Summer Seminars
Overview
If you're like many students, you're not quite satisfied with standard answers to social and political issues. You like to think for yourself, and you often come up with answers that don't fit neatly into "left" or "right" pigeonholes.
IHS seminars provide an opportunity to re-examine society and politics from outside the usual boundaries. They open a window on the classical liberal or libertarian perspective—a perspective that begins with individual liberty and leads to maximizing freedom in trade, the arts, international relations, and many other aspects of society.
An IHS seminar is an adventure in ideas where participants explore fundamental questions...
- What is the proper role of government?
- How much liberty is good for the individual?
- What conditions foster peace and prosperity?
- How is globalization reshaping our world?
- How can we protect the environment and still protect freedom of choice and private property rights?
- What analytical tools can help us solve social and economic problems most effectively?
Countless Benefits
An intensive educational experience
Lectures from leading scholars draw on history, economics, political theory, public policy, law, and more. Most seminars have professors from at least three different disciplines. You will have the unique opportunity to interact with faculty members throughout the seminars—during meals, discussion groups, and social events.
"IHS gave me a forum to discuss my ideas with other people who cared about the issues as much as I did. It was a wonderful and thought-provoking experience." Victoria Maciejak
Discussion and debate
Each day is structured to include many discussion opportunities. Participants exchange views in small groups, ponder thought experiments posed by professors, and offer challenges to the ideas. Informal discussion goes on into the wee hours of the night.
As part of each lecture, participants break for an un-moderated, twenty-minute discussion to compile a list of questions that the professor answers during the final 15 minutes of the lecture.
Career advice
Learn about all the ways to pursue a career in ideas, from academia to public policy to journalism. Interaction with faculty and staff throughout the week provides an opportunity to gain insights about various careers and the best first steps to maximize your success. Many seminars include a career session.
Activities and hands-on learning | |
Because many people learn best by actually doing, lecturers encourage students to grapple with problems from the real world. Exercises about current issues and trading games that simulate markets are some of the many interactive learning techniques. |
Join students from around the world...
For more than 30 years, IHS seminars have attracted bright, thoughtful students who share an interest in learning and exchanging ideas about the scope of individual rights, how markets work, what laws are justified, and how to foster peace and prosperity. We welcome applications from undergraduates, recent graduates, and graduate students.
"This seminar not only cemented some notions I had previously, but it also threw me into confusion about other opinions I used to hold. This confusion is the best part, sharing new understandings with new friends in new places." - Sachi Takahashi-Rial
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