Chautauqua: It’s a funny name that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Every summer since 1874, the Chautauqua Institution has played host to some of America’s greatest thinkers, from Amelia Earhart to FDR. Attendees flock to the institution’s idyllic lakeside grounds in Western New York State to expand their minds with lectures on the arts, education, religion and recreation.
It’s America’s oldest ideas festival, but you could also think of it as a summer camp for the sharp and vigorous. Visitors to Chautauqua come for physical renewal (there are golf courses, tennis courts and beaches onsite) as much as for intellectual satisfaction. Each year, the institution – on the National Park Service’s Register of Historic Places – is a summer retreat for thousands of attendees.
Chautauqua’s 2011 lineup includes presidents, CEOs, writers, caregivers, commentators, historians and speakers from every walk of intellectual life. They will address pressing issues surrounding the future of America and the world, and present some game-changing ideas. Each week Chautauqua features keynote speeches based on weekly themes, ranging from domestic and foreign policy to science and ethics to arts and culture. The programs stretch from June to August, and FORA.tv will present many of these on demand.
Last week, John Hamre, former deputy secretary of defense, called Washington a “giant self-licking ice cream cone,” explaining that the way forward for domestic and foreign policy will not come from self-licking partisan politics, but from America’s middle ground. He presented health investments as the leading edge of future US development, and more generally as a way to improve America’s image abroad.
One of this year’s highlights occurs on July 28 during week five, themed “21st Century Women: The Road to Social and Economic Growth.” Hawa Abdi, founder of the Somali Refugee Hospital, will speak on her experiences serving 100,000 people in a country many charity organizations refuse to enter. Called “equal parts Mother Teresa and Rambo,” she stood up to Somali Islamist militant forces who tried to take control of her camp in May 2010. After Abdi organized hundreds of women in a mass protest, the militants backed down and issued a formal apology.
On to week six: On August 1, leading foreign policy analyst Robin Wright will discuss “Iran: From Ancient Persia to Middle East Powder Keg.” Journalist, foreign policy analyst, and editor of a definitive look into Middle East politics, The Iran Primer, Wright will attempt to explain the trends that will define the Islamic political scene over the next decade. Wright has reported from more than a 140 countries on six continents.
Finally, with 2011 marking the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Chautauqua will take the opportunity to reflect on American society, identity and race with the help of noted historian Gordon Wood. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wood will walk us through the events leading up to this dark period in our history, and reflect on how these events continue to influence our society today.
Image courtesy The Chautauqua Institution