Student Fellows will participate in a series of intensive, lively and rigorous seminars on the Origins and Theories of Property Rights, Sound Money and Banking, Scientific Procedures of Inquiry in Economics and other seminars. Students will immerse themselves in primary documents ranging from the Holy Bible to Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics," to Hayek's "Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945), to John Dewey's and Arthur Bentley's "Knowing and the Known" (1949), as well as a wide range of seminal and less-well known secondary sources.

The seminars are intended to stimulate a disciplined exchange of views, and are not intended to be conducted as formal lectures. The recommended readings and seminar discussions will serve as the basis for written assignments, some of which have developed into AIER publications in past years.

The seminars are supplemented by a guest lecture series. Each session, prominent scholars are asked to visit AIER to deliver a talk on their topic of expertise. Students and visiting research fellows usually have the opportunity to discuss the lecture over meals and after the lecture. Distinguished speakers in previous years have included Anna J. Schwartz, Dominick Salvatore, Edward J. Kane, and more.

The Program is intended to engage students and scholars outside the classroom as well. Students and scholars reside together in our historic stone cottage where opportunities for additional formal and informal interaction abound. A healthy number of non-classroom activities have been key in making our students' and scholars' experiences here complete. Group movie showings are popular informal occasions in which to exchange ideas on food, wine, historical events that shaped the American experience, and the primary lessons of Big Economic Ideas since World War I (accompanied by Walker Todd's famous homemade ice-cream and his selection of cheeses). We host a number of dinners and cookouts (e.g. Lobster Night); and arrange for a number of cultural and recreational activities. AIER's scenic 100-acre campus is ideal for exercise and relaxation.