The Phoenix Institute 2026 Summer Seminar for the Study of Western Institutions Queretaro, Mexico
June 29– July 25, 2026
ACADEMIC PROGRAM
The courses that will be offered this summer are:
- Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America
Dr. Patrick Overeem
. - Augustine’s Confessions
Dr. Salvador Antuñano
. - Being free in a broken world.
A Philosophical-Literary Exploration of Modernity
Dr. Diego I. Rosales
**Detailed course descriptions are available below.**
Tuition for the 2025 program will be 2,400 Euros
. **See below for details.**
1. STRUCTURE
The program will have two segments:
- Online logistical and academic introductory activities (June 29 – July 2); and
. - Three-week in-person academic program in Querétaro, Mexico (July 3 – July 25
The courses that will be offered this summer are:
Homer’s Odyssey. Journeying with a Man of Twists and Turns
Dr. Clinton Brand
University of St. Thomas, USA
Plato and Technology. Action and Beauty in Contemporary Life
Dr. Diego Rosales
Tecnologico de Monterrey, Queretaro, Mexico
Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City, Mexico
Notre Dame 2026 Lecture Series. Reason under pressure
. **Detailed course descriptions are available below.**
Tuition for the 2026 program will be 2,800 Euros
. **See below for details.**
All students will participate in the following courses and lecture series during the summer program:
Homer’s Odyssey.
Journeying with a Man of Twists and Turns
Dr. Clinton Brand
University of St. Thomas
Houston, USA
Homer’s Odyssey is the original and still perhaps the greatest adventure story ever told. The epic recounts its wily, resourceful hero’s ten-year struggle to get home to Ithaca after the ten-year conflict of the Trojan War. In Robert Fagles’s memorable translation of the poem’s opening line, the Odyssey is the story of a “man of twists and turns” (polytropos). Not only does Odysseus “twist” and “turn” to remember his journey, but so does the poem itself, with its famously recursive narrative structure, as well as the reader, who follows Odysseus’ fraught and troubled homeward adventures.
In this class, the following questions will be discussed: How does Odysseus struggle “to remember the return”? How is his return affected by a series of near-death experiences, as well as other reversals and renewals? How is his return home punctuated by a series of revelations and recognitions, through which Odysseus suffers, learns, and ultimately comes to assume his own name and identity? And, finally, how does Odysseus — and we — return “home” and come to know it as never before through acts of reunion, retribution, and restoration?
Moreover, we will reflect on the experience of reading the poem as a compass for navigating the journey of human life, as well as a summons to fortitude and wisdom for our own homecomings (nostoia).
Finally, we will approach some of the rich “afterlives” of Homer’s story in authors of all times, including Virgil, Augustine, Dante, Tennyson, and Joyce, asking how the story of Odysseus — and its shape — continues to resonate, challenge, and inspire humanity.
Dr. Clinton Brand. Ph.D., English, Vanderbilt University. M.A. English, Vanderbilt University. B.A., English, University of Dallas. Associate Professor at the English Department of the University of St. Thomas.
Plato and Technology.
Action and Beauty in Contemporary Life
Dr. Diego Rosales
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Queretaro, Mexico
Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City, Mexico
Beauty is one of the major driving forces of human freedom. It is not a luxury to be enjoyed by a few, but a spiritual necessity and inspiration for all. What is beautiful awakens our desire and guides it towards our own growth and the transformation of the world. The history of the West bears witness to this, not only in the realm of the arts, but also in the biographies of great human beings, which inspire us because of the way they reflect grandeur and beauty. The most enduring and livable cities, for example, are precisely those that were built out of a search for beauty, and not merely for utility and economic profit.
Today, however, we see the Western world moving toward a condition in which beauty is subordinated to efficiency and productivity. Beauty is increasingly confused with individual pleasure, and human action is reduced to mere consumption. Technology, once poised to extend the reach and depth of human activity, is now confined to a few clicks, endless scrolling, and the crafting of prompts for a seemingly intelligent machine. Meanwhile, humanity’s own capacity for novelty gets progressively neglected, and humanity’s creative responsiveness to the call for beauty grows increasingly numbed. As people abandon the logic of gift and gratuity for the logic of profit and progress, their experience of freedom diminishes as well, and the vitality of their inner and communal life wanes.
To critically assess this situation and consider the alternatives, this course will explore the Platonic notion of beauty, human action, and the creation of culture as responses to an experience of wonder, in which human desire is guided by a love that transcends itself. We will read Plato’s reflections on beauty in the Symposium and the Phaedrus, and set them in conversation with modern and contemporary authors such as Hannah Arendt, Ivan Illich, Jacques Ellul, and Wendell Berry, in the search for the answer to the question if a different order or things is possible.
