{"id":44176,"date":"2025-07-21T15:22:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T20:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/?p=44176"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T21:03:23","slug":"the-conservative-as-artist-flannery-oconnor-and-the-ethical-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/courses\/seminars-master-classes\/the-conservative-as-artist-flannery-oconnor-and-the-ethical-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Conservative as Artist: Flannery O’Connor and the Ethical Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"Michael P. Federici, Ph.D.<\/strong>
Professor and former Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at <\/span>
Middle Tennessee State University<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Time: <\/b>Tuesdays,<\/span> 7:00 \u2013 8:30 pm ET<\/span>
Dates: <\/b>September 9, 16, 23, and 30<\/span>
Faculty: <\/b>Dr.<\/span> Michael P. Federici<\/span>
Location: <\/b>Online<\/span>
Tuition<\/b>: $100 (due upon acceptance)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Description<\/b><\/p>\n

When Russell Kirk and Flannery O\u2019Connor met in October of 1955, it was a meeting of minds\u2014one that they each would recall in their later writings. In many ways, O\u2019Connor embodied in her fiction the kind of imaginative conservatism that Kirk promoted throughout his life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
Just two years after the publication of Kirk\u2019s <\/span>The Conservative Mind<\/span><\/i>, O\u2019Connor was engaging seriously with his work. She read and reviewed his books\u2014including <\/span>Beyond the Dreams of Avarice<\/span><\/i>\u2014in her diocesan newspaper. Recognizing his influence, she wrote: \u201cMr. Kirk has managed in a succession of books which have proved both scholarly and popular \u2026 to make the voice of an intelligent and vigorous conservative thought respected in this country.\u201d O\u2019Connor also recommended Kirk\u2019s work to others and seriously explored the ideas of other leading conservative scholars of her time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This online master class, \u201cThe Conservative as Artist,\u201d explores Flannery O\u2019Connor as a writer whose work reveals the moral imagination at the heart of the conservative tradition. Participants will consider the moral philosophy of Flannery O’Connor by analyzing selected short stories such as “The Lame Shall Enter First” and “Good Country People.” The course will focus on O’Connor’s use of darkness to illuminate the realities of the ethical life. Comparisons will be made between O’Connor and fiction writers like Cormac McCarthy and Herman Melville.<\/span><\/p>\n

Open to students, teachers, young professionals, and lifelong learners, this online master class is an initiative of the new School of Conservative Studies at the Russell Kirk Center. Enrollment is limited to no more than 15 participants to ensure a high-quality learning experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

To Apply<\/b>: <\/span>Applications are due by August 19, 2025<\/strong>. Early application is recommended. P<\/span>lease send a resume and letter of interest to Darrell Falconburg at dfalconburg@kirkcenter.org.<\/p>\n

About the Instructor: <\/b>Michael P. Federici is a Senior Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center. He is also Professor and former Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), where he currently serves as Faculty Senate President. He previously taught for twenty-four years at Mercyhurst University, where he chaired the department for seven years, served as Faculty Senate President, and sat on the university\u2019s Board of Trustees. Federici earned his B.S. in economics from Elizabethtown College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in politics from The Catholic University of America. In addition to numerous scholarly articles and reviews, he is the author or editor of six books, including <\/span>The Challenge of Populism<\/span><\/i> (1991), <\/span>Eric Voegelin: The Restoration of Order<\/span><\/i> (2002), <\/span>The Political Philosophy of Alexander Hamilton<\/span><\/i> (2012), <\/span>Rethinking the Teaching of American History<\/span><\/i> (edited, 2012), <\/span>The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics<\/span><\/i> (co-edited, 2013), and <\/span>The Catholic Writings of Orestes Brownson<\/span><\/i> (2019). <\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> Michael P. Federici, Ph.D.Professor and former Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Middle Tennessee State University   Time: Tuesdays, 7:00 \u2013 8:30 pm ETDates: September 9, 16, 23, and 30Faculty: Dr. Michael P. FedericiLocation: OnlineTuition: $100 (due upon acceptance) DescriptionWhen Russell Kirk and Flannery O\u2019Connor met in October of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":45009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[380],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/The-American-Political-Novel-All-the-Kings-Men.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44176"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44246,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44176\/revisions\/44246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirkcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}