Past Forbidden courses

Join courageous academics and leaders to explore the great questions of our time

Why Forbidden Courses?

man in a suit pointing at a white board with writing on it

At UATX, we recognize that truth-seeking requires courage, rational judgment, and intellectual humility. Changing our minds is not a sign of weakness, but of strength and maturity.

We named our summer program Forbidden Courses because higher education has made it difficult to inquire openly into vexing questions with honesty and without fear of shame.

The end is not to prove that we are right. Rather, our program brings diverse minds together so that we can clarify what we do and do not know. This passionate pursuit of truth, however elusive it may be, is at the heart of all of our programs.

mission

Each summer, UATX gathers curious minds from around the world to cultivate the habits of civil discourse. Via small discussion-based seminars, lectures, and social activities, our students join courageous academics and leaders to explore the great questions of our time.

2023 courses

session 1

June 18-24, 2023
Plus iconMinus icon
stained glass window of a church with a man kneeling
Science & Christianity
Do Christianity and science flourish together, mutually informing and enriching one other, or are they fundamentally at odds?

In this course, we will examine major points of tension and synergy between Christianity and science — considering evolution, extraterrestrial intelligence, consciousness, and particulars of the Christian faith. Through open discussion, students will be encouraged to think more deeply about their own beliefs. Readings will include works by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Thomas Nagel, David Bentley Hart, John F. Haught, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and Bishop Robert Barron.

a close up of a man with a beard smiling at the camera
Dorian Abbot
Associate Professor of Geophysics, University of Chicago
Author of Heterodox STEM and 90+ Scientific Papers
About
man in a suit and white shirt smiling at the camera
David Ruth
Dean of the center for STEM, UATX
About
araful city street at night with cars and pedestrians in the middle
The Psychology of Morality
In this seminar, we will explore the psychological factors that influence moral beliefs and behaviors.

We will consider the origins and development of moral reasoning, the role of intuitions and emotions in moral considerations, and the cultural and social factors that shape judgments of right and wrong. Students will learn about psychological theories and research on morality, and will have the opportunity to analyze and discuss the polarization of moral views, political correctness, the disconnect between intentions and actions, and why well-meaning people disagree. Readings will include works by Jonathan Haidt, Paul Bloom, and Geoffrey Goodwin.

man in a suit and tie standing in front of trees
Rob Henderson
UATX Founding Faculty Fellow
Writer for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Quillette, and Substack
About
painting of a painting of angels and demons on a ceiling
Writing Sexual Politics
Political narratives often attempt to reduce or flatten the complexity of human experience. Yet, sex and the realities of gender imbalance require more subtlety than is often afforded by the writers of standard feminist texts.

In this course, we will (i) consider how to write and think in a rigorous manner about issues of sexual politics and (ii) tackle the nuances and intricacies of such issues without resorting to easy or reductive political narratives. Readings will include works by Simone De Beauvoir, Joan Didion, Virginia Woolf, and Zadie Smith.

woman with curly hair and a black top
Katie Roiphe
Professor of Journalism, New York University
Author of The Morning After: Sex, Fear, Feminism; In Praise of Messy Lives; and The Violet Hour
About
chess pieces on a chess board with a white king in the middle
Anglo-American Grand Strategy
The United States has been the predominant power in global politics since the end of the Second World War. Taking over from the British, America has pursued a grand strategy focused on safeguarding the maritime, global, and commercial order — a strategy that has been shaped by both domestic and foreign interests.

In this seminar, students will examine the history of Anglo-American grand strategy with an eye toward future global power struggles. Readings will include Walter Russell Mead’s God & Gold and select Wall Street Journal columns.

there is a man with glasses and a beard wearing a suit
Walter Russell Mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy & Statesmanship, Hudson Institute
Global View Columnist, The Wall Street Journal
About
Minimize Session

session 2

June 25-July 1, 2023
Plus iconMinus icon
statue of lady justice holding scales of justice and sword
Racial Inequality in America
This seminar surveys the social disadvantage of African Americans in the United States from the perspectives of economics, sociology, politics, and history.

Students will be encouraged to take a holistic view of the relevant issues including racial affirmative action, reparations for past injustices, and inequalities in the criminal justice system. Readings will include works by Thomas Sowell, Glenn Loury, Brendan O'Flaherty, and Rajiv Sethi.

smiling man with glasses and a plaid shirt sitting at a table
Glenn Loury
Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Science, Brown University
Creator of the Glenn Show and Paulson Fellow at the Manhattan Institute
ABout
view of a building with columns and a clock on the top
Conservatives & Reactionaries
In journalism, and even in scholarship, the terms conservative and reactionary are often used interchangeably notwithstanding important conceptual differences between them.

