In its first year at the University of Guelph-Humber, the Agora Fellowships saw eight students gather together in an exclusive reading and discussion group. Led by Assistant Vice-Provost and Program Head of Business, George Bragues, they tackled the subject of liberty and what it means to be free by delving into classic works of political philosophy. They later travelled to America’s seat of political power to get a better understanding of the subject.
Now entering its second year, a new group of Agora Fellows has been announced. After applications and interviews, the Agora Fellowships for the 2016-17 academic year are:
Ovais Ahmad (Justice Studies)
Kaitlyn Boivin (Media Studies)
Holly Boyne (Psychology)
Emma Kelly (Justice Studies)
Parisa Khazra (Business)
Ankush Saini (Business)
Maggie Stein (Psychology)
Christine Tucci (Media Studies)
They’ll be meeting together in the fall semester to read and discuss works by Aristotle and Adam Smith. Whereas last year’s subject was freedom, this year they’ll focus on happiness and how or if we can attain it.
“This is a topic that’s basically the root purpose of human existence, so it’s something I really want to explore on a deeper level,” says Parisa Khazra, who’s entering her fourth year of Business at UofGH. “My program is very focused, so it’s nice to have an opportunity to read these books that I probably wouldn’t otherwise be able to.”
While Parisa says she’s excited about getting a chance to read these works, the thing she’s most looking forward to about being an Agora Fellow is the conversations.
“I’m someone who likes to debate and hear other people’s opinions, and I like to have my beliefs challenged. We’re at the time in our lives when we’re making major decisions about what we want to do and what we believe, so taking part as an Agora Fellow could be a pivotal experience,” she says.
For another participant, fourth-year Psychology student Maggie Stein, the Agora Fellowships are a natural complement to what she’s been learning in class.
“As an aspiring psychologist, this is right up my alley,” she says. “In my field, we’re often focusing on what makes people unhappy. You want to diagnose, find out why people aren’t meeting a norm and apply a therapy to fix that. A newer approach is positive psychology that takes a strengths-based approach. You ask people what’s good about their life and deduct the bad by adding the good. Getting to think and talk about happiness fits really nicely with that.”
Like Parisa, she’s also excited to engage with what the other fellows think and say.
“I’m an opinionated person, so it’s nice to have interested minds come together and see what people have to say,” Maggie says. “We all want to be there, so we’re going to come prepared, having done all of our readings and really care about the issue. I’m a strong believer in learning in groups, where you get to sit, talk, pick each other’s brains and disagree.”
The Agora Fellows being meeting in the fall, and applications for the Fellowships are open in the spring.
Learn more about the program on its webpage.