newsarchive20-21

Former Benson Center Director Robert Pasnau on the concept of free will

Anonymous — Tue, 25 May 2021 19:42:49 +0000

Former Benson Center Director Robert Pasnau on the concept of free will Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/25/2021 - 13:42

May 20, 2021

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Benson Center continues diversity of thought

Anonymous — Thu, 13 May 2021 15:06:42 +0000

Benson Center continues diversity of thought Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/13/2021 - 09:06

May 13, 2021. Former two-term CU Board of Regents member (two years as chair) Steve Bosley on the critical role higher education, and particularly the Benson Center, plays in our society to promote critical thinking.

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Summer internship available

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:44:31 +0000

Summer internship available Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/27/2021 - 12:44

The Benson Center has a part-time undergraduate paid summer internship position available on Handshake. Must be enrolled at ��񱦵� for Summer OR enrolled in previous spring semester and upcoming fall semester to be eligible. Commitment to work at least through fall semester, including live remote/in-person evening event support starting this fall, greatly preferred.

Work with the Benson Center team this summer, up to 20 hours/week, providing project support, including: podcast management (audio mixing, writing show notes, promoting new episodes on social media, etc.), web content and updates, social media content, year-end fiscal reconciliation, annual report, onboarding faculty, summer institute, and fall events planning. Training provided. Some basic office support required. Other duties as assigned. Work will be both on campus and remote.

The successful candidate is proficient in MS Office suite, Google Drive and other basic office software, can work well independently, is professional and positive, has good writing skills, is attentive to detail and has a demonstrated interest in Western Civilization and/or current affairs as demonstrated by their declared major/minor or previous work, intern or volunteer experience. Experience in or willingness to learn audio editing for podcasts, filming live events, webcasting, social media, website content editing, graphic design, newsletters and listservs. Experience in Adobe Audition and Premier Pro desirable but not required.

The University of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, pregnancy, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation, or political philosophy. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. Click here for a list of ADA and Title IX coordinators. To view the Regent policy, please click here. This organization participates in E-Verify. We will provide the Social Security Administration and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security, with information from each employee's I-9 form to confirm work authorization.

Reasonable Accommodations for Applicants with Disabilities

��񱦵� is committed to making information and resources that are available via the web accessible for all users. If you are a job seeker and need accessibility assistance or an accommodation in order to apply for one of our open positions, please submit an accessibility request or call 303-735-4357 (5-HELP) to submit a request for assistance.

April 27, 2021

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Benson Center announces summer 2021 student grants

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 23:21:18 +0000

Benson Center announces summer 2021 student grants Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/12/2021 - 17:21

The Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization at the ��񱦵� has awarded four language study scholarships and one internship grant for summer 2021. The awards are $1000 each.

“The Benson Center is proud to continue our support for language study by undergraduate and graduate students at CU,” said Benson Center Director Daniel Jacobson. “The ability to speak and read more than one language is an important part of a liberal education, and it is crucial for many aspects of advanced study of Western Civilization.”

Congratulations to the following ��񱦵� students who were named Benson Center scholarship recipients.

Alexander (AJ) Shively will be a senior at CU in the fall, majoring in strategic communications with a focus on advertising strategy, and minoring in business and philosophy. For the past year, Shively has been a Benson Center social media and communications intern. Shively will spend fall semester studying at the Florence University of the Arts in Italy, furthering an interest which began with CU classes in Italian culture, innovation, philosophy and the Renaissance. This summer he will study Italian, thereby enhancing his experience during his semester abroad.

Amanda Loeffelholz, a first-year PhD student in philosophy, will study German this summer to gain a working knowledge of the language for translation purposes. By doing so, she hopes to maximize the value of her interpretation of 19^th and 20^th century German philosophers and contribute meaningfully to dialogues centered around contemporary social and political issues.

Amirhossein Ajalloeian, formerly a doctoral student in electrical engineering, recently switched to the doctoral program in philosophy. He will study German this summer in preparation for a hoped-for internship at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy next year. He is also interested in reading seminal texts in the philosophy of language in their original German.

Dawn Jacob is a third-year student in the Philosophy doctoral program, with a primary interest in ancient philosophy, especially ancient approaches to moral and political issues. Jacob will study German this summer because it is a primary language of scholarship in ancient philosophy. Jacob says, “being able to read German competently is especially important when working on philosophers of the 5th century and earlier, since scholarship on these philosophers is relatively sparse.”

Dylan Yachyshen, a fifth-year senior in the fall, will use his grant to support a summer internship with Gulf State Analytics, a Middle East geopolitical consulting, research and analysis firm. Yachyshen, a Benson Center Wehman Scholar and Undergraduate Fellow, is majoring in international affairs and economics, and minoring in French.

For more information on Benson Center scholarships, the Undergraduate Fellows program and other student resources, please see the Benson Center website.

April 12, 2021

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Benson Center appoints new visiting scholar and first sabbatical scholar

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 16:42:06 +0000

Benson Center appoints new visiting scholar and first sabbatical scholar Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/19/2021 - 10:42

March 19, 2021

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Daniel Jacobson: John Stuart Mill does not have a harm principle

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:18:41 +0000

Daniel Jacobson: John Stuart Mill does not have a harm principle Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/04/2021 - 08:18

Professor Daniel Jacobson will give a virtual lecture at the University of Michigan on March 9, 2021, 2:30 p.m. MST/4:30 p.m. EST: "John Stuart Mill does not have a harm principle." The lecture explores classical liberalism and Mill's theory of the harm principle as it relates to freedom of speech.

Jacobson directs the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization and is the Bruce D. Benson Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder.

