In a world where colleges and universities strive to find new and improved, technically advanced methods of delivering education through a combination of online and classroom instruction, there’s still a case to be made for a more old-fashioned method: having a discussion over a beer.
Higher education institutions have been perfecting that delivery method as well in recent years—the basic premise being a professor giving a talk on an issue of interest at a local bar for free, with patrons asking questions and engaging in a discussion. The basic idea was developed by Café Scientifique, which was founded in the United Kingdom in 1998. Some colleges and universities have developed their own programs, and others are affiliated with established programs. One of the most popular manifestations of the concept, Science Cafés, have sprung up by the hundreds throughout the U.S. and around the globe, and many are affiliated with universities.
Here are seven examples of universities and colleges adopting the beer education method, or something close to it:
1. Engenuity SC’s Science Café
Location: SpeakEasy in Columbia, SC
The University of South Carolina is one of the sponsors of this Science Café, which goes by the theme of "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry.” Organizers encourage attendees to interrupt and ask questions or challenge the speakers at any time. Two of the most recent speakers, from the Medical University of South Carolina's Hollings Cancer Center and Clemson University, gave talks on “cancer equity” and the cars of tomorrow, respectively.
2. Beer with a Scientist
Location: Against the Grain in Louisville, KY
Beer with a Scientist was founded this year by Levi Beverly, an assistant professor at the University of Louisville and investigator at its James Graham Brown Cancer Center and the Institute for Molecular Diversity and Drug Design. The initial talk, this June, was about using nanotechnology to combat HIV and other viruses.
3. Class Uncorked
Location: Cool Beanz Coffeehouse in Rock Island, IL
Class Uncorked gatherings started in January, featuring Augustana College professors with short, informal talks and free-form questions and answers. The first event was about an assessment of the health of urban streams and related ecosystems.
4. Humanities Happy Hour
Location: The University of Toledo's Libbey Hall in Toledo, OH
While this is not technically held at a drinking establishment, the alcohol is provided by a cash bar, and food is free. Humanities Happy Hour is held monthly, with talks in March that featured a Toledo assistant professor of English talking about Indian diasporic cinema, and a theater and film assistant professor leading a discussion called “Let’s Send Batman to Vietnam.”
5. Northwestern University’s Science Café
Location: The Firehouse Grill in Evanston, IL
Northwestern sponsors these Science Cafés monthly from September through May, emphasizing an informal and accessible atmosphere, no cover charge, and encouragement of questions that begin with “This may be a stupid question, but…” In May, the speaker was an assistant professor at Northwestern’s Weinberg College who discussed the effects of climate change on the Arctic.
6. Penn Science Cafe and Penn Lightbulb Cafe
Location: The World Café Live in Philadelphia, PA
The University of Pennsylvania presents this two-café series: Science Café, which launched in 2005, focuses on Penn science research, while Lightbulb Café, which started in 2011, examines research in social science, the arts, and humanities. The hour-long talks start at 6 p.m.; happy hour is from 5 to 7 p.m. A June Lightbulb Café featured an associate professor of criminology from Penn talking about how the public perception of the “dangerous illegal immigrant” plays out in the real world.
7. Four University of Arizona Science Café series
Locations: Downtown Science Café at Magpie's Gourmet Pizza, the Carson Scholars Series Science Café at Borderlands Brewing and the Tumamoc Hill Lecture Series on Tumamoc Hill, all in Tucson, AZ; and the College of Science Lectures at the Desert View Performing Arts Center in Saddlebrooke, AZ
The University of Arizona has taken the Science Café concept and run with it, with four series scheduled concurrently. Each has its own theme and, like previous examples, features scientists from the university in an informal setting. Two examples of talks coming up in September: Examining the impact of human activity on Sonoran pronghorn antelope, and how the horned lizard responds with different defenses to specific types of predators.
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