Discussion (1L): Readings from Edmund Burke

Catalog description

We will be reading and discussing selected essays and speeches by 18th Century British statesman Edmund Burke. I have not settled on all the readings, but among them are likely to be: Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol (on the responsibility of a representative to exercise independent judgment); On Conciliation with the Colonies (evaluating the claims of the American revolutionaries); Letter to a Noble Lord (a caustic commentary on privilege and progressivism); Speech on the Petition of the Unitarians and one of his pleas for toleration of Roman Catholics (on establishment and religious freedom); probably a chapter from Reflections on the Revolution in France; and An Appeal from the Old to the New Whigs (on the nature of conservatism). We will meet at my home, with dinner provided from 6:30 to 7:00 and discussion from 7:00 to 9:00. Elements used in grading: Full attendance, reading of assigned materials, and active participation.