Antimodern Progress? February 2026 Course on Jacques Maritain
More info is available on the course page!
Great Books Group’s Next Read: Paul Kingsnorth, “Against the Machine.”
The Great Books Reading Group will take on Paul Kingsnorth’s book Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity starting on the first Thursday of February, the 5th, 7-8:30 p.m. US Central Time, on our Patreon platform at the Trainee ($1) level or above, and we invite you to join us! Laurie Johnson and Kent Shultz will take turns leading the discussion. Reading is encouraged, but not required.
News from the Maurin Academy & Year-End Giving
We will soon be announcing our early Spring classes on our website, including one on Jacques Maritain and Anti-Modern Progress, and one on Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer (Bare Life), on how modern states strip individuals of political rights, reducing them to “bare life.” For now, I’d like to ask, for those of you who can help us, will you help us by either becoming a paid follower of the Academy on Patreon, and/or by giving a one time tax-deductible gift before December 31 to help us keep going in 2026. Your support and encouragement, no matter whether you can help us financially or not, is deeply appreciated.
Season 4, Episode 6: Cultivating Community, Redemptive Lending and Recapitulatory Theology
Spencer and Laurie talk to Bert and Emma Fitzgerald of the Simon Weil Catholic Worker House in Portland, OR: https://simoneweilhouse.org
The American Dream, An American Utopia, and Death
Have you ever wondered if there was more to the American Dream than promises kept and promises broken (for some or for few)? If so, old sport, then this course is for you. The first session is coming up on December 3rd, and will cover the American Dream–both the Edward Albee play and the ideological … Read more
Season 4, Episode 5: William Cavanaugh on Consumerism & Idolatry
This is a talk by Dr. William T. Cavanaugh, author of The Uses of Idolatry. It was originally given for the Center for Catholic Social Thought, October 9, 2025. We thought it was so good we asked if we could share it with our audience, and we got it from both Dr. Cavanaugh and the Center for Catholic Social Thought.
An Introduction to Native Plants – Session Two
The second part of Gavin Schafer’s Introduction to Native Plants will take place Friday, November 21st at 7:00 PM CST. Gavin will walk-through the basics of supporting the local ecologies in your own backyard, specifically through the lens of the Great Plains ecology. (Note: You can attend this session even if you did not attend the … Read more
Tomorrow: Wendell Berry’s Agrarian Vision: Re-Integration and Belonging
Tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM CST will be the second session in Dr. Jeremy Cowan’s course “The Art of the Commonplace: Wendell Berry’s Vision for a Grounded Life.” This week, Dr. Cowan will be discussing two essays from Berry’s The Art of the Commonplace: “Think Little” and “The Pleasure of Eating.” The short essays (together … Read more
Season 4, Episode 4: Our Trips to Milwaukee, Lancaster and Beyond
Spencer and Laurie discuss what they learned from their recent trips. Laurie went to Milwaukee, WI, to do research on the Peter Maurin papers and to give two talks on Maurin and Day. Spencer and Emily traveled to Pennsylvania and other spots on the East Coast to help move a friend, and along the way visited two Catholic Worker houses, the Rodale Institute, Blue Hill Farm, Dorothy Day’s gravesite and more.
Coming October 29: The Art of the Commonplace: Wendell Berry’s Vision for a Grounded Life
Starting October 29, and running for four consecutive Wednesdays, Dr. Jeremy Cowan will lead a class for the Maurin Academy on Wendell Berry’s classic, “The Art of the Commonplace.”