Seminars

  • Founded
    1970
  • Seminar Number
    511

The process of learning—in individuals, organizations, and society—is the subject of this seminar. Its scope includes learning throughout the lifespan, and via major institutions such as mass media, libraries, voluntary organizations, and educational systems.


Co-Chairs
Dr. Elizabeth Cohn
ec2341@columbia.edu

Ronald Gross
grossassoc@aol.com

Rapporteur
Yuang Marcus Liu
yl5084@columbia.edu

Meeting Schedule

10/13/2022 Zoom
11:30 AM
THE POWER OF STRANGERS: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World
Joe Keohane, Independent Scholar
Abstract

Abstract

What if strangers—so often blamed for our most pressing political, social, and personal problems—are actually the solution?

In The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane sets out on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don’t know. He learns that while we’re wired to sometimes fear, distrust, and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely.

Digging into a growing body of cutting-edge research on the surprising social and psychological benefits that come from talking to strangers, Keohane finds that even passing interactions can enhance empathy, happiness, and cognitive development, ease loneliness and isolation, and root us in the world, deepening our sense of belonging.

All the while, Keohane gathers practical tips from experts on how to talk to strangers, and tries them out himself, in the wild, to awkward, entertaining, and frequently poignant effect.





Notes: Please RSVP to grossassoc@aol.com to receive Zoom link.