Vulnerability: A Socratic Conversation, Thursday, 2/26, 4-5 pm

Inspired by Socrates' famous conversations with his friends in the marketplace of 5th century Athens, students engage in spirited discussions of ideas and issues. Socratic conversations range broadly and probe deeply into the basic challenges of life. They are informed by the latest literature for reference and follow up. While building a sense of community on campus, these meetings enliven the intellectual atmosphere and model dialogue and discussion as modes of inquiry.

Relationships 3.0: A Socratic Conversation, Thursday, 2/12, 4-5 pm

“I’m So Totally, Digitally Close to You” was the title of a widely-discussed recent article in The New York Times Magazine (9/7). Author Clive Thompson wrote: “Young people today are already developing an attitude toward their privacy that is simultaneously vigilant and laissez-faire. They curate their online personas as carefully as possible, knowing that everyone is watching – but they have also learned to shrug and accept the limits of what they can control.”

Come share your thoughts and insights on:

• Which of the new kinds of connectedness – such as Facebook, Social Networking, Second Life, IMing, Twitter, U-tube, Voice-Mail -- have become a part of your life, and what have been the consequences?



• What do you think are the wider social, cultural, and political impact of these new media of inter-connectedness?



• What role do they, can they, and should they play in Education?

Why Socrates? Why Socrates? He pioneered a “new” medium of interconnectedness in 5th Century Athens – face-to-face dialogue as exemplified by these Conversations. And in his parable of The Cave, in Plato's Republic, he evoked the problems of social isolation and media conditioning. Socrates showed us how to engage in lively, important conversations, exemplifying the values of dialogue and discussion.

Vulnerability: A Socratic Conversation, Thursday, 2/26, 4-5 pm

Are you feeling more vulnerable about the dangers from terrorism, from the economic crisis, from global warming, from health risks, from relationships challenged by new pressures and anxieties? Who isn’t?

Come share your feelings, reflections, and strategies for coping.

• What are the causes of our feelings of vulnerability – and can we benefit from understanding them better rather than avoiding thinking about them?



• What ways of responding have helped you – or seem to be helping others? (Preparation? Denial? Political action? Learning or Teaching? Denial? Or…)



• Are we living in a “culture of fear” -- in our political life, in our institutions, and through the media -- which is provoking and shaping these feelings?

Why Socrates? He engaged in lively, important conversations, exemplifying the values of dialogue and discussion. Socrates is an iconic figure in Education - but he transcends the profession in Western intellectual history.

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These highly-participatory conversations with fellow students are moderated by Ronald Gross, author of Socrates' Way and Co-chair of the University Seminar on Innovation in Education. They are part of a year long series of Socratic Conversations hosted by the Gottesman Libraries.

To assure yourself a spot, complete with diet hemlock and cookies, please RSVP to libary@tc.edu.

Next session: Thursday, 3/5, 4pm, Topic: TBA


Where: Second Floor Salon