As the fossil record dwindles, UV debuts course on conservatism

An accredited course on conservatism at the University of Virginia debuting this fall could set a trend on campuses across the country, organizers say.

The 11-week course, referred to as Conservatism 101, aims to inform students of all political persuasions about the figures and thinkers who have built modern conservatism and to dispel stereotypes. Unlike many courses, it will be taught by several lecturers over the course of the fall semester to give students a host of different perspectives.

Topics include whether or not the Founding Fathers were liberal or conservative, libertarian philosophy, and Ronald Reagan, among others. It has proven so popular that a second section of the class might be needed.

“It’s a perspective people need to hear that really gets left out,” said Wes Siler, a former leader of the university’s Burke Society, the campus conservative group responsible for enacting the course.

Courses on conservatism have been held at other universities, such as American University in Washington, D.C. and George Mason University in Virginia, but they have never been proposed as a template for courses at other academic institutions.

Siler hopes to get at least 20 similar classes started at colleges and universities across the country and has been talking with professors around the country with an interest in teaching the course at their university. He has his sights set on large state-affiliated schools such as the University of Texas and plans to get at least one course on conservatism at a school in each of the 50 states.

The overwhelming left-wing bias on campuses such as the University of Virginia makes courses such as this necessary because it offers the only chance many students will have to hear an alternate perspective, Craig Shirley, a noted Reagan biographer and course lecturer, said.