More information

March 9, 2021

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Shilo Brooks: "Civil Discourse in Turbulent Times"

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 20:11:17 +0000

Shilo Brooks: "Civil Discourse in Turbulent Times" Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/03/2021 - 13:11

The Benson Center congratulates the ��񱦵� Center for Leadership on the launch of their new podcast, Leadership Frontiers. Their first guest, Benson Center Associate Faculty Director Shilo Brooks, discusses "Civil Discourse in Turbulent Times." Listen to the program

March 3, 2021

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Benson Center announces 2021 Wehman Scholars

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:03:57 +0000

Benson Center announces 2021 Wehman Scholars Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/25/2021 - 09:03

The Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization at the ��񱦵� has selected its inaugural Wehman Scholars. Each year, two outstanding undergraduate students who are working in the areas of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics will be awarded a $1500 renewable scholarship to support their respective college educations.

John J. Wehman was a 1952 graduate of the ��񱦵� in Sociology and received his MS in Public Administration from the University of Colorado in 1968. He lived in Colorado all his life and served in the Air Force during World War II. The scholarship program is made possible through a generous donation by the John J. Wehman Trust.

Below are the two students who received scholarships in spring 2021.

Inés Benavides

Originally from Ecuador in South America, Inés intends to graduate in May 2022 with a major in Engineering Plus with a specialization in Environmental Engineering. She has been a trainer with the “Orphan in my City” program, providing childcare and craft activities, and has been recognized for her volunteer efforts to enroll international students in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. She is interested in promoting access to STEM programs, “especially within low-represented groups such as women and minorities,” and in helping other women be successful at work. She also wants to demonstrate to her three children that “it always pays off” to earn a degree in an area that allows them to “work with vocation and passion.”

After graduation from CU, Inés plans to use her engineering degree “to support the advancement and the adoption of sustainability best practices and renewable energy resources within our communities and beyond.” She hopes to work at a research institution and “focus on assisting disenfranchised communities achieve and improve better alternatives to energy access and create self-sustainable practices.”

Dylan Yachyshen

Dylan, who intends to graduate from ��񱦵� this May, is majoring in international affairs and economics, and minoring in French. Dylan is interested in conflict and development in North and West Africa, has lived in Morocco, and is learning Arabic. While at CU, he was an editor for the Colorado Political Science Review, is an active member of the Benson Center’s Undergraduate Fellows program and participated in the Boulder club baseball team and the French Bavaradages Club. Internships include the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Department of Defense, and the Think Tank and Civil Society Program. Each year he serves as a Boulder Better Day of Service volunteer team leader.

After graduating from CU, Dylan wants to spend time in France and Africa “perfecting my French while working for NGOs or policy organizations.” After one or two years of international work, he intends to attend graduate school in international affairs and law, followed by a career in U.S foreign policy. He hopes to use his “Boulder knowledge to help better the world, advance U.S interests abroad and, one day, inspire Mr. Wehman’s legacy in future Boulder students.”

For more information on Benson Center scholarships, the Undergraduate Fellows program and other student resources, please see the Benson Center website.

February 25, 2021

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Statement by the Benson Center

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 01:09:31 +0000

Statement by the Benson Center Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/07/2021 - 18:09

January 7, 2021

The Benson Center’s mission is to increase intellectual and political diversity at CU, and to defend academic freedom and freedom of speech when both are under increasing attack. As one part of that mission, the Center hosts a Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought. These scholars have contributed to the lively exchange of ideas on campus, and they have introduced students to important works and opinions to which they would not otherwise have been exposed. We are proud of that contribution to intellectual life on campus. The Center does not hew to any political line and takes no official political positions beyond our commitment to academic freedom and intellectual diversity.

This year’s scholar, Professor John Eastman, has worked off-campus as a personal attorney for President Trump. In that capacity, he appeared at the rally in Washington D.C., where he made claims of unprecedented fraud during the recent presidential election and Georgia Senate runoff. The Center defends the right of its scholars to express unpopular opinions within the limits of the law. As a rule, the Center does not comment on the opinions of invited speakers and visitors. Nevertheless, the nature of these claims of fraud, and the subsequent violence at the Capitol, induce me to make a statement as the Director of the Center.

I find these claims irresponsible for two reasons: the lack of evidence produced to support them and, especially, the context in which they were expressed. Claims of a stolen election are exceedingly serious and should only be made when they can be backed up with solid evidence. The evidence of material fraud Professor Eastman claims has only been asserted rather than produced. Few of these claims have stood up in court, and most of them have not been presented under oath. The serious procedural issues concerning changes made to state election laws are overshadowed by lurid allegations of rigged voting machines and irrefutable statistical evidence of fraud — none of which have been supported with tangible evidence. While these unsupported allegations are worrisome on their own, they become substantially worse when they are stated to a crowd gathered outside the Capitol in protest. I condemn the riot that followed these speeches unequivocally.

The political use of violence is always beyond the pale. It is illegal and immoral, and it is the responsibility of public figures, including public intellectuals, to act responsibly in volatile circumstances. Professor Eastman did not call for the violence that occurred after the event, and his speech is protected by the First Amendment. Nevertheless, I am deeply disappointed by the radical claims Professor Eastman has made without producing adequate evidence and, even more, by the circumstances under which these assertions were made.

The primary responsibility for the violence in our nation’s capital lies with those who committed it. However, this year has illustrated the danger of public figures, including public intellectuals, who make excuses for political violence or make public statements that exacerbate dangerous situations. There has been too much playing with fire.

Prof. Daniel Jacobson
Director, Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization

January 7, 2021

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Five Questions for Benson Center Director Daniel Jacobson

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:40:49 +0000

Five Questions for Benson Center Director Daniel Jacobson Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/12/2020 - 14:40

November 12, 2020

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