Membership and Registration
Membership
The Fall 2025 Series of the Swarthmore Discussion Group membership fee is $199. This includes a catered dinner with each of the four lectures in the series, which are in person and on Wednesday evenings. The evening begins with an optional happy hour from 5:15 - 6 p.m., then dinner from 6 - 7 p.m., and then the lecture from 7 - 8:15 p.m.
The Fall 2025 Series membership registration is due by Sept. 10, 2025. When membership is paid, registration is confirmed via email. Membership is capped at 100 participants.
Membership includes a catered dinner at The Inn at Swarthmore Gathering Room, located at 10 S. Chester Road, Swarthmore, PA 19081. Please note that no refunds are available.
For more information about registration, contact sdg@swarthmore.edu
Online Registration
If registering online for a membership for yourself and a partner, spouse, or friend, please make sure to add that person as a guest.
Fall 2025 Series Registration
Single Talk Registration:
SEPT. 17, 2025
Define "Irony"
Ben Yagoda,
Author and Educator
From Jonathan Swift to Alanis Morissette to hipsters swigging Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, cultural figures and ordinary people have offered “ironic” commentary on their times. But what, really, does “irony” mean? Has our entire culture become “irony-pilled”? Author and cultural critic Ben Yagoda takes a deep dive into the word “irony” and suggests how we can make sense of the many different ways we hear and see it used.
Ben Yagoda Single Talk Registration
OCT. 15, 2025
The Best Education Money Can’t Buy:
The Uniqueness of Berea College
Gretchen Dykstra,
Author
In 1855, John Fee, the son of a slave owner, established the first integrated and co-educational school in the South. Today this small college educates 1600 talented students annually. Most come from Appalachia. Every student gets free tuition and works 10 to 20 hours a week on campus. Fifty percent of the students are Black or Latino and five percent are international, coming from more than 70 nations. Berea’s unique role in American higher education — with its commitment to social justice — is rooted in its audacious beginning and steadfast values. It walks the walk.
Gretchen Dysktra Single Talk Registration
NOV. 12, 2025
Foreign Aid in the Rearview Mirror
Stephen O'Connell,
Gil and Frank Mustin Professor of Economics, Swarthmore College; Former Chief Economist, USAID
Foreign aid has been viewed by U.S. governments as a vital instrument of soft power for 75 years. Yet the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was one of the first major actions of the Trump administration. Why? And what does Project 2025 suggest may follow for institutional design and the targeting of assistance? What are the likely consequences of a major decline in foreign aid?
Stephen O'Connell Single Talk Registration
DEC. 10, 2025
"The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America"
Ron Tarver, Associate Professor of Art, Swarthmore College
Ron Tarver, visual artist and winner of numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, corrects the American cowboy narrative in his book, “The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America.” From ranches to city streets, Tarver’s photographs reveal the beauty, romance, and visual poetry of Black cowboys throughout the country through 110 photos made in the early ’90s, at the start of this 30-year (ongoing) project.
Ron Tarver Single Talk Registration
Registration through the Mail
Please make checks payable to “Swarthmore College” and note in the memo line that your check is for the "Swarthmore Discussion Group." Send the check with your name, address, phone number, and email to The Swarthmore Discussion Group, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave, Swarthmore, PA 19081.