We will first explore these differences, and then discuss contemporary political debates on the right in light of them. Readings will include works by Edmund Burke, William F. Buckley, Eric Voegelin, Adrian Vermeule, Patrick Deneen, and Rod Dreher.

man with glasses and a suit jacket looking at the camera
Mark Lilla
Professor of Humanities, Columbia University
Author of The Once and future Liberal: After Identity Politics
About
a close up of a drawing of a circular object on a surface
The Invasion of Ideology into Evolutionary Biology
In this course, we will examine the intrusion of ideology in biology. We will focus on five topics: (i) sexual selection and the nature of sex and gender (is sex binary?); (ii) genetic variation behind human traits (heritability of traits); (iii) human population genetics (are there human races?); (iv) evolutionary psychology (do men and women have different evolved behaviors?); and (v) the role of indigenous knowledge in biology (are there other ways of knowing?).

The course will have lectures and debates focusing on controversial areas; sides will be assigned and students may have to defend positions with which they personally disagree. Readings will include works by Steve Stewart-Williams and various scientific papers.

smiling woman in red shirt holding a cell phone in her hand
Luana Maroja
Chair of biochemistry and molecular biology & professor of biology, Williams college
Author of 30+ scientific papers and recipient of awards from the national science foundation
ABOUT
image of a couple embracing in a painting
The Battle of the Sexes
At present, relations between men and women are shot through with a dreary political moralism. There is little sense of play, or delighting in sexual differences. How did we get to this point? Whence our determination to feminize the male, butch up the female, and conceive the act of love on the model of a legal contract? How might this trajectory express a central tendency of our broader political regime? Is there a way out?

To answer these questions, we will read a collection of historical works, cultural criticism, and political philosophy. Readings will include works by William Shakespeare, Christopher Lasch, Ivan Illich, and Camille Paglia, as well as selections from the Book of Genesis.

man in a black shirt and a black shirt
Matthew B. Crawford
Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia
Author of Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the value of work
About
there is a woman with a surfboard in her hand
Marilyn Simon
Author at Quillette
Instructor of English, University of Winnipeg
About
Minimise Session

2022 courses

session 1

June 18-24, 2022
Plus iconMinus icon
Books library
Critical Thinking and Freedom of Expression
Readings include selections from John Stuart Mill, Kathleen Stock, Stephen Feldman, and more.

there is a woman that is looking at the camera
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
About
Sky black and white
Global Warming
Readings include selections from SciTechnol, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (USDC), Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The Review of Economics and Statistics, and more.

smiling man
Dorian Abbot
Associate Professor of Geophysics, University of Chicago
Author of Heterodox STEM and 90+ Scientific Papers
About
view of a building
Freedom and Unfreedom: Lesson of the 20th Century
Readings include selections from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Czesław Miłosz, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, Sinclair Lewis, and more.

there is a man in a suit and tie standing outside
Niall Ferguson
Historian, The Hoover Institution at Stanford University
About
view of a castle with a clock tower and a lake
The Psychology of Social Status
Readings include selections from Pierre Bourdieu, Charles Murray, Robert Abelson, Paul Fussell, and more.

man in a suit and white shirt standing in front of trees
Rob Henderson
UATX Founding Faculty Fellow
Writer for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Quillette, and Substack
About
Minimize Session

session 2

June 25-July 1, 2022
Plus iconMinus icon
silhouette of a person
The Opium of Ideology
Readings include selections from Aristotle, Fyodor Dostoevsky, George Orwell, Soren Kierkegaard, Alexis de Tocqueville, the Bible, and more.

man in a suit and pink shirt smiling at the camera
Jacob Howland
Provost and Dean of Intellectual Foundations
ABout
factory with smoke coming out of it at night
Capitalism: Tragedy or Triumph?
Readings include selections from Ludwig von Mises, David Harvey, Deirdre McCloskey, The Communist Manifesto, and more.

blond woman sitting in a red chair with a bookcase in the background
Deirdre McCloskey
distinguished professor emerita of economics and of history, University of Illinois at Chicago
About
women in long dresses and hats are walking down a street
Varieties of Feminism and their Political Subjects
Readings include selections of John Stuart Mill, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Mary Harrington, Catherine A. MacKinnon, and more.

smiling woman in blue shirt standing in front of a brick wall
Kathleen Stock
Philosopher and author
ABOUT
a close up of a flag with the sun shining through it
Learning from Native Sons: The Pain, Rage, and Hope of America's Most Loyal Critics
Readings include selections from Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and more.

