Can the American Mind Be Opened?

“Can the American Mind be Opened?” was a panel of the Manhattan Institute/New Criterion conference held at the Princeton Club celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the release of Allan Bloom’s The Closing of The American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today’s Students. Panelists discussed the purpose of education, a recommended college curriculum, and the current philosophy that college is about the students rather than exposing them to civilization. Topics included the relevance of Allan Bloom and the VERITAS Fund, which provides independent support to professors who teach about Western civilization. After their presentations the panelists responded to questions from members of the audience.

Gary Rosen is the editor of The Right War?: The Conservative Debate on Iraq, Heather MacDonald is a co-author of The Immigration Solution: A Better Plan Than Today’s, Peter Berkowitz is the editor of The Future of American Intelligence close