Saxifrage Institute

Saxifrage Conversations

The Saxifrage Conversations were born from a desire to create a different kind of space for socializing, thinking, and connecting. Is there something you’ve been stuck on that you haven’t gotten to talk about? Something you’re curious about but you aren’t sure why? Something you want to discuss, but not necessarily for a particular end? Do you want a community with whom you will explore these questions over an extended period of time? In the Saxifrage Conversations, we gather to think rigorously and expansively about those concerns, obsessions, and curiosities outside of our professions that lend themselves to intellectual exploration. While formed by attendee interests, the free-wheeling discussions of our Conversations are structured as arcs of cumulative discussions on a theme determined in advance. We encourage participants to attend each meeting in a given series, as these conversations are designed to build on one another. Conversations are non-hierarchical and not focused around traditional disciplinary expertise. Instead, they are designed to foreground the inherently collaborative experience of learning. Participants are able to build the kind of shared knowledge that only emerges from slow, sustained conversation about things—sometimes random, sometimes silly, sometimes innocuous, always important—with consistent fellow thinkers. Attendees are expected to participate actively in conversation and leave their egos at the door. Conversations last about three hours, and usually end with a shared meal.