An Interview with David V. Hicks, Author of Norms and Nobility
Classical Education
Power, Morality, and Historical Revolutions
This chapter explores the relationship between power and morality, using historical events like the Bolshevik Revolution and the French Revolution as examples. It highlights how those in authority can manipulate moral constructs to justify their actions, drawing on Marxist philosophy to illuminate these themes.
About The Guest
David V. Hicks retired in 2015 as Chief Academic Officer for Meritas LLC, a company based in Chicago that owned and operated K-12 college preparatory schools worldwide. The day after his retirement, Meritas was sold to Nord Anglia Education.
Before joining Meritas, Hicks spent thirty years in independent education, heading St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Jackson, Mississippi; St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas; St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire; and the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia.
After graduating from The Stony Brook School (New York) in 1966, Hicks studied at Princeton where he majored in English and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1970. He then read for a master’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Jesus College, Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He later studied at the University of Moscow.
Hicks served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and is the youngest man ever to teach on the faculty of the Naval War College. In 1976, he ran for Congress in New York’s Westchester County in a race he narrowly lost to long-time incumbent Richard Ottinger. In 1981 his book, NORMS & NOBILITY: A TREATISE ON EDUCATION, won the Outstanding Book Award for Education from the American Library Association. In 1996, Hicks created a stir in boarding school communities around the United States when he published his essay, “The Strange Fate of the American Boarding School,” in The American Scholar. His and his brother Scot’s translation of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations was published by Scribner as THE EMPEROR'S HANDBOOK in 2002. Since then Scot and Davd have produced a series of annotated translations of Plutarch’s Lives for CiRCE: The Lawgivers; The Statesmen; and The Tyrant.
Forthcoming books by Hicks: The Stones Cry Out: Reflections on the Myths We Live By (CAP) and with Father Anthony Gilbert, Orthodox Christianity and Classical Education (SVP).
Hicks has served on numerous boards throughout the world, most recently including the TASIS Foundation (Switzerland), the Campion School (Greece), St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (New York), TASIS Dorado School (Puerto Rico), San Roberto International School (Mexico), and St. Peter’s Monastery Foundation (Montana).
Hicks and his wife Mary Elizabeth have four grown children and live on a ranch (West of the Moon) off the grid near Harrison, Montana. They are members of St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church In Bozeman.
Show Notes
- David shares about his education as a child into his early career and how it lead him towards writing Norms and Nobility.
- Adrienne and David dive into what it means to create a spirit of inquiry rooted in dialects.
- David delves into the thesis of Norms and Nobility and expands on the quote on page 18 of his book.
- David discusses what early Christian education looked like.
- David details about all his newer writing projects
David V. Hicks Resources
REISSUE of Norms and Nobility releases August 6, 2024 (look for the blue book with the introduction by Andrew Kern)
Orthodox Christianity and Classical Education: An Anthology edited by David V. Hicks (published by St. Vladimir's Press. Release date is not yet available)
The Stones Cry Out by David V. Hicks (CAP publishing- Preorder form is available here)
The Emporer's Handbook : A New Translation of the Meditations Trans. by David and Scot Hicks (the new paperback version is Marcus Arelius's Meditations also translated by Hicks)
The Plutarch books (all 3: The Lawgiver, The Statesman, The Tyrant) can be found on Circe Institute's website here.
Resources Mentioned
Thucydides (He did not mention what book, but this is the version that Dr. Matthew Post used for his classes at UD)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Book of Lost Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jabobs
The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture by Wendell Berry (audiobook is free on audible)
Plutarch's Lives
Singapore Math
The Psalter
Film: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Christianity and Classical Culture by Charles Norris Cochrane (free pdf here)
Past Guests on the Podcast who are Mentioned in this Episode:
RightStart Math
Teaching Math Like Socrates with Number Lab
Tending The Heart of Virtue: Vigen Guroian
Dr. Christopher Perrin on What is Classical Education?
Bryan Smith: A Sage in the Liberal Arts Tradition
______________________________
Beautiful Teaching is hosting an online classical education conference (Karen Glass is one of the keynote speakers).
https://www.beautifulteaching.com/conference
$20 off Discount Code:
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It is good through June 20.
Conference Recordings: All sessions will be recorded. Live attendance is greatly encouraged, but come and go as needed. The recording will be av...
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