CLASSES | TALKS
The Great Experiment: Questioning Democracy
A Seminar Series with BAM and Think Olio
Single Tickets
BAM partners with New York pop-up lecture outfit Think Olio for a new seminar series that freshly examines the tensions inherent in our government since its founding and the two main pillars, the Greek demos (“people”) and kratos (“power”), at its foundation. In this particular political moment when fractures in our democracy and the challenges posed to it become ever more urgent, The Great Experiment: Questioning Democracy is a call to grapple with some of the compromises necessary to make democracy function as a realistic form of government—while also addressing the areas where democracy can and needs to move closer to its professed ideals.
Seminars are open to all curious people, regardless of educational background. The format of each seminar comprises three 15-minute lectures, followed by discussion and text analysis with a professor.
We investigate our current pragmatic conception of truth in democracy.
We look at Foucault to study the relationship between democracy and freedom.
We look at moments in US history when the country failed on its promise of inalienable rights.
We examine Thomas Jefferson's radical view of democracy and its contemporary implications.