I'm a Straussian, and though not super conservative I get along well with them. My question is, what is job placement like from Hillsdale College?
Hillsdale
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Are you vaguely Straussian at all? I'm a Boston College Straussian from a years back. My two cents:
BC has Landy who is pretty good on this stuff. He is one of the most open minded conservatives you will ever meet. Plus the education in classical political philosophy that you get from Bartlett will put you in a very good position to see the problems and questions of the founding/progressives clearly.
UT Austin has Jeff Tulis who is pretty good; but to be honest, I haven't been very impressed by his students from the last 5+ years.
UVA Ceaser is one of the best. Very good guy in addition to being very smart.
Baylor- David Nichols is one of Ceaser's first students and very good on the founding/progressives. They are hiring another Americanist right now, so maybe wait and see who they pick up. Program is probably about to get a lot better or a lot worse.
Hilldale- this place is not quite as crazy as it is reputed to be, but, its reputation for craziness will make it hard to get a job.
Claremont- more or less the same advice as for Hilldale, except that they have been around a lot longer. I applied here, but their funding for students is very wonky, and not a good deal.
Dallas- A lot of their best Americanists left, but the books/writings that you read are still very good, and you could expect a wonderful education. Stipend is pitiful, so get ready to take on some loans.
Michigan State might not be bad, but I just don't think Kautz is very smart. Some of his writings are pretty good, but meeting him in person a few times has led me to suspect that he might not be a very good teacher.
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Why does someone keep trying to get post critical of Hillsdale removed by the mods? I know the Straussian persecution complex runs deep, but someone asked a legitimate question and probably deserves a legitimate answer.
Which is: maybe you'll get a bigger stipend for a few years (if Alf is correct). And maybe (almost certainly) it'll be the easiest road for admission. But if your ultimate aim is to find academic employment when you get out? You almost certainly want to strengthen your credentials and go somewhere else. Preferably UVA, which would give you a meaningfully pluralist training in political theory -- and render you hireable beyond a narrow cadre of departments. But really, any of the schools mentioned would be better.
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I admire Hillsdale for carving out its own niche and emphasizing basic principles and values. Not for everybody, but it is kind of refreshing to see a few institutions avoiding mindless conformity. They are sending the right message to undergraduates about the purpose of college.
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Yeah, I was thinking more of undergrad than graduate students. I went to a Big Ten for my PhD and have no regrets. The small, mediocre university where I teach wouldn't dare make the kind of austere "great books, lots of studying, code of conduct" appeal to potential freshmen. We emphasize how much fun you will have here, the professors really like you and give you a lot of breaks, and you will get job training. Thank goodness they say they, otherwise we would have no students. They certainly wouldn't come here for the promise of intellectual enlightenment or the chance to rub elbows with my colleagues or me.
^ Even if you buy those appeals to "mindless conformity" and "basic principles" or "basic values" (obviously contentious, but whatever), the point still stands. OP would be ill-served to go there if his/her ultimate goal is to find academic employment.
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Yeah, I was thinking more of undergrad than graduate students. I went to a Big Ten for my PhD and have no regrets. The small, mediocre university where I teach wouldn't dare make the kind of austere "great books, lots of studying, code of conduct" appeal to potential freshmen. We emphasize how much fun you will have here, the professors really like you and give you a lot of breaks, and you will get job training. Thank goodness they say they, otherwise we would have no students. They certainly wouldn't come here for the promise of intellectual enlightenment or the chance to rub elbows with my colleagues or me.
You make a reasonable argument, but I think that you underestimate the potential of the average American student. Fifty years ago, many people went to college BOTH to have fun AND to develop their minds (of course, quite a few went to get out of the draft). It would be refreshing, or at least a lot less demoralizing, if our colleges and universities were to aim a little higher when it comes to the aims of education.
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My students are just fine and most of them, deep down, DO want to be challenged and DO see college as a wonderful opportunity to expand their minds. At least they start out that way, then they get brainwashed and jaded by the culture. The students our university hires as "tour guides" for visiting potential freshmen and their parents provide all kinds of comments about how you can cut corners and still get by.(I've overheard them as they pass by on the college tour). Many of our student-oriented administrative staff make the same kinds of arguments and, sadly, so do many of my colleagues. I probably do as well sometimes, much to my chagrin. Then the partying really kicks in. And the challenge gets watered down and forgotten.
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MM does good work, but it's more despite his Straussian orientation than because of it. Sad he had to choose between smart wingnuts at Hillsdale and the brain-dead masses at CNU, but such is life. The rest are egregious hacks. No sane person should contemplate pursuing a PhD there, unless you're an independently wealthy hobbyist.