Salons

Socrates Salons represent an exciting new extension of the program, aimed at providing members (i.e., past participants) with opportunities to reconnect outside of Aspen and to introduce their friends and colleagues to the Socrates seminar experience. The salons do not substitute for the Aspen experience, but they offer a glimpse of the community that has come to define Socrates and a feel for the intellectual exploration that characterizes Aspen seminars.

These “invitation only” events are set in major cities across the country, where host committees form to help select venues, provide input on seminar topics and moderators, and develop invitation lists. The salons kick off with Friday evening cocktails, conversation, and Q&A for about 100, and continue with two Saturday seminar sessions for 25 participants and a limited number of auditors

Recent Salons: Bay Area – The Future of Democracy, moderated by Michael Sandel; New York – Roots of Religious Fundamentalism, moderated by Irshad Manji; Chicago – What China Can Teach the Middle East: Is Economic Reform the Solution to Fundamentalism?, moderated by Zachary Karabell.