Pursue Truth, Unconstrained
At UATX, no hard topic is off the table. Apply for Forbidden Courses by Nov. 30!
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the University of Austin.
We’re grateful for so much this season. Students tackled a demanding workload and excelled in their first term. We established traditions like the Polaris Orientation Retreat, the High Table Dinner, Families & Founders Weekend, and a student-organized talent show. In a nation divided by the presidential election, we have continued to converse with civility and in good faith.
We’re breaking new ground in fostering free inquiry. Coming up—our Forbidden Courses program from January 17-20, 2025. This four-day intellectual feast is designed for high school juniors and seniors as well as college freshmen. During this tuition-free program at our Austin campus, students will join UATX professors in examining and debating some of the most vexing questions of our time.
We named our program “Forbidden Courses” because higher education has made it difficult to inquire openly into difficult questions.
If the holiday leaves you hungry for genuine conversation, be sure to check it out.
Apply by November 30!
My colleague and UATX Associate Director of Student Recruitment, Brynn Sandquist, was a student in Forbidden Courses before joining our team to help recruit the founding class.
Here’s Brynn on her experience at Forbidden Courses 2023:
When did you know ________? Fill in the blank. When did you know that the trajectory of your life was shifting? When did you know there was something specific to which you were meant to contribute on earth? For me, one answer to both of those questions is Forbidden Courses. Two summers ago, I spent a week surrounded by curiosity and courage personified by the UATX founders, professors, guest speakers, and my fellow participants. Among other things, we discussed the differences between conservatives and reactionaries, racial inequality in America, and the absolute necessity of protecting free speech. Educational values like academic freedom, the pursuit of truth, intellectual humility, free inquiry, and civil discourse sounded great in the Forbidden Courses mission statement, but in action, they were transformative.
Changemakers surrounded me, though I did not believe myself to be one. Yet, within four months, I joined the team charged with finding the brave students who would make up the University of Austin’s first undergraduate class. Those very students just finished their first academic term on November 22, and we are now looking for the second class who will join them in Fall 2025.
We are bringing back Forbidden Courses in January 2025 because the world needs young minds to ask fundamental questions and debate the great ideas posed by thinkers and innovators throughout the ages.
I hope you will join us. The call to change the world is waiting for those with enough courage to start by simply saying “yes.”
Take a look at our Forbidden Courses seminars and professors:
“Suffering as Teacher? The Fearful Pursuit of Truth in Ancient Greek Tragedy” with UATX Assistant Professor of Classics Isabella Reinhardt:
Is knowledge always a good thing? With the help of two Greek tragedies, consider the costs of learning and the value of even a terrible truth.
“Why Does Government Fail So Often?” with UATX Associate Professor of Philosophy & Economics Scott Scheall:
Policy too often leads to disaster. When has it delivered on what it promised? Study political philosophy, history, and economics to learn more about how government can be the problem and when it might be the solution.
“Partisan Politics and the Decline of Democracy” with UATX Associate Professor of Political Philosophy Alex Priou:
What if more democracy isn’t always good? Can our preferred form of government limit human excellence or even lead to evil? Join us for an uncomfortable look at what democracy gets wrong, with Thucydides and Plato as our guides.
“Discrimination in Higher Ed Admissions: What Do the Numbers Tell Us?” with UATX Assistant Professor of Statistics and Data Science David Puelz:
How does affirmative action discriminate, and how do we know? Dive into the quantitative techniques that paved the way for the dismantling of race-conscious admissions on campuses nationwide.
“Who's to Blame for Inflation?” with UATX Associate Professor of Economics Thomas Hogan:
Inflation robs Americans of the value of their hard-earned money. Study the causes of inflation, particularly the government's role in creating it, and learn why combating it is important for sound democratic governance.
Thanksgiving Week Watching
On Sunday night, we were profiled in the leading segment on 60 Minutes, CBS’s marquee news program. The segment spotlights some of our students and recounts our founding days. It positions UATX as the way forward in higher education, contrasting our approach with the ongoing challenges faced by legacy universities. Our students eloquently explain why academic freedom is important to them, demonstrating the intellectual engagement and civil discourse that sets UATX apart.
Watch the full episode on YouTube above or here.
This week, as our families gather together to ask for blessings, we are humbly grateful for the great gifts that have already been bestowed on the UATX family.
Maggie Kelly is the Communications Manager at the University of Austin. Write to her at mkelly@uaustin.org.
When UATX decides to take an honest look at the many ways society marginalizes, denigrates and discriminated against men, I'll believe that it's actually willing to "pursue truth, unconstrained." Until then, I'll seriously doubt it.