Colloquium: “Intellectual Friendship: Fostering Free Inquiry, Pluralism, and Belonging”

The “Intellectual Friendship” Colloquium will be held from March 07 – March 08 in conjunction with Duke’s Centennial and a wider network of Institutional Partners. The morning panels will engage in a robust discussion of the intellectual foundations for and institutional approaches to Free Inquiry, Pluralism, and Belonging. The afternoons will initiate working groups where faculty will break out into smaller groups to strategically plan how to foster deep intellectual friendships in the classroom, on campus, and across universities, especially in light of particular challenges in twenty-first century higher education. There will be ample opportunity for informal discussion and opportunities to meet other scholars.

This colloquium is organized by Duke University’s Transformative Ideas program and Civic Life and Thought Initiative in partnership with POLIS, the Civil Discourse Project, the Duke Provost’s Office as part of its “Initiative on Free Inquiry, Pluralism and Belonging” and Office of Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education.

Colloquium Schedule

Friday (03/07)

8:30 – 10:00a: Session 1: Intellectual Friendship

10:15a – 12:00p: Session 2: Free Inquiry: What We’ve Learned

12:00 – 1:00p: Lunch

1:00 – 2:00p: Plenary on Free Inquiry 

2:15 – 4:00p: Session 3: Belonging on Campus 

4:00 – 5:00p: Working Groups Session 1 

6:00 – 7:00p: Dinner

Saturday (03/08)

7:00 – 8:15a: Breakfast 

8:30 – 9:45a: Session 4: Pluralism: Disciplinary Perspectives and Institutional Approaches

9:45 – 10:15a: Institutional Strategies 

10:15 – 10:30a: Break

10:30a – 12:00p: Working Group Sessions 2

12:00-12:30p: Lunch

12:30 – 1:45p: Report Back

1:45 – 2:00p: Roundup