Duke Conversations Society
From Student Link
The Duke Conversations Society is a student group at Duke University. They have neither a political viewpoint or agenda.
The Duke Conversation Society started in the wake of the creation of the Duke Conversations Program, a special fund that subsidizes the expenses of speaking guests at Duke University. The group formed with intention of pooling resources to allow every member to attend more conversation events than any one could alone.
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About the Duke Conversations Society
Please Note: The Conversations Society is a student group at Duke. If you are looking for the Duke Conversations Program, please go to their website.
The Duke Conversations Society is an organization at Duke University dedicated to openness, continual engagement, and self-expression. Not a debate society, but a group of thinking scholars who seek to expand the boundaries of their knowledge. Members of the Conversation Society all share a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve themselves, their community, and to help others.
We have conversations. We interact collaboratively, sometimes in conflict, but always with the goal of gaining appreciable insight. The Conversations Society is a welcoming place, with membership drawn from all departments and forensic backgrounds.
The society invites leading lights from business, academia, entertainment, and politics. The variety of speakers for whom the Society provides this questioning atmosphere is our strength. With good conversation comes the need for justification, the disappearance of misperceptions and critical analysis of what one believes.
So we invite you to explore the society further as we get ready for an exciting 2007-2008 year.
Format of Events
Society events are marked by formal attire, catered dinners, and wood-paneled rooms. The Society generally holds events in the Old Trinity Room, and requires suits for men, and suits or skirts for ladies.
Though guests are in formal wear, conversation often ranges across the spectrum, from politics to personal anecdotes. Invited guests and Society members can be expected to be gregarious, warm, and gracious to each other.
The adviser to the society is Seymour Mauskopf, also president emeritus of Phi Beta Kappa.
Guide For Guests
First of all, thank you for taking the time to inquire further about speaking before the Society. Here we have listed the most common questions asked about a conversation with the society. If you cannot find an answer here, please do not hesitate to contact us.
What is a Duke Conversation?
The Duke Conversations program provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to have intimate conversations with individuals of their own choosing over a meal or in a small-group living room setting. The guest speaker is invited to campus by an undergraduate student with the caveat that an honorarium is not offered, but travel and lodging expenses are provided. In consultation with a student affairs staff member, the student develops an intentional agenda for the guest speaker's visit and arranges quality travel and lodging.
The Society was created to take advantage of this extraordinary program. We have formalized the process of inviting guests, and truly turned the program into the substrate for a cohesive group of intellectual students interested in good conversation.
What is a Conversation with the Society like?
A conversation can be very flexible - over a meal, in a dorm setting, or even in an intimate lecture hall. However, conversations are generally informal talks between the guest and a group of engaged undergraduates.
Who handles my arrangements and stay on campus?
A senior member of the society, in conjunction with a duke staff member will coordinate the details of the visit.Accommodationss include hotel stay for one or two nights, ground and air transportation, and meals as well as any needed materials for the conversation.
Speakers
List for Spring 2008
- Ranjana Khanna
- Erwin Chemerinsky
List for Fall 2007
- Sam Wells
- Reynolds Price
List for Spring 2006
- Peter Agre
- Alex Rosenberg
List for Fall 2006
- Andrew Cunningham, September 16th <Transcript>
- Jean O'Barr, September 30th
- Ray Archer (Dell Vice President of Operations)
Contact the Society
- Andrew Tutt, Email: tutt.andrew@gmail.com
- Alex Crable, Email: adc15@duke.edu
- Benjamin Barocas, Email: BenBarocas@hotmail.com or bjb16@duke.edu
- Kim Marston, Email: kmm20@duke.edu
- Keith Orgel, Email: tenski102@comcast.net
- Solomon Pointer, Email: solomon.pointer@duke.edu
- Or email the whole group at conversations@duke.edu
