This weekend professional development seminar, Politics and Virtue: Civic Life in Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Tocqueville, invites educators to explore enduring questions about political life through three foundational thinkers in the tradition of Western Civilization. From the classical world of ancient Greece to the emerging democracies of the modern era, Aristotle, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Alexis de Tocqueville grappled with the relationship between virtue, power, and the health of political communities.
Participants will examine selections from Politics, The Prince, and Democracy in America, analyzing how each thinker understood the nature of citizenship, leadership, and the moral foundations of government. Aristotle’s vision of politics as a means of cultivating virtue within the polis will be contrasted with Machiavelli’s stark reflections on power, ambition, and the realities of governing a fragile republic. Tocqueville’s observations of American democracy will provide a bridge to modern civic life, highlighting the role of civic habits, associations, and public virtue in sustaining democratic institutions.
Through lectures, guided discussions, and collaborative analysis of primary sources, participants will consider how these thinkers illuminate both the ideals and tensions inherent in republican government. The seminar will emphasize practical strategies for bringing classical and modern political thought into the classroom, helping students engage with fundamental questions about citizenship, responsibility, and the preservation of free societies.
By situating Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Tocqueville within the broader narrative of Western political thought, this program equips teachers with deeper historical understanding and classroom-ready approaches for exploring the intellectual foundations of civic life.
In addition to classroom work, this weekend seminar will likely include either a visit to the University of Pennsylvania Library Special Collection to engage directly with historical editions of the writings of Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Tocqueville or the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, which was Tocqueville reason for visiting America in 1831, or both.
Speaker:
Joseph Fornieri
Dr. Joseph R. Fornieri is Professor of Political Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Director of the Center for Statecraft, Law, and Liberty, a non-partisan organization that seeks to enhance the study of political greatness and responsible citizenship at the secondary and college levels. An award-winning instructor, Fornieri teaches classes in American political thought and leadership, rhetoric, political philosophy, and the First Amendment. He was a member of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, 1809-2009. The same year he was awarded a Fulbright as a Lecturer at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic. He is an expert on the political thought and statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln and the author-editor of nine books, including: Abraham Lincoln’s Political Faith and Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman. His most recent books include Free Speech: Core Court Cases; Abraham Lincoln: Core Documents and American Statesmanship, Principles and Practices of Leadership from Notre Dame University Press. A former High School teacher, Fornieri’s mission includes outreach to secondary teachers and students throughout the country. He is on the board and collaborates with several High School teaching organizations such as TAH (Teaching American History) and is a regular contributor/consultant to Prager University. His videos are used for curricula in select school districts throughout the country, receiving as many as a million views each. He is now working on a book comparing the political thought and leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. On the side, he enjoys cigars and plays in a blues band with his brother Peter and his nephew Joseph.
The three-day (Friday – Sunday) seminar is a new category of PD program for Founding Forward held through-out the year. Each summit will include historic interpreters, a content-lecture from a scholarly expert, a faculty-led discussion of relevant primary sources, and an appropriate field study of historic sites, archives, and museums.
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