Our Model
1200 years ago, the Abassid caliph al-Ma'mun established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, the capital of the Muslim Empire.
Scholarly works were gathered from the ends of history's largest empire to date, translated into Arabic so they could be
accessible to everyone, and scholars of every tradition (Muslim, Christian, Jew, Zoroastrian) were welcomed into what
was, perhaps, the greatest intellectual conversation ever experienced. Out of that short period came the invention of
algebra, and stunning advancements in medicine, astronomy, linguistics and more.
We believe their model holds promise for the 21st century. We meet on alternating Wednesday afternoons throughout the
year with the purpose of considering the difficult questions that face us, incorporating the entire campus, with
students and faculty from psychology, the sciences, the arts, social and cultural studies, literature, business and more.
The Gathering
The HOW meets alternating Wednesdays throughout the semester. Our first Fall '08 gathering happens
on September 10, 11:00-11:50 a.m. The theme that day is "The Power of Words." We've all heard people described as
"just talk." But we're thinking that "talk" might be the single most powerful tool we as humans have.
In the past we have considered the place of humor in our public discourse, the loss of patience in our culture, the power
of the unspeakable in relationships and society, and more.
The International Blog
This Fall, the HOW goes global -- students and teachers around the world will gather over the same themes, beginning and
ending at our international blog.
The Cyber-HOW
The Cyber-HOW debuts Sunday, 9/14 from 8:00-9:00 p.m. Our online House of Wisdom
addresses the same themes as our live HOW, using our SCE
Breeze Meeting Room. Down side? You have to get your own coffee.
Cyber-HOW meetings require a minimum of four participants in addition to the host.
Upon entering as a Guest, you will be asked for your name. We prefer that you use your real name (at least first name).
Some participants receive class credit for their participation. Credit requires participation throughout the hour.
A transcript of the meeting will be archived for verification of participation. The transcript will be deleted one week
later. Transcripts of past Cyber-HOWs are available: Charisma | Beauty Is ... ?.
Small Print
For behavior expectations, please see our SCE Rules of
Engagement.
If you would like to be sure you are included in email announcements of themes, exact dates and times, and locations,
just fill out the form below.
