Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
  • In Person

America at 250: Liberal Education, Self-Government, and the Future of the Republic

Note: This is a past event, additional resources may be available below.

Wed Jul 8, 2026
On the left a picture of Shilo Brooks, a clean-shaven man in a suit. On the right, a photo of Todd Breyfogle, a bearded man in a base ball cap with sunglasses perched on the brim.

Date

Wed Jul 8, 2026
5:30pm – 6:30pm MDT

Location

Paepcke Auditorium
1000 N. Third Street
Aspen, CO

Contact

    [email protected]
    970.544.7970

Hosts

  1. Aspen Community Programs

Presented as part of the McCloskey Speaker Series.

Shilo Brooks, president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center and professor of practice in the Department of Political Science at Southern Methodist University, joins Todd Breyfogle, senior advisor for humanistic studies and practices at the Aspen Institute, for a conversation about the ideas and institutions that shape American democracy. Previously the executive director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, Brooks has spent his career exploring the principles that underlie the American political tradition and the role of liberal education in preparing citizens for thoughtful, engaged participation in civic life. As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, Brooks reflects on the enduring ideals at the heart of the American experiment and on the importance of reading, reflection, and civic learning to the project of self-government. Drawing on the great books and foundational texts from American history, he considers how these works can help us think for ourselves and participate more meaningfully in democratic life.
Paepcke Auditorium, doors at 5:00 pm

Registration
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an event is at capacity, we will have an in-person waitlist at the door.

Public registration is now open for summer 2026. Please click here to register.

Parking
Parking is very limited. Please carpool, walk, bike, or ride RFTA.

Shilo Brooks is President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center and Professor of Practice in the Department of Political Science at SMU. He was previously Executive Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, where he taught in the Department of Politics.

Brooks is host of The Free Press’ Old School podcast and author of a forthcoming book on noble ambition from Penguin Random House. Born and raised in West Texas, Brooks received his Ph.D. in political science from Boston College and his B.A. in liberal arts from the Great Books Program at St. John’s College. He and his wife Siobhan have one daughter – Clementine.

 

Todd Breyfogle is Senior Advisor for Humanistic Studies and Practices at the Aspen Institute. He also oversees the Aspen-Kern Program for Leadership and Character in Higher Education, an initiative designed to support and enhance the leadership of new college presidents. From 2008 to 2025, Todd oversaw the Institute’s Executive Leadership Seminars, Custom Leadership Programs, the Justice and Society Seminar, and the Office of Curriculum and Moderators.

Todd has published and lectured widely on political philosophy, social theory, theology, literature, and liberal education. His books include Literary Imagination, Ancient and Modern (University of Chicago Press), Philosophy, Politics, and the Conversation of Mankind (Colorado College Press), and Creativity, Liberty, Love and the Beauty of the Law (Bloomsbury). In 2015 he was elected to the Senate of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II to the Order of St. John.

A Colorado native, he earned his BA at Colorado College (Phi Beta Kappa) in Classics-History-Politics. He attended Oxford (as a Rhodes Scholar), where he read Ancient and Modern History and Patristic and Modern Theology. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought (as a Century Fellow and Javitz Fellow).

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