Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris. Applications open at the end of December; the deadline is February 28, 2027.
Founded in 2023, Academia Tocqueville is a twelve-day seminar which is located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Paris). The program is open to graduate students, as well as young professionals.
Over the course of their studies in Paris, guided by distinguished scholars and writers, participants study the French political tradition in its historical context.
They discover French conservatism’s critical and constructive engagement with Bonapartism and Caesarism. Finally, they discover how Catholic political thinkers interacted with French political thought.
Thinkers studied include Blaise Pascal, Charles-Louis de Montesquieu, Alexis de Tocqueville, François-René de Chateaubriand, Charles Péguy, Simone Weil, Georges Bernanos, Jacques Maritain, Charles de Gaulle and Raymond Aron.
A curriculum devoted to the French thinkers that American and British universities neglect. Seminars have been led by Rémi Brague, Chantal Delsol, Daniel J. Mahoney and Françoise Melonio, editor of Tocqueville’s collected works.
Students examine contemporary France with those who shape it. Past guests include a senator, a Member of Parliament, a Member of the European Parliament, a former Minister for Higher Education, a former Chief of the Defence Staff, a barrister at the Conseil d’État, writers and journalists.
Students visit hidden sites of Paris that are closed to tourists. Past visits include the Institut de France, the French Senate, the Grand Chancellery of the Legion of Honour, the Museum of the Order of the Liberation at Les Invalides and the church of Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes. Along the way, they discover French art and music and learn to tell a Bordeaux from a Burgundy.
Emeritus Professor, Sorbonne Université
Political philosopher, EHESS
Philosopher
Historian of the French Revolution and Napoleon
Senior Fellow, Claremont Institute
Professor of Political Theory, Georgetown University
Editor of Tocqueville’s collected works
Philosopher, Member of the European Parliament
