August 1-2, 2025
The Southeastern Consortium of Classical Educators is hosted by Thales College in Wake Forest, NC in partnership with Kepler Education.
Thales College is a unique college offering a 3-year undergraduate degree (BA in Entrepreneurial Business and Liberal Arts) with a commitment to providing high quality, affordable collegiate study.
See schedule below for specific conference location details
- Early Bird Discount $149 through July 15th. Use Code EARLYSECCE to take $50 off the ticket price.
- Student and Teachers may email Dr. Josh Herring at josh.herring@thalescollege.org for a special student and teacher discount code.
Redeeming “Humanism”
The term “humanism” was of great value for the Renaissance Humanists, and remained a core descriptor of the classical and liberal arts traditions through the 19th century. During the 20th century, “humanism” became a captured term to express those who began academic exploration from a solely human perspective, absent the divine in any meaningful capacity.
Believing that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,” and that the timeless questions of human life are unanswerable without consideration of man’s relation to God, the 2nd Annual Southeastern Consortium of Classical Educators Conference will consider Redeeming “Humanism” within the context of classical education. The humanities lie, as Anthony Esolen put it, at the center of classical education’s project of soul formation.
Keynote speakers will consider the nature of Christian humanism, and why that foundation grounds our approach to studying humane letters. Classical educators need a positive vision establishing why students should learn the human arts of reading, writing, and dialogue to form virtuous souls capable of flourishing in a fallen world.
2025 Speakers and Schedule
Dr. Matthew Crawford, speaking on “Toward a Christian Vitalism”
Author of numerous bestselling books, Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work propelled him to prominence as a contemplative voice in late modernity. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, and delivered the 2023 First Things Lecture, which can be accessed here: “Anti-Humanism and the Post-Political Condition.”
Dr. James Hankins, speaking on “Renaissance Humanism and the Modern Humanities”
Dr. Hankins is Professor of History at Harvard University, with research interests in the history of Renaissance political thought, history of philosophy, and history of the classical tradition. Dr. Hankins, with Allen Guelzo, has most recently authored The Golden Thread: The Ancient World and Christendom. He also writes regularly for Law and Liberty. His essay “An Honest Diversity Statement” can be found here: https://lawliberty.org/an-honest-diversity-statement/
Dr. Marilyn Simon, speaking on “The Fall of a Sparrow: Hamlet on Meaning, Fate, and Providence.”
Dr. Marilyn Simon is a Shakespearean scholar and university instructor; she is working on a book entitled Submission: Sex, Women, and Shakespeare. Dr. Simon writes regularly for Quillette and Unherd. Her recent article for Unherd, “The Cruelty of Gentle Parenting” brings together her scholarship and attention to the present moment; that article can be accessed here.
Dr. Scott Postma, Speaking on Recovering Christian Humanism in a Post-Christian Culture.
Dr. Scott Postma lives in the chimney of Idaho with his wife of more than 30 years. He has four adult children and more than a handful of delightfully rambunctious grand babies. He is the president of Kepler Education, edits The Consortium: A Journal of Classical Christian Education, teaches humanities courses for high school and college students, and is a religious practitioner of the ancient art of Tsundoku. He has two forthcoming books: A Primer on Classical Christian Education and Between Secularism and Theocracy: Recovering Christian Humanism for a Post-Christian Culture. You can find his other writings on Substack at Books and Letters.
Breakout Sessions Speakers:
Dr. Darrell Falconburg, Academic Program Officer for the Russell Kirk Center
“Cultivating the Moral Imagination Through the Humanities”
Breakout Description — Dr. Falconburg will speak about the “moral imagination” as understood in the tradition of Edmund Burke, Irving Babbitt, and Russell Kirk. This session will also explore how this understanding of the moral imagination has practical implications for how we teach the humanities.
Dr. Sean Hadley, Upper School Principal, Trinitas Classical School,
“Baptizing Mars: How the Red Planet Makes us Better Humans”
From classical antiquity down to the present age, Mars has fascinated poets, theologians, philosophers, and all manner of readers alike. Something in its distance seems to beckon humanity. And the twentieth century saw the greatest sense of exploration concentrated in the fictional Martian landscape. This workshop will offer some brief thoughts on why Mars calls to us and then survey three of the most famous Red Planet tales: Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars (1912), C. S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet (1938), and Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (1950). We will model communal reading and dialectic follow-up, enabling us to better understand how the Red Planet makes us better humans.
Kristen Rudd, Independent Classical Educator (CiRCE, Eastern University)
How To Teach Poetry Classically
Do you want to incorporate more poetry into your lessons with your students, but you aren’t sure how? Poetry requires us to slow down and pay attention in a way that prose does not. Join Kristen Rudd in this workshop and learn how to teach poetry classically—to students of any level—in a way that will elevate their souls towards what is Good, True, and Beautiful.
