All Writings and Appearances

In conversation with Kathleen O'Toole on the Hillsdale College K-12 Classical Education Podcast (February 16, 2026) In this conversation with Kathleen O’Toole, associate vice-president for K-12 Education at Hillsdale College, James Hankins discusses the first volume of The Golden Thread  and the importance of classical education. They explore the nature of the Western tradition, the tension between civilization and barbarism, the importance of historical knowledge, and the f

Compact, December 29, 2025 Two weeks ago I gave my last lecture at Harvard, where I have been a history professor for forty years. My four decades of experience at one of the world’s leading universities have given me a unique vantage point to trace the replacement of Western history by global history. This change is part of the reason why the younger generation finds itself in a state of moral and intellectual disorientation. My decision to retire was not a sudden one. I am

Unherd, December 26, 2025 Prof. Hankins speaks with Freddie Sayers of Unherd about the precarious state of the Western tradition and the burgeoning resistance movement in classical education. Moving through a 2,500-year narrative arc from the ancient Greek invention of reason to the modern-day “cult of innovation,” he warns that elite institutions are suffering from a dangerous cultural amnesia. But, despite the degradation of the canon, he offers a defiant hope rooted in his

Conversation with Michael Fontaine of Cornell University, Classical Wisdom, December 4, 2025 Have We Broken the Golden Thread? Why the West's Future Depends on Remembering Its Past The West’s greatest peril is forgetfulness, its loss of cultural memory. Without knowing where we came from, how can we know what to defend, or even what to value?   In an age when history itself is contested ... when the past is either dismissed or distorted ... The Golden Thread reminds us why th

The Saad Truth, Oct. 20, 2025 On this episode of The Saad Truth with Gad Saad, Prof. Hankins discusses The Golden Thread , the deeper meaning of civilization and the West, the potential for cultural renewal, and his lifelong friendship with his coauthor Allen Guelzo. Prof. Guelzo continued the conversation with Gad Saad about The Golden Thread on December 2. The Saad Truth, Dec. 2, 2025

The American Mind , August 15, 2025   Andrew Beck argues that America needs to revive the ideal of assimilation if our country is to...

Law and Liberty , August 11, 2025   The ongoing clash of the titans, President Trump and Elon Musk, is bringing into high relief the...

The Southeastern Consortium of Classical Educators, Thales College, August 2, 2025 In his plenary lecture at the Southeastern Consortium...

First Things , June 23, 2025 The research pursued these days in university humanities departments does not, as a rule, enjoy high esteem...

Law and Liberty , May 15, 2025 The first hundred days of the second Trump presidency have brought unprecedented challenges to the...

New Humanists, ep. 87 (May 1, 2025) In this podcast interview, Prof. Hankins joins Ryan Hammill and Jonathan Roberts of the Ancient Language Institute to discuss his book Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy , which focuses on the life and thought of Francesco Patrizi of Siena (1413–1494). Although Niccolò Machiavelli is often held up as the paradigmatic political philosopher, Hankins argues that he is in fact an outlier. Instead, it is Patrizi and his focus on virtue t

The American Mind , May 1, 2025   It’s not often that an opinion writer has the good fortune to elicit serious commentary from...

The Wall Street Journal , April 24, 2025 In recent reports about the Trump administration’s assault on Harvard, the statistic is often...

Compact , April 15, 2025 The Trump administration has been conducting a shock-and-awe campaign on official Washington that has astonished...

The American Mind , April 1, 2025   In his address to Congress this month, President Trump boasted—and justly so—of his administration’s...

Law and Liberty , February 25, 2025   The new administration has at last come to DC, and opportunities for genuine reform, it seems,...

Ralston College, February 1, 2025 A pithy lecture on how the Italian Renaissance emerged from the ashes of the long and devastating...

Compact , January 15, 2025   During its annual meeting earlier this month, the American Historical Association, the oldest and most...

First Things , January 10, 2025   Recently I had an experience that I suppose is becoming increasingly common. The large, publicly traded...

Law and Liberty , November 21, 2024   The policies of the incoming administration with regard to the federal role in education, despite a...