Teen Socrates

The Aspen Institute offers its Teen Socrates Seminar twice each year to teens between the ages of 15-17 from the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. Students convene to take part in this transformational experience and come away with a new perspective on their lives, their futures, and society. 

The seminar is dedicated to enhancing leadership, problem solving, and critical thinking skills for high school students in a setting conducive to thought and fellowship. Students are challenged to think more critically and deeply about their values and ideas, and those that make the good society. Our proven method of text-based dialogue offers participants a neutral forum in which to reflect on timeless human values, pursue common ground, and cultivate a richer understanding of the human condition. Participants emerge from the seminar with a new perspective as they confront the difficult choices of our ever-changing world.

Each seminar convenes a diverse group of students for lively, intensive roundtable discussions led by skilled moderators. Classic and contemporary texts reflecting the breadth of human civilization form the starting points of a rich conversation in which the questions posed by the group are frequently as illuminating as the varied, timeless wisdom of the texts.

Moderated in the Aspen Institute Socratic style by expert moderators, students read selections by such authors as Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Mary Oliver, and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others.

The Aspen Institute is committed to bringing together students with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, which adds depth and richness to the dialogue. Thanks to the generosity of the Wall Family Foundation, we are able to offer scholarships to those in need of financial assistance.

For the most up-to-date information on registration and upcoming youth programs, sign up for our e-newsletter here

Events

Teen Socrates Seminar – Winter 2025

| Aspen, CO

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2024 Teen Socrates Seminar – Rifle

| Rifle, CO

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Teen Socrates Seminar – Winter 2024

| Aspen, CO

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Teen Socrates Seminar – Winter 2023

| Aspen, CO

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2022 Teen Socrates Seminar – Rifle, CO

| Rifle, CO

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Teen Socrates Seminar – Spring 2022

| Virtual

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Spring 2025 Virtual Teen Socrates Seminar – The Odyssey of the Human Spirit: Sources of Vitality and Chaos

The Spring 2025 Virtual Teen Socrates Seminar will be held on Zoom and is open to teens between the ages of 15-17 from everywhere. Students convene to take part in this transformational experience and come away with a new perspective on their lives, their futures, and society. 

May 12th – 15th, 2025 4-6pm

Teen Socrates Seminar – Winter 2025

February 15th – 17th, 2025 4-6pm

2024 Teen Socrates Seminar – Rifle

November 8th – 10th, 2024

Spring 2024 Virtual Teen Socrates Seminar – The Power of the Human Spirit

The Spring 2024 Virtual Teen Socrates Seminar will be held on Zoom and is open to teens between the ages of 15-17 from everywhere. Students convene to take part in this transformational experience and come away with a new perspective on their lives, their futures, and society. 

May 13th – 16th, 2024 4-6pm

Teen Socrates Seminar – Winter 2024

February 17th – 19th, 2024 4-6pm

Spring 2023 Teen Socrates Seminar – What is Our Quest?

The Spring 2023 Virtual Teen Socrates Seminar will be held on Zoom and is open to teens between the ages of 15-17 from the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. Students convene to take part in this transformational experience and come away with a new perspective on their lives, their futures, and society. 

May 1st – 4th, 2023 4-6pm

Teen Socrates Seminar – Winter 2023

February 18th – 20th, 2023 4-6pm

2022 Teen Socrates Seminar – Rifle, CO

November 11th – 13th, 2022

Teen Socrates Seminar – Spring 2022

The Spring 2022 Teen Socrates Seminar will be held virtually and is open to teens between the ages of 15-17 from the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. Students convene to take part in this transformational experience and come away with a new perspective on their lives, their futures, and society. 

May 2nd – 5th, 2022 4-6pm