The Benedict Option

The Problems of Culture in Times of Crisis

(Conference Dress Code: Coat and Tie)

Friday, 27 May

5:00-6:00 p.m.: Registration

6:00-7:00 p.m.: Reception/Cash Bar

7:00-9:00 p.m.: Dinner

Welcome: Michael P. Federici, Mercyhurst University, President of the APL

Chair: Daniel McCarthy, The American Conservative

Speaker: Rod Dreher, The American Conservative, “What Is the Benedict Option?”

9:00-11:00 p.m.: Hospitality Suite

Saturday, 28 May

8:00-8:30 a.m.: Late Registration

8:30-10:30 a.m.: Panel 1: The Things of God and Caesar: Theoretical Perspectives on the Benedict Option

Chair: R.V. Young, Modern Age

Moderator: Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

Presenter: Claes G. Ryn, The Catholic University of America

Presenter: David Walsh, The Catholic University of America

Presenter: Jeff Polet, Hope College

10:30-10:45 a.m.: Break/Refreshments

10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: Panel 2: Russell Kirk and the “Mecosta Option”

Chair: Ryan Holston, Virginia Military Institute

Presenter: Bruce P. Frohnen, Ohio Northern University College of Law

Presenter: Seth Vannatta, Morgan State University

Presenter: Ian Crowe, Russell Kirk Center

Presenter: Seth Bartee, East Tennessee State University

12:45-1:00 p.m.: Break

1:00-2:30 p.m.: Lunch

After Virtue, 35 Years Later: (Book Discussion)

Chair: James Matthew Wilson, Villanova University

Presenter: Matthew O’Brien, The Collegium Institute 

Presenter: Peter Wicks, The Elm Institute

2:30-3:30 p.m.: Break

3:30-5:30 p.m.: Panel 3: The Benedict Option and Scale

Chair: Mark T. Mitchell, Patrick Henry College

Presenter: Christopher Manion, American Foreign Policy Council

Presenter: William F. Byrne, St. John’s University

Presenter: Justin B. Litke, Belmont Abbey College

5:30-6:30 p.m.: Break

6:30-7:30 p.m.: Reception/Cash Bar

7:30-9:00 p.m.: Dinner

Chair: Richard M. Gamble, Hillsdale College

Speaker: Walter A. McDougall, University of Pennsylvania

9:00-11:00 p.m.: Hospitality Suite

Sunday, 29 May

9:00-10:00 a.m.: Member Meeting and Breakfast (Members Only)

10:00-12:00 p.m.: Panel 4: The Benedict Option Upon Us?

Chair: Justin D. Garrison, Roanoke College

Presenter: Winston Elliott III, The Imaginative Conservative

Presenter: Robert Delfino, St. John’s University

Presenter: Brian Mitchell The Academy of Philosophy and Letters

12:30-2:00 p.m.: APL Board of Directors Meeting