Emerging Ideas Seminar and Lunch with The Hedgehog Review Associate Editor Nick Burns

Join us to discuss Nick’s book project, currently in the form of his recent essay with American Affairs and a draft of his book proposal. The project focuses on the persistence of a certain kind of risky speculative action—perhaps a legacy of the frontier ethos—wherein people undertake illegal enterprises that appear to have beneficial outcomes, effectively gambling that the state and public opinion will ultimately decide in their favor. Nick calls this ‘filibusterism’. As he says in the opening paragraphs of his proposal:

“What’s the right term for behavior like this, when people defy the law, hoping to get on the right side of it later? “Filibustering” is probably not the first word that comes to mind. But in the 1850s, it was the word of choice to describe just that. Instead of a delaying tactic in the Senate, filibustering then referred in general to aggressive, heedless conduct—and in particular, to a gray-eyed journalist from Tennessee who tried several times to take over the country of Nicaragua…”

Please RSVP by email to victoria.williamson@iasculture.org to join us for lunch. We will share the essay and proposal to read in advance. 

For those who would like to attend remotely, you can find the zoom link here. We look forward to seeing you on Oct. 16th at Watson Manor, 3 University Circle, Charlottesville VA 22903, or via zoom.