Read the latest news from Scrutopia HERE.
When fear leads to tyranny. Democracy is being quietly redefined. By Jonathan Sumption
This is the fourth and final lecture in the inaugural series of Sir Roger Scruton Memorial Lectures delivered at the Sheldonian Theatre on 27 October 2021.
You can view this lecture online via YouTube
We are pleased to share the link to the new Czech translation of Conversations with Roger Scruton by Dr Mark Dooley. https://www.bookspipes.cz/hovory-s-rogerem-scrutonem
This inaugural series of free public lectures will honour Roger's legacy by inviting eminent public intellectuals to speak on four topics within an overarching theme.
Each lecture will be held at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, UK.
Doors open at 4:30 pm, and the lectures begin at 5 pm.
Niall Ferguson on the Future of the Anglosphere
18 OCTOBER, 2021
Niall Ferguson is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard. He is the author of many bestselling books and his most recent, ‘Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe,’ was published by Penguin Press on May 4 2021.
Tom Holland on Puritanism and Iconoclasm
20 OCTOBER, 2021
Tom Holland is an award-winning historian, biographer and broadcaster. He is the author of many bestselling books and his most recent, ‘Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind,’ was published in 2019 by Little, Brown.
Marwa Al-Sabouni on Beauty and Home
25 OCTOBER, 2021
Marwa Al-Sabouni is a critically acclaimed architect and the author of ‘The Battle for Home: Memoir of a Syrian Architect’ (2016) and ‘Building for Hope: Towards and Architecture of Belonging’ (2021), both published by Thames & Hudson.
Jonathan Sumption on Democracy
27 OCTOBER, 2021
Jonathan Sumption is a renowned historian and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Four instalments of his critically acclaimed history of the Hundred Years’ War have been published between 1990 and 2015, all by Faber & Faber.
Four Fellowships for the Roger Scruton Philosophy Symposium were awarded to Ms Maria Kadzielska, Ms Nino Gabelashvili, Mr Bartosz Wesol, and Mr Valentino Findirk. The Fellowships are part of the New Generations Research Exchange organised by the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, University of Oxford in collaboration with the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Warsaw, the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb and the Humane Philosophy Project with generous support from the John Templeton Foundation. We are delighted to share their feedback HERE.
Budapest Scrutopia Meeting Tuesday 11th - Sunday 16th April 2023
Alumni Meeting Saturday 1st - Wednesday 5th July 2023
Scrutopia Summer School Friday 21st - Friday 28th July 2023
Applications are now open. For all enquiries, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
COURSE SUMMARY
We hope you will join us this summer for our unique philosophy programmes inspired by the life and work of the late Sir Roger Scruton. Scrutopia is a destination like no other designed for enquiring minds.
o Residential in the heart of The Cotswolds.
o A truly international environment
o Accommodation, meals, tuition, and cultural programme with tours of artistic and historic sites
o Daily lectures with world class lecturers.
o Inspirational programme, including excursions to Sundey Hill Farm, home to the Scruton family
o Now running for the 6th successful year
KEY DETAILS
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
o Classes and tuition
o Guest lectures by academic speakers
o Accommodation at the Royal Agricultural University
o Breakfast, lunch, and evening meals
o Carefully selected wines from across the globe
o A wide selection of afternoon and evening activities including a concert of
Chamber music in the Scruton Library performed by musicians Roger knew and admired.
ACCOMMODATION
Set in magnificent grounds, The Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester is a Victorian Gothic college following the ideals set by Ruskin for Oxford Colleges. Each en-suite bedroom offers lovely views across the beautiful Cotswold landscape.
TUITION
The Scrutopia faculty network is extensive. You can expect brilliant daily lectures given by our faculty of scholars who themselves have been inspired and encouraged by Roger’s work, teaching, and friendship. Each student will have the
o Saturday 1st - Wednesday 5th July 2023 - Alumni Meeting
o Friday 21st – Friday 28th July 2023 - Scrutopia Summer School o All ages welcome
o Inclusive course fee
o Alumni Meeting £1,850
o Scrutopia Summer Meeting £3,300
VISITS & ACTIVITIES
Scrutopia emerged from Sundey Hill Farm, the home of the Scruton family. The visits will include guided farm walk, a BBQ with locally sourced produce and a concert of chamber music performed in the Scruton Library. The daily philosophy classes will be interspersed with visits to nearby historical sites including Malmesbury which will provide an experience of the historical depth of this unique part of England.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Travel and Insurance
o We do not book flights but can provide useful suggestions once you arrive in England. All travel during the programme itself is included in the course fee.
o You will need to take out your own travel insurance policy. Scholarships and Fellowships
o We are delighted to be offer limited spaces to students who are note able to self-fund and we are grateful to the organisations that have made this possible.
APPLY TO
Registration for the Scrutopia Summer School Programmes are now open. The fee for the course will cover board and lodging and all other costs. Travel to and from the event will be the responsibility of each participant. A 10% deposit will be required to secure your place.
Please apply to: Sophie Scruton, Programme Director Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: + 44(0)1666 510327
Horsell’s Farm Enterprises, Brinkworth, Wiltshire. SN15 5AS
Read all the latest from Scrutopia HERE.
Roger Scruton is the heretic we need
The secret radical had no time for lying fools
BY DOUGLAS MURRAY
After the demise of great men and women, their reputations often dip. Fulsome obituaries are usually followed by a fall-off in interest. It takes time for the new generation to discover the greats afresh and for their reputations to regenerate. But I doubt this rule would ever have applied to Roger Scruton.
The philosopher’s standing was at its height when he died last year at the age of 75. The second of his three great books on Wagner had recently come out; his advice was sought by the British Government; conservative intellectuals and politicians across Europe were eager to seek his approval. His life ended just as his reputation reached the stage it ought to have been at for decades: though by the time he died he had become Sir Roger Scruton, he had spent many years in a type of intellectual isolation, if not wilderness.
Confessions of a Heretic is a selection of otherwise uncollected essays which deal with some subjects of Scruton’s ire. They also tackle the timeless issues to which he dedicated a lifetime of energy. Although Scruton is generally referred to as a “conservative philosopher,” he ought simply to be referred to as a “philosopher”. The deepest works in this book — his “Effing the Ineffable” and his “Reflection on Strauss’s Metamorphosen,” for example — go far deeper than mere politics.
Read the full article HERE.
This week we have successfully completed our Alumni meeting and we were able to enjoy terrific lectures with Samuel Hughes, Mark Almond and Anthony O’Hear among others. Visits to local places of interest and glorious weather helped us to rekindle friendships in a thought provoking and stimulating environment.
- Scrutopia Summer School 2021
- The Future of Conservatism: Ed Husain at the Universidad de Verano 2021
- News from Scrutopia - 27th July 2021
- Hungarian Coffee Shop, The Times - 15 June 21
- Fellowship Announcement
- View from your table, The American Conservative - April 2021
- The Secret University, The Critic - May 2021
- Letter from Budapest, The Critic - May 2021
- News from Scrutopia - 30th April 2021
- David Matthews - Thoughts from a Life: Opera as an Art