We teach the principles of liberty that colleges won't. Follow to learn the true meaning of freedom and equality.
Defending Western Tradition
- Tweets 19,659
- Following 1,777
- Followers 21,214
- Likes 8,435
Pinned Tweet
Is empire bad for America?
In this installment, @CurtMills and @Phillip_Blond debate whether America's global power and network of alliances protect American prosperity and security or entangle the country in costly wars and commitments that no longer serve its interests.
Moderated by @sarahhgustafson.
(0:00) Opening Highlights
(0:37) Opening Remarks
(1:07) Curt Mills: The Case Against Empire
(4:16) Phillip Blond: The Case for Empire
(7:01) Is American Empire Bad for Americans?
(11:58) Liberal Hegemony vs. Empire
(15:06) Does Empire Preserve Peace?
(20:46) Isolationism, Autarky & Christianity
(25:19) Can America Opt Out of Empire?
(30:58) Pax Americana & the Power of Allies
(35:25) Nationalism vs. Empire
(40:30) Do Alliances Make America Stronger?
(46:03) Greenland & American Hegemony
(49:16) China, Taiwan & a Multipolar World
(55:23) Venezuela, China & American Power
(1:01:20) Can America Confront China Without Allies?
(1:05:32) Should America Leave Russia & Iran Alone?
(1:10:39) Ukraine, Iran & the Politics of Intervention
(1:13:02) Is Taking Greenland Imperialism?
(1:15:37) Is Ukraine a Necessary War for the West?
(1:20:45) Was America Founded as an Empire?
(1:23:57) Empire, Political Liberty & the Administrative State
(1:30:25) Closing Remarks
1
6
19
8,147
We’re excited to welcome William Hamant to the ISI team!
William joins ISI as our new Director of Programs, bringing extensive experience in higher education, teaching, and student formation. He has served as Director of Campus Ministry and Catechesis at St. Thomas More Oratory at the University of Delaware and as an Assistant Professor of Theology at DeSales University. Most recently, he served as Managing Editor of Communio: International Catholic Review.
William holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute at The Catholic University of America, as well as degrees from the University of Dayton and the University of St. Thomas.
We’re thrilled to have William on board and look forward to all he’ll bring to ISI and our student programs. Please join us in welcoming him!
5
26
1,240
Intercollegiate Studies Institute retweeted
I am honored and humbled to be chosen as the next President of ISI, and am deeply grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead an institution that shaped my own education and vocation. I look forward to carrying on ISI's vital mission in the years to come.
I am also profoundly grateful to Archbishop Cordileone and the Archdiocese of San Francisco for these years spent advancing the mission of Catholic education in the Bay Area. It has been a blessing and a privilege.
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute is proud to announce the appointment of Christopher Fisher as the next President of ISI.
Chris returns to ISI after 12 years, having previously served here in both programs and digital media roles.
He brings more than a decade of experience leading educational programs for students and teachers alike. Most recently he served as Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Before his work in San Francisco, Chris concluded a decade of leadership at Portsmouth Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and independent Catholic boarding school in Rhode Island, where he served as Executive Director of the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture and taught in the school's Humanities program, grounding students in the great texts of the Western tradition.
Chris's deep commitment to the enduring ideas of the Western tradition, his record of institutional leadership, and his passion for forming the next generation of thoughtful, engaged citizens make him exceptionally well-suited to lead ISI into its next chapter.
Please join us in welcoming @CFrancisFisher back to the ISI family. We look forward to his leadership as ISI continues its longstanding tradition of educating for liberty.
28
8
112
12,761
“Fault Lines” came to Villanova! Students gathered for a watch party of our latest debate, featuring @CurtMills and @Phillip_Blond on the resolution: “Empire Is Bad for America.” It was a great evening of students engaging with competing ideas about American power, foreign policy, and the role of empire in the modern world.
3
14
3,186
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute is proud to announce the appointment of Christopher Fisher as the next President of ISI.
Chris returns to ISI after 12 years, having previously served here in both programs and digital media roles.
He brings more than a decade of experience leading educational programs for students and teachers alike. Most recently he served as Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Before his work in San Francisco, Chris concluded a decade of leadership at Portsmouth Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and independent Catholic boarding school in Rhode Island, where he served as Executive Director of the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture and taught in the school's Humanities program, grounding students in the great texts of the Western tradition.
Chris's deep commitment to the enduring ideas of the Western tradition, his record of institutional leadership, and his passion for forming the next generation of thoughtful, engaged citizens make him exceptionally well-suited to lead ISI into its next chapter.
Please join us in welcoming @CFrancisFisher back to the ISI family. We look forward to his leadership as ISI continues its longstanding tradition of educating for liberty.
20
20
152
30,826
This past weekend, a small cohort of @collegiatenet student journalists gathered in Washington, DC for the CN Journalism Workshop: News and Feature Writing.
Students worked closely with @juderusso94 (The American Conservative) and @brandonmcg (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) to sharpen their reporting instincts and strengthen their prose. Together they studied landmark works of American journalism, from the golden age of sports writing to the masters of narrative nonfiction, and asked what makes those pieces unforgettable: structure, voice, reporting depth, and narrative precision.
