Society of Fellows

The Society of Fellows

“Human liberty,” Tocqueville wrote, is “the source of all moral greatness.” When we think, speak, and act “without constraints, under the sole government of God and the laws,” we cultivate our humanity and discover what it truly means, and what it truly takes, to be happy. In the spirit of these reflections, still timely for us, the School of Civic Leadership introduced the Society of Fellows, an undergraduate fellowship program dedicated to the study of liberty and its moral conditions.

A key dimension of liberty is freedom of speech. Nowhere is the freedom to think, write, and speak more critical to uphold than in the university, an institution which helps to shape the minds of young adults and future citizens. A university’s most essential function in a democracy is to equip students with the intellectual resources to become decent, productive, and independent-minded members of society. To the degree that the university fails to fulfill its mission, democracy suffers because the level of government in a democracy, by its nature, reflects the level of its citizens. The genuine search for truth in our times, in the humanities as well as in public policy, requires a culture of free speech.

How can we protect freedom of speech? Tocqueville invites “those who see freedom of the mind as a holy thing” to join him in rejecting not just the old kind of intellectual despotism—that of unaccountable elites who prohibit certain books or speeches, but also the kind characteristic of democratic times. This modern kind of intellectual despotism is enforced not by elites at the level of law but by the majority at the level of civil society. It is a kind of despotism that, as Tocqueville knew, “leaves the body alone and goes right to the soul.” It constricts thought within narrow bounds imposed by public opinion. Its enforcement mechanism is the implicit threat of social ostracism. The result is a loss of clarity in our thought and of frankness in our speech. Vigorous discussion and independence of mind cannot survive, let alone flourish, in such an environment.

With a view to helping shape a culture that supports the these principles, the School of Civic Leadership established the Society of Fellows, its flagship program for undergraduate students.

Through the Society of Fellows, the School of Civic Leadership aims to model a culture of intellectual freedom that is friendly to economic liberty, civic virtue, and constitutional government.

Applications for the 2024-2025 Society of Fellows are now closed.

The Programs of the Society of Fellows

Every year, a cohort of 20-25 students will participate in the following exclusive programs—at no cost to students:

• Inaugural Conference (late August) – The fellowship kicks off with an early semester conference at a luxury resort in Dripping Springs, TX. The conference features invited scholars and public intellectuals who discuss a theme in political theory, philosophy, or public policy (or a mix of all three!) that is relevant to the mission of the School of Civic Leadership.
• Speaker Receptions (throughout Fall and Spring semesters) – Students who join the Society of Fellows will have the opportunity to attend private receptions for leading scholars and policymakers who are invited contributors to the the School of Civic Leadership’s speaker series, a series of public lectures at UT. Students can engage with scholars and policymakers in a setting conducive to genuine conversation.
• Book Club – Students who join the Society of Fellows will have the opportunity to meet four or five times per semester to discuss a short text that explores the meaning of Western civilization, liberal democracy, or human nature. In the Fall of 2024, the members of the Society of Fellows are scheduled to read George Orwell on utopia and literature, Irving Kristol on capitalism, Francis Fukuyama on “History,” and Winston Churchill on mass society.
• Western Civilization Trip (mid-May of 2025): This end-of-the-year program provides Society of Fellows members with the opportunity to spend ten days in a city of great historical significance to the West. While there, students will engage in a deep study of a theme or question related to one of the intellectual pillars of the School of Civic Leadership: Western Civilization, the American constitutional order, and economic freedom and initiative. Students will participate in daily seminars, attend dinners with scholars, visit historic neighborhoods, and gaze at some of the greatest art and architecture in the world.

Admission decisions will be made on a rolling basis until the Society of Fellows cohort (20-25 students) has been selected.

Spots are limited and typically fill by end of February.

Please address inquiries to:

Antonio Sosa
Associate Director
The School of Civic Leadership
University of Texas at Austin
Email: antonio.sosa@austin.utexas.edu

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