10!--1999 Summer Seminar Announcment

The 1999 IOS Summer Seminar—scheduled for July 3 through July 10, at the University of Vermont in Burlington—will be the institute's tenth, and, in honor of that milestone, the staff is determined to make this year's event the best ever. It will not be easy.

"I can't imagine a more valuable way to spend my summer vacation," said Rebecca Reale of IOS's 1998 summer seminar. "Where else can you debate children's rights, witness the process of a theatrical rehearsal, discuss constitutional law, learn to foxtrot and juggle, undergo hypnosis, form long-lasting friendships, and 'get down' on the dance floor with brilliant speakers and authors—all in one week? I can hardly wait for next year."

Well, next year is here, and the effort to better last year's performance is under way.

Program

Central to making this year's summer seminar "the best ever" is building on programs that have worked in the past—except that "worked" is hardly an adequate description. On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), 71 percent of last year's participants gave the seminar a 5 and an additional 25 percent rated it a 4. Striving for equal or better ratings this year, the 1999 event will have the mix of lectures and workshops that participants now demand: new philosophical explorations (e.g., David Kelley on objectivity and David Mayer on the nature of government); political-cultural commentary by the country's leading market-liberal thinkers and activists (e.g., Robert Levy of the Cato Institute on antitrust and Clint Bolick of the Institute for Justice on equality as an individualist principle); lectures and presentations on the arts (e.g., Kirsti Minsaas on Ayn Rand and the aesthetics of Romanticism and David Wagoner on the role of the conductor); and, not least, applications of Objectivism (e.g., Debra Ross on everyday activism and David Kelley on choosing life). Also, returning after a one-year absence will be a track of "Education in Objectivism." Specifically, Will Thomas will be presenting "The Logical Structure of Objectivism," a week-long course based on the book he is writing with David Kelley.

In addition to those standard categories, there will be several themes that cut across them, and one of these will be education. A number of the speakers on education can already be announced. Mary Heinking, whose article on children's literature appears in this issue, will present two talks on educating one's children at home. Susan McCloskey will discuss the state of writing instruction in today's schools and the proper place of writing in the education of rational minds. David Ross will use the Objectivist theory of knowledge to analyze mathematics as a practical skill, then apply this analysis to the question of how mathematics should be taught and learned. And in the area of political-cultural commentary, Sheldon Richman will discuss the school choice movement.

Later issues of Navigator will present further details on the seminar's program, and of course the summer seminar brochure will have full details. But for the most current information be sure to check the IOS Web page at http://ios.org.

Events

All of the "high-point" events that participants have come to expect will again be offered at the 1999 IOS Summer Seminar. A opening-day cookout and a salute to America's independence will take place on July 3, when the city of Burlington puts on its fireworks display. A "common room" will be open nightly for discussion and debate. A Sponsors Dinner will be held in conjunction with the seminar. "In Performance" will give participants the chance to display their talents. And, of course, the week will close with a dinner-dance, but the banquet this year will also be a special program to commemorate the institute's tenth summer seminar.

Setting

Yet all that would not be enough to make this year's seminar truly "the best ever." In addition, there must be a perfect setting, and the IOS staff believes it has found one.

In 1995, Burlington (pop. 40,000) topped the list of Outside magazine's "Dream Towns: Where to Find It All." And because of the natural beauty of its surroundings, plus its numerous sporting and entertainment opportunities, Edward B. Fiske's college guide has named Burlington one of the nation's "Big Ten" college towns.

Burlington's waterfront on Lake Champlain provides outdoors enthusiasts with a range of recreational opportunities, from swimming to scuba diving, sailing, kayaking, or merely taking in the lake's natural beauty from the deck of a ferry. Alongside the lake are miles of paths for bikers, joggers, and in-line skaters.

Given the degree to which the waterfront dominates Burlington, it has sometimes been called "a seaport on a lake." Yet just behind Burlington to the east lie the Green Mountains, and because July's average temperatures are between 68-70 degrees, hiking and backpacking are prime inland recreations. Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield (4,400 feet), is only 20 miles away. And winding through the Green Mountains is the 265-mile Long Trail, which runs over thirty peaks more than 3,000 feet high.

Meanwhile, downtown Burlington boasts one of the most successful pedestrian malls in the country, with more that 160 retail stores, intimate coffee shops, and lively clubs. Great restaurants abound, and one can dine on Mexican, Chinese, Lebanese, Greek, Thai, and Cajun cuisine, as well as the contemporary American fare served at the New England Culinary Institute's recently opened restaurant.

Then there is the university itself, on a hill overlooking both the city and the lake. Known as UVM (Universitas Viridis Montis, University of the Green Mountains), the school began as a private 1791 college established by Ira Allen (brother of Ethan Allen), and as such it is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in New England, after Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown. Reflecting this heritage, the twenty-nine buildings surrounding the college green constitute the University Green Historic District.

But the principal historical attraction of Burlington, for Objectivists, has to lie in its connection to Ethan Allen, the Revolutionary War hero who led the Green Mountain Boys. On May 10, 1775, Allen and his militia captured the British fort at Ticonderoga, N.Y., seizing the artillery that Henry Knox transported to Boston for use against the British. On August 4, 1777, when the British General John Burgoyne invaded Bennington to obtain supplies, the Green Mountain Boys repulsed the effort, and Burgoyne's lack of supplies contributed to his eventual, critical defeat. Two miles north of downtown Burlington is the homestead on which Allen settled after the war. The site has guided tours, a visitor center, multi-media show, and gift shop. As author of Reason the Only Oracle of Man, Allen is also a significant figure in American Enlightenment thought.

10+

Because of the breadth of offerings at the IOS summer seminar, many families have begun to attend. After last year's seminar, Greg Peisert wrote that "Our entire family, ranging in ages from 17 to 45, came with diverse interests from psychology and human relationships to theater, fine arts, and advanced issues in philosophy and ethics. Every one of us is leaving this seminar feeling enriched, that the experience was well worth the investment of time and money, and each of us is leaving with new friends and acquaintances. When you consider our diversity of ages, perspectives, and interests, this result is almost astonishing."

Families that do attend the IOS summer seminar frequently go on to make it part of their summer vacation by exploring the surrounding area, either before or after seminar week. In the case of the 1999 seminar, therefore, vacationers (families or otherwise) should keep in mind that Montreal is only ninety minutes away from Burlington, and Boston only four hours.