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 06 - May 09
A Just Verdict? The Sean Bell Case
In late 2006, Sean Bell—who was unarmed—was killed by 50 shots fired by New York City police officers outside a nightclub just hours before he was to be married. On April 26, all three detectives involved in the shooting—Gescard Isnora, Marc Cooper, and Michael Olliver—were acquitted of all of the charges against them including reckless endangerment, assault, and manslaughter. Protests erupted in New York opposing Judge Arthur Cooperman’s ruling in this case, and Bell’s family members are continuing to seek accountability for his death. Some lawmakers have vowed a federal probe into the shooting, while others feel the ruling should be left alone.
Did the justice system let Bell’s family down, as Bell’s fiance Nicole Paultre Bell has expressed? Or were the police officers justified in their shooting, no matter how tragic the outcome? How does this case fit into the long line of police killings of people of color? Should the family and lawmakers pursue federal charges against these officers?
Join us this week as we discuss whether justice was served in the Sean Bell case.
Suggested Readings:
Cops Acquitted in 50-Bullet Killing of Unarmed Black Man on His Wedding Day
No, the Cops Didn't Murder Sean Bell
50 Bullets, No Conviction
Lawmaker vows thorough probe into Sean Bell shooting
Feds must resist push to prosecute cops who killed Sean Bell
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