Dr. Diego I. Rosales. Ph.D. Philosophy, Comillas Pontifical University. M.A., Philosophy, National Autonomous University of Mexico. B.A., Philosophy, Panamerican University. Associate Professor at Universidad Panamericana (Mexico City), and Adjunct Professor at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Querétaro, Mexico).
2026 NOTRE DAME LECTURE SERIES
REASON UNDER PRESSURE
Orientation activities will take place online during the week of June 29, 2026. These activities will allow students to acquaint themselves with the logistical aspects of the program, be introduced to their teachers and courses, and meet their thier fellow classmates and the program’s staff. Students will also review the official calendar of curricular and extracurricular activities and learn all they need to know about life on Querétaro and at the Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus.
The Phoenix Institute Graduation Seminar is the academic activity through which Phoenix senior students (third-year) complete the Institute’s Program in Advanced Social, Economic, and Political Studies. During the 2026 Querétaro program, the Seminar activities will be held online during the week of June 29, and in person from July 6 to 10, scheduled to be compatible with the rest of the program’s activities.
The Graduation Seminar will cost USD 75.
The cost of the program is USD 2,800. It includes:
- Full tuition fee
- Individual/double-occupancy accommodations
- Three-week meal plan (includes daily lunch Monday-Friday)
- Cultural activities
The full cost of the program’s tuition fee must be covered by June 15, preferably earlier. Admission to the campus will only be possible after full prior payment of the tuition fee.
The first step to apply is by filling out the Pre-Registration form that can be found here.
Click here for the full description of the Admission Procedure.
Enrollment in the summer program is limited. All applications will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Due to high demand, students are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
A USD 350 non-refundable initial payment will be required within the five business days after a student is notified of their acceptance to the summer program.
This payment is part of the total cost of the program.
Please note that the Phoenix Institute does not provide medical care or health insurance for participants. Upon acceptance, the Tecnológico de Monterrey will provide students with a detailed description of the insurance they must obtain to participate in the summer seminar. To be admitted, students must provide proof of adequate coverage to the Tecnológico de Monterrey, or, if necessary, purchase it directly through them at the student’s own expense.
Querétaro is a historic city in central Mexico, located about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of Mexico City. With direct flights to major airport hubs in Mexico, the United States, and Spain, it is easily accessible to travelers arriving from Europe, South America, and the United States. Recently named one of The New York Times’ Top 50 World Destinations for 2026, Querétaro is an ideal gateway to the cultural treasures of central Mexico, including nearby destinations such as Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende. The city occupies a central place in Mexican history: it played a decisive role in the movement for independence, was a key stage during the French Intervention and the fall of the Second Empire under Maximilian of Habsburg, witnessed important episodes of the Mexican Revolution, and continues to be a dynamic center of contemporary Mexican civic, economic, and cultural life. Our center of operations will combine the UNESCO-listed historic center of Querétaro with a modern university campus, offering students a world-class learning environment set within architectural and cultural settings spanning more than 500 years.
TECNOLOGICO DE MONTERREY
In 2026, the Phoenix Institute Summer Seminar for the Study of Western Institutions will be hosted by the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Queretaro. The Tecnológico de Monterrey is a leading private university in Mexico with multiple campuses across the country. Established in 1975, the Querétaro campus has grown into a vibrant academic community of more than 7,000 students, offering a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs and modern facilities that support teaching, research, and student life. Located just about 10 minutes from the historic downtown area of Querétaro, the campus combines academic excellence with easy access to the city’s cultural heritage and urban amenities. Learn more about it here.
The Phoenix Institute 2024 Trumau-Vienna Summer Seminar for the Study of Western Institutions
JULY 5 – JULY 27, 2024
We are delighted to announce The Phoenix Institute’s 2024 Trumau-Vienna Summer Seminar for the Study of Western Institutions, scheduled to take place from Friday, July 5, to Saturday, July 27, 2024.
Further information will be available on this website shortly. In the meantime:
Mark the dates of the summer program on your calendar.
If you haven’t done so already, kindly complete your pre-registration for the 2024 summer program here.
The seminar is going to take place in Trumau, Austria, at the Katholische Hochschule ITI campus. It is located just 20 minutes south of Vienna and a 30-minute drive southwest of Vienna Airport. As a small city in the vicinity of Vienna, Trumau offers plenty of opportunities to explore Austria’s rich cultural scene.
For any inquiries, don’t hesitate to contact us at summer.seminars@thephoenixinstitute.org.