The National Civic Art Society cordially invites you to a talk by NCAS President Justin Shubow on "Roger Scruton's Philosophy of Architecture." The talk will take place on Sunday May 19, 2024 at 9:40 AM at Georgetown University (Hariri Building, Room 450) in Washington, D.C.
The lecture is part of a conference, Roger Scruton: America, presented by The Center for American Culture and Ideas, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Ethics & Public Policy Center. The National Civic Art Society is a co-sponsor. Scruton, who passed away in 2020, served on NCAS's Board of Advisors.
Here is the abstract of Shubow's talk:
The leading philosopher of architecture of his time, Roger Scruton spent his life thinking and writing about the aesthetics of the built environment. He published such books as The Aesthetics of Architecture and The Classical Vernacular: Architectural Principles in an Age of Nihilism, along with numerous pieces of popular journalism on the subject. A staunch foe of Modernist architecture, Scruton argued for the superiority of the classical tradition, which he believed to be unparalleled in its capacity to produce beauty and harmony, and to make us feel at home in the world. Controversy exploded in Britain when he was appointed chairman of the UK government’s Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, which addressed the poor design of homes and places. A similar controversy has erupted in recent years in America as both President Trump and Congress have promoted classical and traditional design for federal buildings and U.S. courthouses. This talk will survey Scruton’s ideas about architecture as well as how his followers should respond to recent events in America.
About the speaker: Justin Shubow is president of the National Civic Art Society, a nonprofit organization that promotes the classical tradition in public art and architecture. He is former Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency comprising seven presidential appointees who are the aesthetic guardians of Washington, D.C. Shubow has testified in Congress on topics such as the future of the National Mall and the design of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. He is the author of The Gehry Towers over Eisenhower: The National Civic Art Society Report on the Eisenhower Memorial, a critical examination of the memorial’s competition, design, and agency approval.
He has published architectural criticism at Forbes online, First Things, Public Discourse, The Washington Post, and The Weekly Standard. Shubow is a former editor at Forward newspaper and Commentary magazine, and is a recipient of a Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship. He has delivered talks on architecture and other subjects at the U.S. Department of State, American Enterprise Institute, Baylor University, Colorado College, Hamilton College, and the Universities of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and others.
Shubow received a B.A. from Columbia University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and completed four years of study in the University of Michigan’s Ph.D. program in philosophy; he has taught philosophy courses as an instructor at the University of Michigan and Yale College. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation and the Board of Academic Advisors of the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization.
Register HERE.