So far during my short time at Eastern, the ISI Montaigne society has been my favorite club. According to Eastern’s club website, “The ISI Montaigne Society is a literary society focused on discussion and debate of events and ideas that shape Western culture.” This is a very accurate description of the club. It is a discussion club, with the focus of the discussion being the traditions in Western society.
During the week, we read a selected reading. Sometimes it’s an old text, other times it could be an article written a few weeks prior. Every reading deals with an element of Western civilization and its traditions. When the club meets, discussion can really go anywhere. Often, discussion’s centers around the merits of a particular aspect of Western civilization. The other week we discussed the modern trend of certain writers, comedians, and other artists becoming “canceled” by society. The week before, we discussed Lincoln’s constitutional struggles during the emancipation of slavery. It is always enjoyable to see how a discussion evolves during a meeting. We always begin the meeting discussing the reading, but often we end up somewhere completely different. This evolution is essential to a good conversation, and also, one of the reasons I look forward to attending ISI.
One really amazing part about ISI is that our faculty advisor, Dr. Micheal Lee, regularly attends. He always has very fascinating insight. He also adds a great level of enthusiasm and is willing to discuss nearly anything at any length.
I said near the beginning that ISI is a club that discusses tradition. More simply, it is a club that tries to foster discussions that lead to truth. The approach it takes is examining the truth that can be found and built upon in our Western civilization. Western civilization is rich in writing and thought and is the foundation of most of what we know in American society today. A central part of understanding ourselves and society, can be the study of western civilization. Many of these writers have addressed the very problems our society wrestles with.
I encourage anyone to join ISI. If you are interested in discussing Western civilization and its merits and where it may be lacking, I would especially encourage you. We meet every Wednesday at 10 am in Baird Library. We are a small club and are always looking for members. And if you enjoy talking like myself, I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I do. If you would like to contact ISI the club address is montaignesociety@eastern.edu.