Students also joined journalist and author Christopher Caldwell for a candid discussion about what working in journalism looks like today, and what it takes to write with clarity and conviction in a crowded media landscape.
6
16
3,306
Tonight at midnight, ISI releases the third episode of its new debate series, Fault Lines. Watch on YouTube and X.
The debate:
Empire vs. Restraint: What's Best for America?
@Phillip_Blond vs. @CurtMills
Moderated by @sarahhgustafson
5
10
967
The next episode of Fault Lines releases Tuesday, 9/22!
Empire vs. Restraint: What's Best for America?
@Phillip_Blond vs. @CurtMills
Moderated by @sarahhgustafson
4
10
2,506
"You haven't seen anything yet"
- AI Strategist
Should we slow the pace of AI? | @zporcu vs @deanwball
489
Is technological innovation a good for humanity or does this endless search for progress result in catastrophe?
@zporcu vs. @deanwball
2
640
Watch the full debate, "Is AI a Deal with the Devil?":
In this installment, Dr. Zachary Porcu and @deanwball debate the resolution: "AI Is a Deal With the Devil." At stake is whether artificial intelligence is just the next tool in humanity's technological progress or a type of idol that reshapes our relationship to knowledge, power, religion, and even what it means to be human.
Moderated by @LeahLibresco
(0:00) Opening Highlights
(1:02) Opening Remarks
(1:41) Is AI a Deal With the Devil?
(2:49) What Is AI?
(11:48) Is AI Wearing a Human Mask?
(18:25) Should There Be Limits on AI?
(24:03) Should AI Development Be Paused?
(36:01) What Is AI Doing to Us?
(43:44) Will AI Replace Human Thought?
(59:54) Who Should Police AI?
(1:13:17) A World Divided by AI
(1:19:19) Is Superintelligence Our Destiny?
(1:26:34) How Do We Live With AI?
129
Is AI a discovery about reality or the same forbidden-knowledge pattern behind Eden, Prometheus, and the Book of Enoch?
@zporcu and @deanwball go head to head. Moderated by @LeahLibresco.
2
10
6,119
Watch the full debate, "Is AI a Deal with the Devil?":
In this installment, Dr. Zachary Porcu and @deanwball debate the resolution: "AI Is a Deal With the Devil." At stake is whether artificial intelligence is just the next tool in humanity's technological progress or a type of idol that reshapes our relationship to knowledge, power, religion, and even what it means to be human.
Moderated by @LeahLibresco
(0:00) Opening Highlights
(1:02) Opening Remarks
(1:41) Is AI a Deal With the Devil?
(2:49) What Is AI?
(11:48) Is AI Wearing a Human Mask?
(18:25) Should There Be Limits on AI?
(24:03) Should AI Development Be Paused?
(36:01) What Is AI Doing to Us?
(43:44) Will AI Replace Human Thought?
(59:54) Who Should Police AI?
(1:13:17) A World Divided by AI
(1:19:19) Is Superintelligence Our Destiny?
(1:26:34) How Do We Live With AI?
118
Watch the full debate:
In this installment, Dr. Zachary Porcu and @deanwball debate the resolution: "AI Is a Deal With the Devil." At stake is whether artificial intelligence is just the next tool in humanity's technological progress or a type of idol that reshapes our relationship to knowledge, power, religion, and even what it means to be human.
Moderated by @LeahLibresco
(0:00) Opening Highlights
(1:02) Opening Remarks
(1:41) Is AI a Deal With the Devil?
(2:49) What Is AI?
(11:48) Is AI Wearing a Human Mask?
(18:25) Should There Be Limits on AI?
(24:03) Should AI Development Be Paused?
(36:01) What Is AI Doing to Us?
(43:44) Will AI Replace Human Thought?
(59:54) Who Should Police AI?
(1:13:17) A World Divided by AI
(1:19:19) Is Superintelligence Our Destiny?
(1:26:34) How Do We Live With AI?
107
OpenAI strategist @deanwball responds to Encyclical of @pontifex
1
1
3
638
Watch full debate:
In this installment, Dr. Zachary Porcu and @deanwball debate the resolution: "AI Is a Deal With the Devil." At stake is whether artificial intelligence is just the next tool in humanity's technological progress or a type of idol that reshapes our relationship to knowledge, power, religion, and even what it means to be human.
Moderated by @LeahLibresco
(0:00) Opening Highlights
(1:02) Opening Remarks
(1:41) Is AI a Deal With the Devil?
(2:49) What Is AI?
(11:48) Is AI Wearing a Human Mask?
(18:25) Should There Be Limits on AI?
(24:03) Should AI Development Be Paused?
(36:01) What Is AI Doing to Us?
(43:44) Will AI Replace Human Thought?
(59:54) Who Should Police AI?
(1:13:17) A World Divided by AI
(1:19:19) Is Superintelligence Our Destiny?
(1:26:34) How Do We Live With AI?
205
On May 1, ISI was proud to present Vice President JD Vance with the Defender of Western Civilization Award at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, the vice president reflected on how ISI and the broader intellectual movement shaped his own path into conservative politics.
3
3
50
3,252