• C.S. Lewis, The Discarded Image
• Jean Leclercq, The Love of Learning and The Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture
• Henri de Lubac, Medieval Exegesis: The Four Senses of Scripture

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

Facebook: @mcconnellcenter

Instagram: @ulmcenter

Twitter: @ULmCenter

Contributors

Host, Producer, and Editor: Connor Tracy, McConnell Center SBS Coordinator

McConnell Center Director Dr. Gary Gregg and Dr. Mark David Hall, Herbert Hoover Distinguished Professor of Politics at George Fox University, explore the influence of Christianity on American order. The two discuss the early history of Christianity, its relationship with politics, and how it influenced the Founders.

Corresponding Reading

Chapter 5, pp. 137-176 of Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order

Important Links

• Download the corresponding reading guide to The Roots of American Order here
• Learn more about The Roots of American Order at https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs-events/bic
• Mark David Hall, Did America Have a Christian Founding?
• Subscribe to our newsletter and receive McConnell Center updates directly in your mailbox
• Listen to Dr. Hall on The McConnell Center Podcast
• Watch Dr. Hall and Andrew Seidel consider whether America had a Christian founding here

Please share any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns with us via email at [email protected].

This podcast is a production of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. For more information, including upcoming events, please visit us online at mcconnellcenter.org or on social media at:

• Facebook: @mcconnellcenter
• Instagram: @ulmcenter
• Twitter: @ULmCenter

Contributors

• Host: Dr. Gary L. Gregg II, McConnell Center Director
• Guest: Dr. Mark David Hall, George Fox University
• Producers and Editors: Connor Tracy, McConnell Center SBS Coordinator & Will Randolph, McConnell Scholar