An economist and author, Jiří Kinkor, hosted AAU’s first guest lecture of the semester where he discussed the benefits of capitalism and how it equates to freedom on 12 February.
The lecture started with Kinkor’s presentation, discussing the author’s main point that capitalism is freedom. Students had mixed reactions. Some agreed some didn’t, but the collective few in attendance agreed that it is beneficial to hear different ideas.
“I have been to a few of the guest lectures, and usually there aren’t that many people,” said Linden Rodstrom, a third-year student, “I thought the lecture was an unexpected and interesting philosophical perspective on the freedom that capitalism promises to its followers. While I don’t agree, I like to see various perspectives.”
The lecture had 12 members in attendance, the highest since the beginning of last semester, according to Rodstrom’s experience.
Some students don’t go because they aren’t aware of them, according to journalism student Antoinette Goldberg who hasn’t attended any guest lectures. While they are posted around campus and on social media some students miss the notification and some simply don’t have the time.
“I think the main reason [for low attendance] is that people are so busy with their lives; and, even though a lot of guest lectures sound super interesting, they’re already in a set routine with their classes and work, or maybe they just are too tired from both of those things to go to a guest lecture,” said humanities student Mia Merk.
AAU offers guest lectures that vary in topic and can help expand students’ knowledge on these different subjects. It can be a wonderful opportunity to meet people from other schools and gain knowledge on subjects outside one’s major.
Upcoming guest lectures for Spring 2024 can be viewed on the School of Humanities and Social Sciences AAUNET, and all planned, future AAU events can be viewed on the AAU website, including past archived events.
