Join Us at the Ideas Festival Emory: Bridging Scholarship and Community

By Kenneth Carter, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology

It has been said that we are living in the age of disinformation. The gap between public perception and scholarship can sometimes feel insurmountable. At the center of Emory’s new Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement’s (CPSE) mission is the idea that the research and work done on college campuses daily should enrich our broader community.  

Public scholarship is about bringing that learning to where people live, and about rebuilding the trust and the sense of community that has been integral to the successes of our society. The CPSE focuses on connecting meaningful connections between scholarly insights and the pressing issues shaping our world today. It is a bridge, presenting academic research and teaching in accessible ways while empowering non-experts to navigate the complexities of our global community. 

In an increasingly digital world, bringing people together for meaningful conversation can be challenging. Increasingly, it requires time spent face-to-face with new people and new perspectives. With that in mind, the CPSE will launch Ideas Festival Emory this September.  

Held on the Oxford College campus from September 20-22, the festival will feature more than 45 speakers—including two-time Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, James Beard award-winning cookbook author Virginia Willis, and acclaimed writer and editor John T. Edge.  

In addition to a robust line-up of guest speakers—the full list of which will be released later in the summer—there will also be panels, exhibits, music, food, children’s programming, collaborations with local high schools, and many other opportunities for community engagement. There will be something for everyone. 

The CPSE launched earlier this year to help faculty and students proactively engage in public conversation and increase confidence in the value of scholarship. In addition to the festival, the center has already begun working with on-campus partners and is developing additional programs for the future—including a public scholarship academy, coming spring 2025. 

Registration for the festival will open in early August. You can visit the CPSE website for more information. And remember: mark your calendars for September 20-22.