How can the voluntary actions of individuals provide alternatives to centralized governance?
The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) in collaboration with Professor Sam Staley invites faculty and advanced graduate students to join a multidisciplinary group of scholars in Arlington, Virginia, on January 22–23 to consider how the voluntary actions of individuals can provide better governance when centralized governance fails. Government from the center appears to be failing liberal democracies, sewing partisan divisions, and fueling populist movements that are ill-equipped to govern. Yet the voluntary actions of secular and faith-based individuals have historically provided innovative solutions to a wide range of social problems, including poverty reduction, ex-offender re-entry, education services, mental health treatment, homelessness reduction, and crime prevention.
This symposium invites a multidisciplinary group of scholars to develop a preliminary agenda for new research examining how voluntary action can create upward mobility, unleash innovation, make room for pluralism, and build the social capital needed to sustain communities.
The schedule begins at 4:00 PM on Thursday, January 22, and concludes by 7:30 PM on Friday, January 23. A combination of structured and unstructured time allows for in-depth discussions and networking. For your full participation, IHS offers a travel stipend and hotel accommodations for two nights in Arlington, Virginia, at Hilton Arlington Rosslyn the Key. Keynote
Discussion Leaders
Schedule
*All times are listed in Eastern Time
Thursday, January 22
3:30 PM | Registration with Coffee
4:00 PM | Welcome and Opening Remarks
4:30 PM | Keynote
5:30 PM | Reception
Friday, January 23
8:30 AM | Optional Breakfast
9:30 AM | Session 1
10:45 AM | Coffee Break
11:15 AM | Session 2
12:30 PM | Lunch
1:30 PM | Afternoon Break
2:30 PM | Session 3
3:45 PM | Coffee Break
4:15 PM | Session 4
5:30 PM | Dinner
