Join us for our undergraduate retreat this January in Austin, Texas. Led by Dr. Raul Rodriguez of The LeFrak Forum at Michigan State University, this retreat will explore how a democracy can come to know itself through an examination of de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.

About the Leader
Raul Rodriguez is the Director of The LeFrak Forum at Michigan State University. He previously served senior fellow at the Civitas Institute and an associate professor in the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin. He has a B.A. from Furman University and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Rodriguez’s writings have appeared in policy journals such as American Journal of Political Science, American Political Thought, The Political Science Reviewer, and The Review of Politics. One of his more popular works is entitled, “Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville.” His forthcoming book is titled Redeeming Democracy: Tocqueville’s New Liberalism.

Valor Institute College Student Retreat: Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

The Valor Institute’s College Program offers collegiate Juniors and Seniors the opportunity to spend a week in Austin, TX immersed in study, friendship, and the natural world. Students will explore Chaucer’s famous collection of tales with Dr. Benedict Whalen of Hillsdale College.

About the Leader

Dr. Benedict Whalen is associate professor of English at Hillsdale College. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Dallas, and earned his PhD at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 

Much of Dr. Whalen's teaching is in Renaissance literature, especially the works of Shakespeare and his fellow playwrights. He also regularly teaches courses on English Renaissance lyric poetry, including the metaphysical poets. In 2022-23, Dr. Whalen served as the Kingfisher Fellow in Residence for the Valor Institute, where he lead and organized over twenty academic retreats, ranging from Ovid and Dante to Shakespeare and Hemingway. The Institute is excited to welcome him back for this Undergraduate Retreat!

Collegiate Retreat: “The Wisdom of Josef Pieper”

One of the most readable and profound philosophers, Joseph Pieper brings ancient wisdom into conversation with the contemporary world. He explores topics such as technology, art, human virtue, and play, constantly suggesting new insights into thinkers like Plato, Aquinas, and Nietzsche. At the heart of Pieper’s concerns are the meaning of human existence and the nature of our relationship to reality, even to the Divine. Speaking from the vantage point of the twentieth century, Pieper has much to offer a society increasingly dominated by distraction and technological alienation from the world. Led by Dr. John Finley, the Valor Institute’s College Program offers collegiate Juniors and Seniors the opportunity to spend a week in La Jolla, CA immersed in study, friendship, and the natural world.

Topic: Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale

Leaders: Dr. Andrew Moran, Associate Professor of English at the University of Dallas, and Dr. Benedict Whalen, Associate Professor of English at Hillsdale College

Texts: Winter’s Tale and Much Ado About Nothing

Open to collegiate juniors and seniors, the Valor College Student Retreat offers students an immersive week of study, discussion, and adventures in some of Southern California’s most beautiful places . The program brings together students from like-minded colleges and universities from across the country.

Topic: Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honor trilogy

Leader: Dr. Dwight Lindley, Associate Professor of English at Hillsdale College

Dwight Lindley is an associate professor of English at Hillsdale College, in Michigan. He has published articles on George Eliot, Jane Austen, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Virginia Woolf, John Henry Newman, and others.

About the Retreat: Open to collegiate juniors and seniors, the Valor College Student Retreat offers students an immersive week of study, discussion, and adventures in some of Southern California’s most beautiful places . The program brings together students from like-minded colleges and universities from across the country.