ISI Honors Program Summary by Mark Meador (2006–07)

Mark Meador, ISI Honors Fellow 2006–07

In his seminal work, The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk drew an insightful distinction between intellectuals and scholars. “Men conservatively inclined,” he wrote, “are not eager to be styled ‘intellectuals’; for that term itself is joined to the secular cult of the rationalistic Enlightenment”. This Kirk contrasted with Orestes Brownson’s view of the “scholar” as “not one who stands above the people and looks down on the people with contempt. He has no contempt for the people; but a deep and all-enduring love for them, which commands him to live and labor… for their redemption”.

At the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the values inherent in this distinction are kept alive. The Honors Program, held in a different inspiring location each summer, unites some of the country's most intelligent and motivated conservative students with gifted and brilliant professors from the nation's top universities for a week of serious scholarly discussion and informal intellectual bonding.

The theme for each year varies, but invariably focuses on an important aspect of the Western tradition and its philosophical heritage, going above and beyond simple partisan politics. The two most recent Summer Conferences were "Order and Liberty in the American Tradition," and "Individual and Community in the Settling of America". Throughout the course of these weeklong, all-expenses-paid academic retreats, students are privy to the sort of great intellectual insights that are often rare in the span of an entire education. Daily lectures by professors are complimented by engaging small group discussions which frequently continue informally well beyond the scheduled times as Fellows and Mentors get to know each other and share their views during the many entertaining social events.

The lessons and education imparted by the Honors Program do not end with the trip home, however, but continue throughout the academic year as the Fellows and their Mentors are invited to participate in various weekend colloquia and seminars which ISI sponsors. These events provide an opportunity for the students to reconnect with friends made during the Honors Program as well as with the ideas they studied the past summer. This in turn gives a clear view of the greatest quality of the Honors Program: it doesn’t just complement a university education, it enhances it. Yes, there are similarities; books are read in advance of the week to prepare for the discussions – which are lead by professors. But the discussions themselves are pressure free and full of enthusiastic and insightful participants.

In a word, the experience of the Honors Program is uniquely edifying.

Mark Meador was an Honors Fellow in 2006-2007. He graduated in the Spring of 2007 with an A.B. in Philosophy from The University of Chicago.

For more information on the Honors Program, please contact John Joseph Shanley at honors@isi.org or (800) 526-7022.

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