Lecture

In February 1919, in a campus of brownstones on West 23rd Street in Chelsea, a series of seven courses was offered to adults on the “the grave social, political, economic and educational problems of the day.” The courses were an experiment in democracy and a new form of education: one that emphasized the collegiality and expansiveness in learning that led to the formation of The New School. On occasion of welcoming New School’s new president Bob Kerrey, this series is intended to remind the New School community of its historical legacies, and re-frame them for a new millennium.

Contemporary sociologist Robert Bellah is the author of a number of books on comparative religion. His controversial proposal that civil religion be encouraged in pluralist societies is based on finding a compassionate balance between individualism and collectivity. In this talk, he revisits Emily James Smith Putnam’s 1919 course, “Habit in History.”

Participant
Robert Bellah