2005 Penn Events>

October 2005 Events

The Success Seminar: Carrying Franklin’s Vision Forward

American culture has always had a fascination with the idea of success. Benjamin Franklin wrote the first modern success manual in his famous Autobiography. The 19th century carried this idea forward with numerous works by industrialists (i.e. Andrew Carnegie), psychologists (William James), and motivational gurus (Orison Swett Marden, the founder of Success Magazine). Today’s best-seller lists in business, psychology, and self-help continue the tradition.

But what, exactly, do we mean by the word “success,” how do changing historical and cultural conditions affect this meaning, and what does modern social science tell us about how people achieve this elusive goal? Over the course of the year, this interdisciplinary seminar will carry forward Benjamin Franklin’s project by examining the cultural foundations of success in psychology, history, sociology, psychology, and related fields. The seminar will hold six meetings throughout the year and will bring together faculty, leading administrators, and thought leaders from the Philadelphia region to think about and discuss these topics. Special guest speakers will join the group for topical overviews and perspectives, including leading experts in the psychology of success and achievement, in the study of cultural institutions such as the family, religion, and education that transmit success principles from one generation to the next, and in the philosophical investigation of the “success” concept.

The Seminar will be co-sponsored by the Office of the University Secretary and the Department of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School. Limited enrollment. Please call 215/898-7005 for more information.

Penn Humanities Forum Undergraduate Essay Contest: “If Ben Had Had His Way”

Each year, the Penn Humanities Forum invites scholars, students, and the general public to a rich program of cultural and educational events. In 2005-2006, the Forum, in cooperation with the Marvin and Sybil Weiner Fund of Van Pelt Library, announces an undergraduate essay contest in commemoration of Benjamin Franklin’s birth. Franklin proclaimed his disappointment that "the Academy" he had helped to found--the future University of Pennsylvania--had not adopted his utilitarian, civic views on education. In their essays, students are asked to consider what relevance these views have for contemporary education and what Penn would be like today if we gave Ben his way. For more information, visit http://humanities.sas.upenn.edu.