man in blue shirt sitting on chair with a remote control
Thomas Chatterton Williams
Author
Visiting professor of humanities and senior fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College
About
a gray and white logo with a flag and a building
Instructor
Position
About
Minimise Session

Voices of

there is a large tower that is in the middle of a city

UATX

UATX's First-Ever High School Program
play video
Why One of Our Polaris Fellows Quit McKinsey
play video
Kathleen Stock & Deirdre McCloskey's Groundbreaking Debate
play video
Forbidden Courses Highlights (2022)
play video
next arrow in dark colornext arrow in gold colornext arrow in dark colornext arrow in gold color

2023

2023 lecturers

lecturers

plus icon  circle
Marc Andreessen
General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
plus icon  circle
Elisheva Avishai
Co-director
plus icon  circle
Johnathan Bi
Founding Team, Opto; René Girard Scholar
plus icon  circle
Peter Boghossian
Founding Faculty Fellow, UATX
plus icon  circle
Adrian Walker
Professor of Philosophy and Dogmatics, St. Patrick's Seminary
plus icon  circle
Shilo Brooks
Assistant Director, James Madison Program and Lecturer, Princeton University
plus icon  circle
Carlos Carvalho
Professor of Statistics, UT-Austin
plus icon  circle
Meghan Daum
Author, Journalist, Podcaster
plus icon  circle
Seth Dillon
CEO, The Babylon Bee
plus icon  circle
Richard Hanania
President, Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology
plus icon  circle
Sarah Hepola
NYT Bestselling Author & Podcaster
plus icon  circle
Erik Larson
Writer, Tech Entrepreneur, Computer Scientist
plus icon  circle
Joe Lonsdale
CEO of 8VC, Co-Founder of Palantir
plus icon  circle
Winston Marshall
Musician & Public Thinker
plus icon  circle
Antonio García Martínez
Author & Tech Entrepreneur
plus icon  circle
Christopher Nadon
Associate Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College
plus icon  circle
Pawel Pogorzelski
Cinematographer (Hereditary, Midsommar, Nobody)
plus icon  circle
Guillermo Rauch
Vercel, CEO
plus icon  circle
Ilana Redstone
Co-director
plus icon  circle
Nancy Rommelmann
Author, Journalist, Podcaster
plus icon  circle
Michael Shellenberger
Author & Journalist
plus icon  circle
Michael Shermer
Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, host of The Michael Shermer Show
plus icon  circle
Kathleen Stock
Founding Faculty Fellow, UATX
plus icon  circle
Nadine Strossen
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
plus icon  circle
Bari Weiss
Founder, The Free Press
plus icon  circle
Kevin D. Williamson
National Correspondent, The Dispatch

24

2022 recap

details And Requirements

Eligibility

Applicants must be at least 18 years old by the start of the program. Although UATX's Forbidden Courses summer program is a full-time, week-long commitment primarily designed for undergraduates, recent graduates, and graduate students, we will accept and consider applications from those who meet the minimum age requirement.

Location & Dates

Old Parkland campus in Dallas, Texas.

Session One: June 18-24, 2023
Session Two: June 25-July 1, 2023

FAQ

Are applicants required to be U.S. citizens?

No. Applicants are not required to be U.S. citizens, but they must be proficient in the English language. At this time, UATX cannot provide assistance with visa applications.

Are there age or education requirements for participation in this program?

Applicants must be at least 18 years old by the start of the program in order to apply. There are no specific education requirements.

Is there a deadline to apply?

Applications are now closed.

What is required to apply?

Applicants must submit each of the following: CV or résumé; unofficial college or high school transcript; unofficial standardized test score record (e.g., SAT or ACT; applicants without a score to report must explain why this is the case); statement of purpose (750 word limit); two short essays (500 and 250 word limits, respectively); and a writing sample (15 page limit).

What is the cost to attend?

Tuition, lodging, and most meals are free, plus a $300 travel stipend.

May I apply to one or two sessions?

This program is divided into two sessions, June 18–24 and June 25–July 1, 2023. You may only apply for one session (i.e., week) of the program. As part of your application, you must select whether you are applying for week one or two. You will also be asked to rank your seminar preferences.

Further questions?

Please email programs@uaustin.org

What others are saying

“This was the first time since I started college that I have felt like I truly learned something.”

UATX Student
From Dartmouth College

“If I were a high school senior, looking for a college to go to, my first choice would be...the University of Austin. In. A. Heartbeat.”

Malcolm Gladwell
Journalist, Author, & Public Speaker

“Let me tell you, that was the best educational experience I’ve ever had in my life.”

UATX Student
From UT-Austin

“UATX gave [my daughter] the increasingly rare opportunity for true intellectual exploration in an environment that valued civil discourse, open inquiry, and the pursuit of truth.”

