“Right Behind the Rain” | VIDEO

“Right Behind the Rain” tells the story of the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing, led by our scholar, philosopher Nancy Snow — and the impact it is having at the University of Oklahoma and in the broader community.

“Teaching Virtue”

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Our scholar Nancy Snow has co-authored a paper with Dr. Scott Beck on “Teaching Virtue”, and a free draft is available online.
ABSTRACT: Can virtue be taught? The question is a controversial one, harking back to Confucianism and the Platonic dialogues. We assume that virtue can be taught in the sense that teachers can influence character development in their students and explore the challenges and opportunities of teaching virtue from a variety of perspectives. In part I, Nancy E. Snow surveys a number of theoretical perspectives on teaching virtue which have been or are being implemented in schools. Scott Beck, the principal of Norman High School, describes in part II the grassroots approach to character development recently initiated at his institution. In part III we discuss how features of the Norman High initiative illustrate aspects of the approaches discussed in part I, and conclude with general observations about roles for askesis, or disciplined practice, in changing school communities and cultivating character.
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DEC 7 at the University of Oklahoma: The Moral Life of Children: Toward a Richer Understanding

https_cdn.evbuc.comimages379264731738821963741originalIf you’re in the area, we recommend this event hosted by our partner, The Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing and The University of Oklahoma, which is directed by our scholar Nancy Snow.

The Moral Life of Children: Toward a Richer Understanding

James D. Hunter, Ph.D.
LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion,
Culture and Social Theory
Executive Director, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture
University of Virginia

This is a free, public lecture. 

RSVP

Thursday, December 7, 2017

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM CST

Oklahoma Memorial Union, Scholars Room (3rd floor)   900 Asp Ave., Norman, OK

Lecture Summary

The world we live in—the world that children are inheriting—is complex, confusing and dangerous, but also filled with opportunity and possibility. To make one’s way in this world not only requires intelligence and sophistication, but even more, wisdom, courage, fortitude, hope and, not least, compassion. Are the ways that we understand the moral life of children today—and, in turn, are the resources we provide them—adequate to the challenges they face? There are good reasons to believe they are not. If that is the case, then we may need to rethink the paradigm of moral formation anew and from the ground up. It is an ambitious project, but one that is essential for all who are concerned for and care about the coming generation.

About Professor Hunter

Professor James Davison Hunter is LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory at the University of Virginia. Hunter has written nine books, edited three books, and published a wide range of essays, articles, and reviews—all variously concerned with the problem of meaning and moral order in a time of political and cultural change in American life. More recently, he published The Death of Character: Moral Education in an Age without Good or Evil(2000), Is There A Culture War? A Dialogue on Values and American Public Life (with Alan Wolfe, 2006), and To Change the World (2010). These works have earned him national recognition and numerous literary awards. In 1988, he received the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion for Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation. In 1991, he was the recipient of the Gustavus Myers Award for the Study of Human Rights for Articles of Faith, Articles of Peace. The Los Angeles Times named Hunter as a finalist for their 1992 Book Prize for Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America. In 2004, he was appointed by the White House to a six-year term to the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2005, he won the Weaver Prize for Scholarly Letters.

Since 1995, Hunter has served as the Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Under his direction, the Institute sponsors university-wide colloquia, provides doctoral and post-doctoral research support, holds conferences, fields national surveys of public opinion on the changing political culture of late 20th and early 21st century America, and publishes an award-winning journal, The Hedgehog Review: Critical Reflections on Contemporary Culture.