Café Society Meetings

Cafe Society

What is Café Society?

The Critical Encounters Café Society consists of a series of conversations where we come together and discuss important social issues relating to to this year's focus on Rights, Radicals + Revolutions. What sets the Café Society apart from other events is that our goal is not create group consensus.
Instead, the object of these discussions is to provoke critical thought on the topic at hand, so that participants can enjoy in a meaningful exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Our model is adopted from the Illinois Humanities Council and is facilitated by a Critical Encounters Graduate Fellow. Working with instructors, we devise a set of questions intended to spark dialog, and assemble a reference sheet for follow up. Please see the examples below and join us at the upcoming events.

Café Society/CJE Listening Session:

The Radical Vision of Charles Mingus
Thursday, January 19, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Hokin Gallery, 623 S. Wabash Ave.
Jazz music has historically been entangled with many of our nation's most serious questions concerning civil rights and social justice. Charles Mingus—and the musical world he developed—is the jazz artist most aligned with drafting a music that squarely confronts these questions in both word and song.
This session pairs CJE Artistic Director Dana Hall and special guest artist, bassist/vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello, in a discussion and Listening Session focused on the work and legacy of the radical vision of Mingus.

Ndegeocello Photo: Charlie Gross
Hall Photo: Jacob Hand
CJE

Black Gossamer
Thursday, February 9, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
The Glass Curtain Gallery, 1104 S. Wabash Ave.

Download the Curriculum Guide here.

Dance & Revolution
with Eduardo Vilaro, founder of Ballet Hispanico
Monday, March 19, 4:00–6:00 p.m., A + D Gallery, 619 S. Wabash Ave.

tres cantos

Survival Techniques: Narratives of Resistance
Tuesday, April 17, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
MoCP, 600 S. Michigan Ave., First Floor

"The Café Society event was spectacular. It was thrilling to see our students so engaged with the works and discussing them with such confidence. It will not be my last one." --Andrew Whatley, Academic Program Manager, Academic Affair

chagoya CS Café Society event with Enrique Chagoya