Ashbrook Academy Summer Programs

The Ashbrook Academy is offering three summer academies the week of July 21, 2024. The summer programs are designed for rising high school juniors and seniors who share a deep interest in U.S. History, Politics, and Economics. Unlike other courses or programs that tend to erode confidence and pride in our country by emphasizing its historical failures, the Ashbrook Academies invite you to consider the American experiment in self-government as a triumph, a victory for reason and the human spirit that warrants grateful celebration but also demands serious study.

• The Supreme Court and the Constitution: This Academy is designed to immerse you in the study of the Supreme Court and the Constitution. We study the Supreme Court not because the Constitution belongs to it but because its work is not always well understood and its place in the framework of American constitutionalism is frequently misinterpreted.
• The Bible and the Human Condition: When read as a political text, the Bible offers insights into what it means to be a human being – from the good, the bad, and everything in between. What can the Bible teach us about how we ought to live together in political society? What can it teach us about human nature, justice, and virtue? Can it help us to distinguish between good and bad laws, citizens, leaders, and even governments?
• Utopias and Dystopias in Literature and Film: What is the ideal society? How might we achieve it? What happens when society breaks down, pitting humans against one another, often in a ruined landscape, or when a totalitarian government terrorizes its citizens? Great writers have been contemplating these questions for centuries, great filmmakers for decades, building fictional worlds that explore their hopes and fears for their own communities and nations. We invite you to join us to experience the power of their words, images, and ideas in this academy.