What is Café Society?
Café Society is a project designed to foster a more robust civil society, more cohesive and interactive communities, greater media literacy and a more informed and engaged citizenry through weekly coffee shop conversations about contemporary social issues. Current media reports (along with ample doses of caffeine) serve as stimulants for the conversations.
The Café Society project taps the growing coffee culture in Chicago as a vehicle to promote conversations between strangers (a cornerstone of democratic practice) about relevant social issues, with a focus on the theme of citizenship, broadly defined, and critically examined.
One objective of the project is to promote media literacy and encourage citizens to be more than mere consumers of mass media. Toward this end, we focus on mass media publications and programs that explore the background, underlying causes and possible future implications of social issues and problems.
The Café Society conversations offer an opportunity for citizens to engage one another in discussions, dig deeper and obtain more information about a given subject. Additional resources on each topic are provided on-line to supplement and enhance the discussion. Members of our advisory board, community activists, artists and journalists are invited to visit the conversations periodically and offer their insights and expertise.
Café Society meets at:
Tuesday
- 7:30-8:30 p.m., Intelligentsia Coffee, 3123 N Broadway St
Wednesday
- 12:30-1:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center's Randolph Street Café, 77 E Randolph St
- 7-8 p.m., Pause, 1107 W Berwyn Ave (Berwyn and Broadway)
Thursday
- 7-8 p.m., Caffe De Luca, 1721 N Damen Ave
- 7-8 p.m., Valois, 1518 E 53rd St
- 7:30-8:30 p.m., Panera Bread, 1126 E Walnut St, Carbondale, IL *
* Meets on the first Thursday of the month only
Friday
- 5-6 p.m., Ron's Barber Shop, 6058 W North Ave,Chicago
Dear Café Society Participants:
We encourage you to check out the articles and links we post prior to the discussion - it often makes for a richer discussion. Of course, we understand that you are all busy and don't always have time to read additional materials. Everyone is always welcome!
Thanks, Kristin.
Upcoming Topics
Week of May 13 - May 16
Too Thin to Win -- Legislating Against Skinny
A new bill in France threatens fines of up to $47,000 and two-year prison sentences for offenders who encourage "extreme thinness." The legislation, adopted Tuesday by Parliament's lower house, also recommends fines of up to $71,000 and a three-year prison sentence in cases where someone dies of an eating disorder. This legislation cracks down specifically on websites that offer advice to people with eating disorders on how to starve or "thinspiration." However, many speculate that it will be used to target the fashion industry.
In recent years, the media and the fashion industry have been subject to greater scrutiny for promoting an ideal of beauty that is unhealthy. Models in magazines and on runways are increasingly thinner. The tabloids and media scrutinize stars and socialites for being too skinny, yet at the same time they use these same women as role models and image icons. Many people blame the fashion industry for the dramatic rise in eating disorders among women and girls. Critics argue that images of beauty currently being promoted are destructive to society.
In response, two years ago, the organizers of Madrid's fashion week made waves by banning models who were too skinny by standards outlined by the World Health Organization. As an example, an individual who is 5'9" and is 124 lbs or less would be considered underweight. While some industry insiders embraced changes and support the new legislation in France, others have expressed outrage. They claim that new standards discriminate against models and restrict the freedom of the designer. Some go so far to say that changes amount to "politically correct Fascism." Others argue that there is no verifiable proof that the media causes eating disorders.
Does the fashion industry cause eating disorders in young women? Should the courts be responsible for deciding who is too skinny? Should the U.S. consider passing a similar legislation? Could prohibiting content on websites or using images of "excessively thin" women be considered censorship? What does skinniness symbolize? Who is responsible for defining the standard for beauty?
Suggested Readings:
France may make it illegal to promote extreme thinness
France acts to outlaw anorexia Web sites
On the Web: Thinness worship
The Incredible Shrinking Model
Advertising Thinness May Become a Crime in France
Week of May 20 - May 22
Invade to Aid? The Politics of Rescue & Relief
Earlier this month a devastating cyclone swept across Myanmar killing thousands and leaving many more stranded without food, water, or shelter. The government made an appeal for assistance from the international community. While the U.N. and countries around the world expressed a willingness to help, relief efforts quickly became politicized.
The U.S. pledged aid but conditioned assistance by saying that an American disaster response team had to be allowed into the country. Taking the opportunity to criticize Myanmar's internal political situation, President Bush announced the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to a Myanmar dissident leader and chastised the government for failing to warn its citizens of the storm.
The isolationist government of Myanmar declared that it alone would coordinate distribution of aid within the country. Citing the need for accountability, the U.N. and other agencies rejected this restriction, stating that recipients of aid need to be identified by officials and delivery has to be monitored. Observers have speculated that aid delivered to the region was diverted away from victims by the military government.
Meanwhile, the numbers of people in desperate need of assistance has risen to hundreds of thousands. Many pleas have been made by humanitarians to consider alternatives such as leveraging China's influence with the military leadership of Myanmar, compromising on requirements for relief aid, and directly intervening in the stricken areas, despite the government's restrictions.
Evacuation and relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina provoked a strong political response nationally and internationally. Comparisons to China's response to a devastating earthquake last week already abound. Do all natural disasters have political implications? What is the duty of the global community to victims of a natural disaster? Is there a humanitarian obligation that transcends nation?
How reasonable is it to expect governments to be able to suspend hostilities? Should Myanmar's government be suspicious of infiltration or international interference by the U.S. or other foreign governments offering aid? Is direct intervention a legitimate option if all others are exhausted?
Suggested Readings:
THE CASE FOR INTERVENTION IN BURMA
Who Will Save the Dying Burmese? Best Answer: The Chinese
Mass Death from Lying
HuffPo vs. Laura Bush
Time to Invade Burma?
