In her book, Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education, Danielle Allen discusses those sacrifices citizens make to keep democracy working in spite of the vices that often get in the way. One such vice is distrust of the stranger, which is overcome by the deliberate cultivation of what she calls "political friendship," reaching out to others who appear to be different than ourselves. "To develop a cultural habit of such friendship would," Allen writes, "transform our political world." In setting the context for our series on virtues and vices with the Center for Ethics in Society, Danielle Allen will suggest ways people in institutions of higher education are prepared to effect this transformation by daring to think and act in accord with democratic ideals.
This is the inaugural lecture for a new series with the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford on virtues, vices, and the conditions that enable social improvement.
The Aurora Forum has arranged to broadcast the vice-presidential debate on October 2 in Kresge Auditorium starting at 6:00pm. Doors open at 5:30.
You are invited to bring your friends, watch the debate, and stay for Danielle Allen's inaugural lecture for our Education for Citizenship series.