Churchill seminar draws teachers, British scholars

By: David Steffen

Posted: 4/23/09

The Winston Churchill statue enjoyed its finest hour last weekend when the Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence sponsored its first seminar on the former British prime minister.

"You've got three of the greatest Churchill scholars in the world," said John Ramsden, professor emeritus of history at the University of London. "There's nowhere else that's got three in one place."

The Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence held the seminar for 69 educators April 16 to April 19 on campus. The teachers came from across the country and included public, private, home-school and charter-school teachers. Ramsden delivered a speech during the seminar.

Hillsdale College Professor of Political Science Robert Eden, Assistant Professor of Political Science Will Morrisey and President Larry Arnn discussed Churchill's statesmanship in particular.

"What we mean by a statesman is somebody who is a 'great politikos,'" Morissey said. "And what Aristotle and Churchill meant by 'great politikos' is a magnanimous or great soul."

Morrisey said Churchill is an important figure to study because he is an outstanding leader in the political realm.

"You need the best specimen to study [a subject]," Morrisey said. "Similarly, if you're going to talk about politics, you need a good specimen of a great political leader."

The Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence, an organization Hillsdale launched in 2001, provides six to eight graduate-level seminars every year for teachers, who are required to attend them to maintain certification. It holds about half of them on campus, said David Bobb, the center's director. He said the program discusses content rather than teaching techniques.

"The idea is that we teach from primary-source documents," Bobb said. "Instead of reading about the Constitution, we read the Constitution. It's all content - we don't talk about methodology."

Last weekend's CTE was the first one to collaborate with the Chicago-based Churchill Center, Bobb said. The center organizes regional and state Churchill societies.

"It was a pleasure, and just from start to finish a really fine collaboration," he said. "We look forward to working with them more in the future."

Ramsden, the only outside speaker at the seminar, spoke about Churchill's political career, including his move from the British Conservative Party to the Liberal Party. in Churchill studies," he said.

Ramsden said he was aware of Hillsdale through Churchill seminars worldwide. There, he met various Hillsdale faculty members, including Arnn and Eden.

Associate Professor of History David Raney said Ramsden's British point of view enhanced the program.

"I was especially pleased that Dr. Ramsden was able to speak," Raney said. "He added a unique British flavor to the program."

Morrisey said Ramsden is an authority on Churchill both in Britain and abroad.

"He's a very prominent professor among Churchill scholars," Morrisey said. "He's one of those English scholars that knows everything in his field."

Ramsden said he enjoyed speaking at Hillsdale. Many faculty and students at Hillsdale are more informed about Churchill than the average Briton, he said. British students study Churchill in school, Ramsden said, but not to the extent many Americans do. He said he was glad to speak about his nation's former prime minister to the college.

"It's a great pleasure to be here and to talk about Churchill, a person who is obviously so important," Ramsden said.