Dr. Peter Forrest, Provost of Thales College
AI, Consciousness, and Redeeming Humanism
What separates us from even the most sophisticated future Artificial Intelligence? What, if anything, do human beings possess that A.I. inevitably will lack? In this breakout session, Dr. Forrest will use a famous (and fun!) thought experiment to propose an answer to this question, and then show how this answer has profound implications for the ends and means of humanistic education in the 21st century.
Matthew Ratcliffe, Veterum Sapientia Institute
The Joy of Spoken Latin
After looking at the current state of Latin education in schools today, including examples from VSI’s Latinitas Proficiency Exam, we will discuss ways to revitalize classrooms and speak to the hearts of Latin students. Coming Soon!
Katherine Bradshaw, Greek and Latin Fellow, Ancient Language Institute
“Show Virtue Her Own Feature”: Reading Shakespeare Like a Renaissance Humanist
Read William Shakespeare’s works in conversation with the ancient texts he read! Renaissance English schools often used ancient Greco-Roman literature to inculcate virtue; contemporary classical classrooms can participate in this tradition by studying Shakespeare with a focus on ancient virtues.
Alec Bianco, Director of Marketing for the CiRCE Institute
The Geometry of the Soul: Recovering a More Complete Vision of the Human Person
Throughout the Platonic dialogues, Socrates describes what the human soul looks like in such a way that suggests an imperative for human action; in other words, the pursuit of virtue is intrinsic to the nature of the human soul. In order to aid in the healing of the modern world, we must consider seriously this ancient understanding of the soul, and see how it may inform our approach to education and beyond.
Sarah Hadley, Humanities Teacher at Trinitas Classical School
Art Makes Us More Human: Integrating Art into Every Discipline
How does art make us more human? This workshop will discuss options for incorporating the arts into every discipline, and why such a practice can enhance your student’s love of the good, the true, and the beautiful.
Schedule
Friday – August 1st
- 4-6pm EST: Conference Sponsors – set up tables at Franklin Academy High School (where the Saturday conference session will be located).
- 6-9pm EST Conference Attendees: In-Person and Livestream Options
- In-Person: 75 tickets are available for our in-person gathering at Beow’s Books and Brews (menu here); registration opens at 5:30pm, and our program will begin at 6pm. Dr. Herring will open the conference, and then lead a panel discussion with Keynote Speakers from 6:30-7:30. We will conclude with half an hour for Q+A. The evening formally ends at 8pm, and Beow’s will remain open until 9pm. This is a great space to meet other conference attendees!
- To get your in person ticket, register for the conference and click the Sign-up Genius link that Dr. Herring will email you in the conference update emails.
- Livestream: If you are unable to join us for the in-person conviviality, we will livestream the opening remarks, panel discussion, and Q+A. The link to the livestream will be sent to you in the conference update email.
- In-Person: 75 tickets are available for our in-person gathering at Beow’s Books and Brews (menu here); registration opens at 5:30pm, and our program will begin at 6pm. Dr. Herring will open the conference, and then lead a panel discussion with Keynote Speakers from 6:30-7:30. We will conclude with half an hour for Q+A. The evening formally ends at 8pm, and Beow’s will remain open until 9pm. This is a great space to meet other conference attendees!
| Saturday, Aug 2nd | Schedule | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00-8:30 am | Arrival and check in at Franklin Academy High School | Address: – 648 Flaherty Ave, Wake Forest, NC 27587 |
| 8:30-9:15 am | Plenary 1 – Dr. James Hankins | Title Renaissance Humanism and the Modern Humanities |
| 9:30-10:00 am | Break | Coffee and Light Refreshments available |
| 10:00-11:00 am | Plenary 2 – Matthew Crawford | Toward a Christian Vitalism |
| 11:00-11:15 am | Break | |
| 11:15 am -12:15 pm | Breakout Session 1 | 8 Breakouts to choose from |
| 12:15-1:00 pm | Lunch in the Gym | Al Paca |
| 1:15-2:15 pm | Plenary 3 – Marilyn Simon | The Fall of a Sparrow: Hamlet on Meaning, Fate, and Providence. |
| 2:15-2:30 pm | Break | |
| 2:30-3:30 pm | Breakout Session 2 | 8 Breakouts to choose from |
| 3:45-4:30 pm | Plenary 4 – Dr. Scott Postma | Between Secularism and Theocracy: Recovering Recovering Christian Humanism in a Post-Christian Culture |
| 4:30-4:45 pm | Closing Remarks – Dr. Josh Herring | |
| 5:30pm Tour of Thales College with Provost Peter Forrest, and then decamping to Fortnite Brewery as the Conference Afterparty location (with several food options next to Fortnite) | ||
Conference Sponsors
THE CONSORTIUM OF CLASSICAL EDUCATORS IS AN INITIATIVE OF KEPLER EDUCATION TO PROVIDE RESOURCES AND REGIONAL CONNECTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN FAMILIES, TEACHERS, AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO EXPAND THE REACH OF CLASSICAL EDUCATION AND FOSTER HUMAN FLOURISHING FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.