Conservatism @ Brown, Really

Arlington, VA – The Leadership Institute congratulates Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island on the approval and launch of a for-credit course on conservatism. The class, Modern Conservatism in America and its Critics, will be offered for the spring 2011 semester.

Conservatism 101 is a joint project of the Leadership Institute, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and Wes Siler, founder of the Modern Conservatism class at the University of Virginia. Conservatism 101 worked with students at Brown University to develop a comprehensive class syllabus that fits the rigorous academic requirements of this prestigious university.

“Thousands of courses on college campuses across America teach Marxism sympathetically or promote leftist policy agendas. Rarely do students hear even remotely fair presentations of conservative principles.” said Morton Blackwell, president of the Leadership Institute. “I hope that other universities will follow Brown’s example. Too often conservative thought is not acknowledged in the classroom.”

“I believe this course marks an important step towards balancing the ideological debate in the Ivy League,” said Terrence George, a Brown University student and the lead facilitator for the course. “All too often students at elite universities are robbed of the opportunity to explore perspectives outside of academia’s leftist mainstream.”

Conservatism 101 has now helped to initiate courses on conservatism at Brown University, the University of Virginia, and American University. The addition of these classes provides students at these universities a philosophically well-rounded education.

Conservatism 101 (conservatism101.org), a project between the Leadership Institute and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, is a student-led initiative that empowers students to start conservatives classes at their colleges. For more information, contact Executive Director Wes Siler at 901-569-6424 or wsiler@conservatism101.org.