| Farewell Letters to Professor Patrick Deneen
as a teaching assistant in "the American Regime" senior year to the countless times I articulated and ruminated over things you had taught me in conversations with friends, family, and exchanges with other students and scholars, you singularly made the much-hyped "college experience" what it truly ought to have been. You were an irreplaceable figure, and a much needed voice crying out in the wilderness. Thank you again for everything you have done. Professor Deneen, thank you. –Matt Cantirino, COL 2011.
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vividly remember the esteemed Father Schall once telling me that an undergraduate education can only be called proper when it not only requires you to read the greatest books of all time, but also when it humbles you by revealing to you how much you do not know. Such has certainly been my experience with the Tocqueville Forum. Under your tutelage and at your emphatic suggestion, I have read, re-read, and grappled with the books that have shaped the west for three millennia. And for four years at Georgetown, I walked away from Tocqueville Forum lectures, book readings, and even simple conversations with others in the Forum experiencing the full exhilaration of knowing afresh how much there was to be known, how much I myself did not know, and the inestimable value of true education in closing the distance between the two. It is no hyperbole to say that you were more influential in my academic development at Georgetown than any other professor, and even beyond the Hilltop, I still frequently find insights you have shared with us clambering about in my head, demanding my consideration. Your influence has been such that I anticipate those questions and thoughts will linger for many years to come, both in my mind, and in the minds of all of the students you have touched at Georgetown. So thank you, Professor Deneen, for all you have done in making my Georgetown years exceptional. Notre Dame will be enriched by your presence there, as Georgetown was when you were with us. So I say to you, a good man and a
great professor, farewell and Godspeed. Professor Deneen, thank you. –Justin Hawkins, COL 2011.
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efore I met Professor Deneen and joined the Tocqueville Forum, I was in an academic rut. I went through the motions of school but dispassionately and uninterested. Professor Deneen's vigor and blatant love of truth showed me that the genuine exchange of ideas is not taboo and is worth seeking. This re-invigorated my intellectual experience at Georgetown. Not only through the programming of the Tocqueville Forum, but through Professor Deneen's example as someone who is not afraid to stand for what he believes. For this I would like to thank him, and wish him the best of luck at Notre Dame. Professor Deneen, thank you. –Brendan Gottschall, COL 2012.
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cannot express how thankful I am for your influence at Georgetown. Though I have had a limited experience with the Tocqueville Forum, the past year may have single-handedly redeemed my academic experience. After three years of being disavowed of my high school dreams of collegiate intellectual life, contemplating the highest things, it was a relief to be introduced to a group of people and professors who care about ideas and learning for learning's sake. The retreat and our trips to Princeton and Notre Dame will be some of my fondest memories of college and not just for the lectures, but also for the discussions we were privileged to have with you. Thank you so much for all the ways you have generously gifted me and my friends through the Tocqueville Forum. Furthermore, your "American Regime" class has influenced me exponentially more in my daily life than I ever would have expected. Your lectures truly made the "algae in the fishbowl" neon green and it has made me examine my expectations and desires for post-graduation life in a timely and challenging way. It was a true humanities course: it taught me about myself. I am profoundly thankful to you for the care
Utraque Unum — Summer 2012 |
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