Conservative spotlight: Marty Zupan

Institute for Humane Studies

Increasingly rare in academia is a comprehensive approach to thought. Instead, the pursuit of knowledge has splintered into many isolated disciplines represented by isolated administrative departments on university campuses-except when abandoned entirely by postmodern "scholars." The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) promotes an integrated view of ideas, and from a specific perspective.

"Ideas underlying a free society," said Marty Zupan, president of IHS, in describing the group's focus. She said that "classical liberal" could be applied to these ideas, but, "People today don't know what that means. If you talk to students about that, they say, `Classical liberal? You mean like John F. Kennedy?"' 'Libertarian' has connotations that are not necessarily applicable, she said. "Mat is associated with a particular party and a par, titular set of positions."

"The Institute for Humane Studies was founded in 1961 by Dr. A. (Baldy) Harper, a former economics professor at Cornell University," says IHS' history. "Part of a generation that had lived through two devastating world wars and seen the rise of numerous totalitarian dictatorships, Harper set up an institute devoted to research and education in the conviction that greater understanding of human affairs and freedom would foster peace, prosperity, and social harmony. .Not in government or force, not in slavery or war, but in the creative, and thereby spiritual, power of freedom, shall our inspiration be found,' he wrote in an early proposal for the institute."

IHS, which is an independent 501(c)3 with its offices at conservative-leaning George Mason University, runs numerous seminars and programs each year for college students. Some of these programs are held in the Washington, D.C., area where IHS is located, others at different colleges around the country. Every summer features a full slate of seminars in Washington, and not just on the wealth-building virtues of free markets.

"Our seminars are deliberately interdisciplinary," said Zupan. "We have historians, philosophers as well as economists. We want to teach students that there are principled reasons to be in favor of economic freedom, not just for the sake of efficiency." IHS tries to teach that "freedom is indivisible," she said. This approach is especially effective with the 50 or so editors of mainstream college newspapers whom IHS brings to Washington each year. "These editors are often very resistant to ideas underlying liberty," said Zupan. "But they believe absolutely in the freedom of the press, so we can build on that."

"We try to promote a switch from 'left and right' thinking to the two dimensions of political and economic freedom," said Damon chetson, program director for IHS. "We have a website called politopia.com where people can custom-make their government. Students find that they don't necessarily fit into 'right' and left.'"

Said Amy Pelletier, another IHS program director, "Students leave our seminars saying, `I've never heard anything like this in college."'

The IHS website features a quote from Princeton Prof. Stephen Macedo: "The institute's remarkable resources and programs can give you a competitive advantage over other students. The help and encouragement provided me by IHS has made an enormous difference to my academic career." Said Zupan, "We give people assistance in launching intellectual careers. We give fellowships and scholarships for college and graduate study. We help graduate students get jobs in academia. We have over 400 alumni of our programs who are working."

IHS helps not only academics, but also journalists, film school students, and even fiction writers who have a demonstrated interest in classical liberalism. "We have supported young people who have arranged for an apprenticeship or who need to travel for research," said Pelletier.

Says IHS literature, "IHS Film & Fiction Scholarships up to $10,000 in tuition and stipend will be awarded by the Institute for Humane Studies to support students who: are pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (M.FA.) degree in filmmaking, fiction writing, or playwriting; have a demonstrated interest in classical liberal ideas and their application in contemporary society; demonstrate the desire, motivation, and creative ability to succeed in their chosen profession."

In the future, said Zupan, IHS hopes to reach many more students through the Internet. "We want to see if it is feasible to educate people that way," she said. "We could reach far more students at far less cost. But would it be as effective as having students together with faculty?" This would continue, in the newest medium, a very old discussion. "Plato and Aristotle were already, on a deep level, on to all the problems we face," said Zupan.

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. Jul 15, 2002
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