Exploring Imagination: A Public Conversation - A free event!
Sunday, November 2, 2007, 2 p.m., Clowes Memorial Hall (tickets available in mid-September)
Three powerful thinkers, who would not otherwise meet, will gather in Indianapolis on November 2, 2008 for a spontaneous, on-stage dialogue on the theme, Exploring Imagination. Conversationalists will consider a variety of questions: Where does imagination reside? Who or what is cultivating the practice of imagination and when are social, religious, and cultural boundaries appropriate? What is needed to unleash public imagination in ways that benefit our communities’ economic, social, and cultural health? These are just a few of the thought-provoking questions that might emerge in this wide-ranging and always-lively conversation. Don't miss this chance to hear nationally-known voices in the arts, humanities and religion!
Scott Russell Sanders will moderate the Public Conversation. An award-winning Indiana author, Scott has written numerous novels, short stories, and literary nonfiction. His work appears regularly in Harper's, Audobon, Orion, Georgia Review, and other magazines.
Speakers to be announced in early summer!
2007 Public Conversation
Featured speakers in 2007 explored the theme, Living Generously:
Patty Stonesifer , an Indianapolis native, is CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has served as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS. She serves on the boards of the Smithsonian Institution, The Seattle Foundation, and Amazon.com.
Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon is a singer, composer, scholar, and founder of the Grammy Award-winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. Reagon was featured in the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, “The Songs Are Free: Bernice Johnson Reagon with Bill Moyers.” Reagon is Professor Emeritus of History at American University in Washington, DC, and Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
Nathan Dungan is founder and president of Share Save Spend and author of Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to be Your Child's ATM. His ideas on the intersection of culture, values, and money have been widely quoted in prominent national print media, and he's been a featured guest on CBS, CNN, PBS, and National Public Radio.
Past Public Conversationalists
Public Conversations from 2002, 2003, and 2005 through 2007 can be heard at WFYI:
- 2007: Living Generously. Patty Stonesifer, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nathan Dungan, president and founder of Share Save Spend; and Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, singer, composer, founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock.
- 2006: Tradition & Innovation. Author and human rights activist Sr. Joan Chittister, author and scholar Manning Marable, and Hoosier film writer/producer Angelo Pizzo.
- 2005: Moving & Staying. Poet and novelist Wendell Berry, writer and humorist Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, and award-winning journalist A'Lelia Bundles.
- 2004: Building and Belonging. Author Andre Dubus III, educational reformer and psychologist Howard Gardner, and theologian Renita Weems.
- 2003: Remembering and Reconciling. Editor Jim Wallis, author Charles Johnson, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams.
- 2002: Breaking Silence. Novelist Mary Gordon, journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, and critic bell hooks.
- 2001: Crossing Boundaries. Scholar Cornel West, novelist Jane Smiley, and author Rabbi Harold Kushner.
- 2000: Growing Up. Jonathan Kozol, Terry Tempest Williams, and Martin E. Marty.
- 1999: Changing Landscapes. Barry Lopez, Sister Helen Prejean, and Kathleen Norris.
- 1998: A Gathering of Voices. Peter Matthiessen, Reynolds Price, and Maxine Hong Kingston.
- 1997: Leaving and Returning. Thomas Keneally, Clifton Taulbert, and Joy Harjo.
- 1996: Thinking Out Loud about Indianapolis. Kurt Vonnegut, Dan Wakefield, and John Updike.
The 2007 Annual Public Conversation was sponsored by:
With generous support from:
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