Early in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Arthur Fergenson (our mini-Reunion Chair) initiated a series of Casual Conversations among classmates. These 2-hour conversations occur roughly monthly using Zoom and are on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 pm ET unless otherwise specified. About 3 weeks before each event, an announcement is posted here on the web site and sent to all classmates for whom we have valid email addresses. If you wish to suggest a topic, suggest a classmate, or lead a discussion yourself - you should contact Arthur Fergenson.
Here is a list of classmates who have participated in our Casual Conversations, and here is a (quick and dirty) list of the 100 Casual Conversation events since we started in June of 2020, as of October 2024.
Here is the Save the Date list of coming attractions.
Casual Conversation January 21, 2024 with Professor Egginton
On Sunday, January 21, at 3 pm Eastern Time (US), Johns Hopkins Professor William Egginton will be our guest in a Casual Conversation. Professor Egginton is the Decker Professor in the Hu
Casual Conversation January 11th with Rabbi Ross about Martin Buber
On Thursday, January 11 at 5 pm Eastern Time, we will have a Casual Conversation sponsored by the Jewish Culture Group chaired by classmate Bruce Alpert, with Rabbi Dennis S.
Casual Conversation with Jerry Zaks '67 on January 7, 2024
Thanks to classmate Ben Romney, Jerry Zaks from the Dartmouth Class of 1967 will be our guest for a Casual Conversation on January 7, 2024, at 3 pm Eastern.
Casual Conversation about Ben Hecht with Prof. Gorbach December 18, 2023
Next Monday, December 18 at 5 pm Professor Julien Gorbach will be our guest for a Casual Conversation about Ben Hecht. Professor Gorbach is an Associate Professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the author of Notorious Ben Hecht: Iconoclastic Writer and Militant Zionist. This is how Professor Gorbach describes himself:
Casual Conversation with Professor Gbur December 3, 2023
On Sunday, December 3 at 3 pm Eastern Time, Professor Gregory Gbur will be with us for a Casual Conversation. He is Professor of Physics And Optical Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Professor Gbur is the author mist recently of Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not to Be Seen (Yale University Press 2003).
Casual Conversation with Lynn Lobban November 19th at 3:00
Our classmate Lynn Lobban will be our guest for a Casual Conversation on Zoom on Sunday, November 19, at 3 pm Eastern Time. Lynn is one of the eleven Pioneering Women of the Class of 1969, adopted by the Class of 1969, without a single dissenting vote, in the Fall of 2006, 37 years after they were in residence at the College with the status of exchange or special students during our Senior Year.
Casual Conversation November 16th with Hilik Wald about Israel
Please join us for a Pop-Up Casual Conversation sponsored by the Jewish Culture Group, chaired by classmate Bruce Alpert, on Thursday, November 16 at 3:30 pm Eastern Time (U.S.). Our guest will be Hilik Wald from Israel, where it will be 10:30 in the evening.
Bruce describes how he has come to know Hilik:
Casual Conversation November 5th, 2023 with Gary Ginsberg
Courtesy of the efforts by our classmate Peter Schaeffer, on Sunday, November 5 at 3 pm Eastern, Gary Ginsberg will be our guest for a Casual Conversation. Mr. Ginsberg is the author of First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents (Twelve 2021).
Casual Conversation October 29 with Classmates who served in Vietnam
Please see below for an important Casual Conversation on Sunday, October 29 at 3 pm Eastern Time. The guests are our classmates, each of whom served in Vietnam during the war. The event was organized by classmate Bill Stableford, who introduces in the description below the men who will be our guests to discuss their experiences before, during, and after their service abroad.
Usual rules apply: RSVP to my email by the Friday before, October 27: arthur.fergenson@ansalaw.com .
Arthur Fergenson