First Principles is the web journal of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). In order to further ISI’s mission of “educating for liberty,” it publishes, three times per week, new essays, articles, comments, and reviews related to six broad areas of inquiry: Western civilization, the American experience, free markets and civil society, America’s security, the conservative intellectual tradition, and higher education. First Principles also regularly publishes classic articles from ISI’s massive archive of journal articles. Furthermore, each of the approximately 4,800 pieces to have appeared in past issues of the Intercollegiate Review, Modern Age, and the Political Science Reviewer eventually will be available on First Principles in searchable form. Other unique features of this web journal include the frequent publication of entries from ISI Books’ landmark reference volume, American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia, institutional profiles from ISI’s college guides, excerpts from new ISI Books titles, and fresh pieces from current ISI journal issues.

Soon, First Principles will also make available specially designed online “short courses” in each of the six areas of inquiry listed above. These courses will definitively orient readers to the principles, questions, debates, and issues surrounding each field of study. An early version of the first short course, on Western civilization, is already available here.

First Principles is edited by members of the ISI staff. To contact the editors, please send an e-mail to firstprinciples@isi.org.

To become a member of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, click here.

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Related ISI Websites

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

ISI was founded in 1953 to further in successive generations of American college youth a better understanding of the economic, political, and ethical values that sustain a free and humane society.

American Civic Literacy Project

ISI conducts an annual national survey in order to learn to what extent colleges and universities are teaching America's history and institutions to undergraduate students.

ISI Books

The imprint of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, ISI Books explores the intellectual roots underlying the urgent political, economic, and social issues of the day.

College Guide

CollegeGuide.org is a one-stop source for information on choosing the right college, surviving and thriving at the college of your choice, and guidance and assistance beyond the undergraduate experience.

Collegiate Network

The CN supports over 100 independent college newspapers focusing public awareness on the politicization of American higher education and the resulting decline of educational standards.