Tocqueville Forum

Tocqueville Forum Featured on Ignatius Insight

The prominent Catholic website Ignatius Insight has featured The Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy in an April 15, 2008 article, entitled "Wisdom in the Ruins: Two Catholic Scholars at the End of An Age." The article is a tribute to the life and teaching legacy of Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., Professor of Government at Georgetown, whom the Tocqueville Forum has recently honored with the conferral of the first annual Rev. James V. Schall, S.J. Award for Teaching and Humane Letters upon Professor Ralph M. McInerny of the University of Notre Dame. Author Mary Jo Anderson had this to say about the Tocqueville Forum:

"The first annual Rev. James V. Schall, S.J. Award for Teaching and Humane Letters was presented April 10, 2008, to Professor Ralph McInerny of Notre Dame University. The award was created by the Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy, a new force for reason and faith on the Georgetown University campus."

"Fr. Schall, a frequent contributor to Ignatius Insight, has inspired Georgetown students for thirty years. 'We wanted to honor his tremendous influence,' said Patrick Deneen, founding director of the Tocqueville Forum, 'and so we named this award for his achievements in a time when it is no simple task to teach truth.'"

"The Forum was conceived in 2006 as a response to the need for a resourcement, a rediscovery of the roots of American democratic foundations in Western political philosophy, biblical and Christian tradition. Under the university's Department of Government, but independently supported without university funds, the Tocqueville Forum has already attracted fifty student fellows. Too often students are given coursework heavy on current events and practical politics, but receive a very scant examination of the principles of American constitutional liberty. The Tocqueville Forum bridges that gap."