Nova PhDs

A forum for grads of Villanova's Philosophy PhD program

History of Conservative Thought in America?
I could use some help.

I would like to do a long unit on American political development in the 20th Century. As a model for what I am looking for, think Richard Rorty's "Achieving our Country." He offers a narrative, analysis, and prognosis of liberal/left thought from roughly the New Deal to the late 1990's. Does anyone know of a similar sort of work -- or, say, an essay or chapter of a book - that would do something similar but from a conservative perspective? I have looked at D'Souza's "Letters to a Young Conservative," but it isn't the quality of Rorty's work (and it offers an inordinate amount of time to various "stunts" he and his friends pulled at Dartmouth). -- Any suggestions are welcome.
Posted by Gregory Hoskins on Friday November 24, 2006 at 5:21pm
James K.A. Smith (mail) (www):
Greg, you might consider Russell Kirk's _The Conservative Mind_, though it doesn't run up to the 1990s. For something more up-to-date, but less punchy, see George H. Nash, _The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945_. Kirk, I think would have little to do with "neo-conservatism," whereas Nash (mistakenly, I think) seems to see a basic continuity between traditional "conservative" thought (in the vein of Burke) and the neo-cons.
11.25.2006 12:36pm
Farhang Erfani (mail):
I second the Russell Kirk recommendation. I found the Penguin "Portable Conservative Reader) also edited by Kirk useful:
http://tinyurl.com/vsoxl
11.27.2006 10:08am
J.C. Berendzen:
How about one of Irving Kristol's books, such as Neoconservatism: Autobiography of a Movement?
11.27.2006 9:50pm
Greg:
Thanks for the suggestions. I now have my pre-APA reading list set. Of course, if something else occurs to you, please suggest it. I will keep an eye on this discussion thread.
11.28.2006 10:57am
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