Dear Reader,
In this issue of the Arts of Liberty Bulletin, we continue to reflect upon issues related to grammar, as well as get to know some amazing teachers. Traditionally, grammar referred directly to the art of crafting and analyzing sentences, but more generally to the art of learning to read great works well. In our last issue, we looked at the liberating effects of learning the art of grammar and the help that diagramming offers. This issue features an interview with a pair of teachers-turned-producers of a “revolutionary” documentary on grammar, and another with an AoL collaborator, who shares insights from her experience of teaching literature as both a scholar and fiction author. We also draw upon Don Quixote for literary insights of his creator, Miguel Cervantes.
The past several months have begun a new journey for the Arts of Liberty Project. Over the decade and a half since its founding, the project has received tremendous assistance from the Center for Thomas More Studies and the University of Dallas. In November, we decided to take the difficult but important step of founding our own independent institute. We believe this will enable us to better fulfill our mission of providing leadership and instruction to the growing number of teachers and scholars involved in the educational reform movement in our country and around the world. We will provide more information in the coming months.
In other news, AoL Senior Fellow Erik Ellis completed his first semester as an assistant professor of education in the new Master’s of Classical Education program at Hillsdale College, and was introduced to the community in an interview in their student newspaper. Erik spent the past three years at Universidad de los Andes (Chile), where he helped launch a Great Books program, and is looking forward to helping promote liberal education efforts in South America. Jeff Lehman, Erik, and I participated in the Center for Thomas Studies annual conference. I gained a much greater understanding of the role of Providence in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy through our discussions; my paper, “Drawing Near to God: Lady Philosophy as Physician in the Consolation” will appear in an upcoming edition of Moreana.
Let us continue to labor to form ourselves in the Arts of Liberty, and extend the blessings of liberty to the next generation.