With an even greater flapping of wings in the crisp Chicago twilight, Night Owls returns for its second Winter Quarter events. This time, we prey upon journalism.

What Is Journalism For?
Elizabeth Bruenig (Opinion Writer, New York Times),
In Conversation with Agnes Callard (Philosophy, UChicago)
Wednesday, February 17, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Central Time

Click here to register!

At this event, we will discuss the following questions (and more):

• Is There a Difference between Real News and Fake News?
• Do Journalists Have to Be Fair?
• Do Opinion Writers?
• Etc.

We’re pleased to announce that Night Owls will host a conversation between Matthew Landauer (UChicago, Dept. of Political Science) and Agnes Callard (UChicago, Dept. of Philosophy) on the topic of democracy, days before the upcoming election.

Livestream link here.

Details below:

 

 

On Wednesday, October 7th at 6pm CDT join us for the latest installment of Virtual Night Owls! Fredrik deBoer will be talking to Agnes Callard about his new book, The Cult of Smart. 

Livestream link here.

What did you learn?

Interviewing UChicago Students About Their Historic Term

UChicago Students

in Conversation with Agnes Callard

Crowdcast: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/what-did-you-learn

Daniel Morgan (Cinema and Media Studies, UChicago)

In Conversation with Agnes Callard (Philosophy, UChicago)

Thursday, June 4, 5:00-8:00 p.m. Central Time

Livestream on Crowdcast: click here to register for the conversation

At this event, we will discuss the following questions (and more):

• Why do we love movies?
• How do we remember movies?
• What makes Casablanca such a classic movie?
• Does it matter whether we watch them in theaters?
• Is there a distinction between “high” and “low” to be made within movies?
• Movies vs TV: is there still a difference?

Links for signing up for all spring Night Owls events (including ones that have aired already) on Crowdcast here! You can also find the details for this week’s writing contest below. This is the third Night Owls conversation Dan and Agnes have had together—as a guest, Dan is to Night Owls as Alec Baldwin is to SNL!

Click here for a video message from Professor Agnes Callard!

Bonus Night Owls: Thursday, June 18, 5-8 pm CST

Agnes Callard will be interviewing UChicago students for the final Night Owls of the Quarter, which will be about your experience with a full quarter of online learning.

Current UChicago students–any class year, any major–who would like to volunteer should email agcallard@uchicago.edu by noon on 6/5.

In your email, please include your name, year and major, as well as anyone who you would like to have on a panel with you.

We’re excited to hear from you!

What Do Movies Do For Us?

Movies are arguably the preeminent art form of our time, combining music, visual art, acting and storytelling into one all-encompassing experience. They pull tens of billions of dollars every year in profits, something that can be said of no other art form at any point in history.

Everyone has movies that are dear to their heart; a childhood memory, a movie that represents a relationship, an artistic inspiration. We at Night Owls would like to ask: what makes these movies special, and what makes the art form in general special? What makes a good movie, and how does this differ from what makes a good book or good play? What place do movies hold in your own life? Possible topics of reflection include:

 

• The place of movies in modern life
• The unique features of movies over other art forms
• Movies that hold personal significance to you
• Qualities that make a good movie
• The future of movies

Please submit your reflections by Wednesday, June 3, at 3pm CST to ChicagoPhilosophyNightOwls@gmail.com.

 

Chris Kennedy (Linguistics, UChicago)

In Conversation with Agnes Callard (Philosophy, UChicago)

Thursday, May 28, 5:00-8:00 p.m. Central Time

Livestream on Crowdcast: click here to register for the conversation

 

At this event, we will discuss the following questions (and more):

• Is civilization a game we play with words?
• Should you respond to what I said, or what you think I meant?
• In a conversation, is someone keeping score—and should they?
• Can you make something happen just by saying words?
• Can we ever demand that others believe what we say?
• Which is more important: what’s said, or what’s left unsaid?

Links for signing up for the rest of our spring Night Owls events on Crowdcast here! The week after this: “Why Movies Matter”!

Congratulations to the winners of this week’s Night Owls essay contest! You can check out the winning entires here. Thank you to all who entered, and we encourage you all to submit your work again–or for the first time–next week!