ISI Faculty Resource Center

Walter McDougall reflects on how early American leaders' understanding of America's unique role in the world shaped their foreign policy.

(more…)

In this last part, I shall discuss some of Sertillanges’ prescriptions for fruitful intellectual work, including what one should read, both in general and particular, to fulfill one’s vocation of producing work that glorifies God and sanctifies men.

Read more.

(more…)

In August 2005, George W. Bush elicited international outrage when he appointed John Robert Bolton to be the 25^th United States Ambassador to the United Nations. For months, the Democrats had filibustered attempts to get his nomination approved, allegedly on account of his harsh views towards the United Nations, but also due to his apparent affiliation with the neoconservatives.

Read more.

(more…)

Randall Strahan reflects on political parties as part of the American political process, and speaks to today's intense partisanship.

(more…)

Now I'm told by the educrats that my style amounts to bad education. So why is it that c students consistently rank my courses as "much more learned than other courses" ?

(more…)

A paper published in the Journal of Political Economy finds that

the academic rank, teaching experience, and terminal degree status of mathematics and science professors are negatively correlated with contemporaneous student achievement, but positively related to follow-on course achievement.

You can read the rest of the summary (and the article) at the NBER or directly from one of the authors' webpage.

(The author has articles in quite a few interesting topics: check them out.)

HT: The Chronicle.

Sophia Aguirre gives an account of the importance of the institution of the family for an economy's growth.

(more…)

I can’t recall from where, but recently I read somewhere that students deserve at least a C because they are consumers in the business of higher education. Now I suspect most of you may recoil in horror at this idea, as I initially did, but after some thought, I wonder whether this isn’t such a terrible idea. To some extent, we already do this in the admission process, with the prestigious universities guaranteeing admission to those who can afford generous contributions to their endowments. Why not extend this same principle in the classroom?

(more…)