The Roosevelt Library Social Club

Wiki Article

The art of conversation and the exchange of ideas in the pursuit of knowledge and fellowship.

https://www.rooseveltlibrary.com/Roosevelt Library

In the spirit of the ancient Greek agora and Enlightenment salon culture, the Roosevelt Library Social Club (RLSC) strengthens community by revitalizing the art of conversation, fostering the exchange of ideas and meaningful social interaction in physical space. In addition to the every other Monday gatherings, the RLSC organizes salon events that actively engage members and guests in critical issues shaping society, culture, art and politics. The RLSC’s mission is to contribute to the betterment of humanity by creating a stimulating intellectual environment and poetic experiences that re-enchant the world and advance principles of participatory democracy through sustained discourse and new encounters in the collective pursuit of knowledge and fellowship.

In the 17 and 18th centuries, a culture of salons flourished in Europe. Salons were social gatherings in which individuals engaged in the art of conversation in pursuit of knowledge and fellowship. They took place in the private homes, and occurred regularly, usually every week, often over an extended meal for a group of approximately twenty to forty people. Salons typically had a dedicated core membership, but were always open to new participants and contributors. Ideas and works in various subjects from science, philosophy, and politics to literature, art, and morality were vigorously debated in the salon. Some salons were focused on specific philosophical, cultural and political themes, while others remained generic. These spaces for discourse created a culture of sociability in which the individual cultivated his or her rational, moral, and aesthetic faculties in a community committed to humanistic ideas and intellectual enlightenment. Salons were far more than pleasant social gatherings; they were serious spaces for intellectual projects and advanced ambitious utopian ideals.