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Intellectual Retreat on “Solidarity”
“Solidarity” a FIRST THINGS Intellectual Retreat
New York City | August 13–14, 2021
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What the participants were saying:
“FIRST THINGS
kindly gives its readers and supporters room to live as they are each called by their Creator—it issues no marching orders to minions and trusts that the Spirit is moving as it will.”
FIRST THINGS held its first-ever Intellectual Retreat in August of 2015 on “The Paradox of Freedom.” Six years and one pandemic later, good spirits abounded as FIRST THINGS convened ninety-five readers and scholars for an Intellectual Retreat to discuss various questions on the topic of solidarity. Participants stepped away from their daily lives for two days of intensive thought and discussion derived from two millennia of insights into this rich concept—from Cicero and St. Paul to Dostoevsky and Roger Scruton—all under the studied guidance of tutors from Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts.
The retreat began on Friday evening with a cocktail reception, dinner, and a rousing lecture from Dr. Nathan Pinkoski, director of programs at the Zephyr Institute, on “Solidarity in Twenty-First Century America.” In it, Dr. Pinkoski traced the origins of modern conceptions of solidarity while weighing the potential for a genuine solidarity in our contemporary cultural moment. Equipped with this roadmap, participants reconvened Saturday morning for breakfast and smallgroup seminars on “Universal Solidarity” and “Solidarity and Civic Life.” After adjourning for lunch, attendees tackled “Christian Solidarity and Political Responsibility” and “Solidarity and Contemporary Society” before the retreat concluded with dinner and a panel discussion featuring Dr. Pinkoski, editor R. R. Reno, and Magdalen College president Ryan Messmore.