Mother of UATX Student

“For the first time in my life, I truly felt comfortable expressing any views I believed in and was able to have healthy disagreement.”

UATX Student
From the University of British Columbia

“I just love that people [at UATX] are building something and trying to do it better.”

Andrew Yang
Businessman & Political Candidate

“I truly feel like I’ve learned more here than I’ve learned in my undergraduate experience in college, in just a short amount of time.”

UATX Student
From Brown University

“The most hope-giving event in higher ed in years: the launch of University of Austin, a new university constructed around the telos of truth. I want my kids to go there.”

Jonathan Haidt
Social Psychologist, New York University

“I was at the Forbidden Courses for a week. It felt like a lifetime. I think that’s because we did so much living. Every conversation was a full spiritual meal.”

UATX Student
From Thomas Aquinas College
next arrow in dark colornext arrow in dark color

Schools represented by our Students

Yale University
Wellesley College
Washington and Lee University
University of Virginia
University of Toronto
University of Texas at Austin
University of Pennsylvania
University of Oxford
University of Notre Dame
University of Michigan
University of Melbourne
University of Chicago
University of Central Florida
University of Cambridge
University of California Los Angeles
Yale University
Wellesley College
Washington and Lee University
University of Virginia
University of Toronto
University of Texas at Austin
University of Pennsylvania
University of Oxford
University of Notre Dame
University of Michigan
University of Melbourne
University of Chicago
University of Central Florida
University of Cambridge
University of California Los Angeles
University of Bristol
University College London
University College Dublin
Université du Québec à Montréal
Universidad Francisco Marroquin
Universidad de Granada
Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico
Tulane University
TU Munich
Thomas Aquinas College
The University of Edinburgh
The New School
The Juilliard School
The American University of Paris
Texas A&M University
University of Bristol
University College London
University College Dublin
Université du Québec à Montréal
Universidad Francisco Marroquin
Universidad de Granada
Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico
Tulane University
TU Munich
Thomas Aquinas College
The University of Edinburgh
The New School
The Juilliard School
The American University of Paris
Texas A&M University
Stanford University
St. John's College
Sorbonne Université
Schwarzman College/Tsinghua University
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus
Rice University
Princeton University
Pennsylvania State University
Ohio State University
Occidental College
Northwestern University
Northumbria University
Northeastern University
New York University
Stanford University
St. John's College
Sorbonne Université
Schwarzman College/Tsinghua University
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus
Rice University
Princeton University
Pennsylvania State University
Ohio State University
Occidental College
Northwestern University
Northumbria University
Northeastern University
New York University
National Intelligence University
Monmouth University
Middlebury College
McGill University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
London School of Economics
LMU Munich
King's College London
Indiana University- Bloomington
Imperial College London
Hong Kong University
Hillsdale College
HEC Montréal
Harvard University
Georgetown University
National Intelligence University
Monmouth University
Middlebury College
McGill University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
London School of Economics
LMU Munich
King's College London
Indiana University- Bloomington
Imperial College London
Hong Kong University
Hillsdale College
HEC Montréal
Harvard University
Georgetown University
Ecole Normale Supérieure
Duke University
Dartmouth College
Cornell University
Columbia University
College of William & Mary
Clemson University
Claremont McKenna College
Catholic University of Paris
Carnegie Mellon University
Brown University
Brigham Young University
Boston University
Boston College
Baylor University
Ecole Normale Supérieure
Duke University
Dartmouth College
Cornell University
Columbia University
College of William & Mary
Clemson University
Claremont McKenna College
Catholic University of Paris
Carnegie Mellon University
Brown University
Brigham Young University
Boston University
Boston College
Baylor University

Learn more

Undergraduate Program (Fall 2024)

Our distinctive undergraduate curriculum will combine the rich and varied inheritance of the past with the most compelling ideas of the present to help students see things whole, form sound judgment, and translate knowing into doing and making. Students will train with the world’s leading scholars and innovators, while creating and building with purpose.

MORE
Our Principles

UATX prepares thoughtful and ethical innovators, builders, leaders, public servants and citizens through open inquiry and civil discourse. Our commitment to the pursuit of truth arises from our confidence that the nature of reality can be discerned, albeit incompletely, by those who seek to understand it, and from our belief that the quest to know, though unending, is an ennobling, liberating, and productive endeavor.

MORE
News & Updates

"It's An Academic Dream Team"

"'We Don't Want To Be Yale': New UATX Constructing A Different Model Of Excellence"

"How To Build A University Unafraid Of True Intellectual Diversity"

More