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A presentation given by a distinguished individual on a topic of interest to the field of general semantics

The Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture Series

AKML Speakers

Since 1952, the Institute of General Semantics has sponsored the annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture (AKML), a presentation given by a distinguished individual on a topic of interest to the field of general semantics.  View Archive | Upcoming Lecture Series

History

In 1952, two years after founder Alfred Korzbyski’s sudden death, Institute of General Semantics Director M. Kendig initiated an annual program to remember Korzybski and celebrate the continuation of his goals for human development and progress.

This program became known as the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture Series, or “AKML.” Kendig viewed this series as a means not only to remember Korzybski, but also to celebrate the contributions of those whose work is scientifically oriented and promotes what Korzybski termed “time-binding,” the unique human ability to build on the achievements of others through the use of symbols and languages.

Prestige

An impressive lineup of speakers has added significant prestige to the AKML, which over the years has featured prominent authors, scientists, psychologists, educators, and individuals from varied backgrounds.

A few of the more recognizable names include Abraham Maslow, Buckminster Fuller, Albert Ellis, Steve Allen, Leonard Shlain, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Lou Marinoff, Ellen Langer, J. Allan Hobson, Robert Carneiro, James Van Allen, Karl H. Pribram, Deborah Tannen, Sherry Turkle, and others.


Upcoming events

    • 20 Sep 2024
    • 22 Sep 2024
    • The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park S, New York, NY 10003
    Register

    Registration is for 

    In-Person Attendance ONLY

    Click Here for the Schedule


    All IGS Members in Good Standing Will Receive Instructions on How to Livestream the Event Online Prior to the AKML

    The 72nd Annual 

    Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture

    and the Symposium on

    Communication,

    Consciousness,

    and Culture

    September 20th-22nd, 2024

    Co-Sponsored by the New York Society for General Semantics

    the International Bateson Institute

    the Media Ecology Association

    the Tomkins Institute

    and the 404 Festival of Art and Technology

    featuring

    Maryanne Wolf

    Dr. Maryanne Wolf is a scholar, teacher, and advocate for children and literacy around the world. She is the Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the University of California Los Angeles in the School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA and the former John DiBiaggio Professor of  Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. She has authored over 170 scientific publications; Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (15 translations; HarperCollins, 2007); Tales of Literacy for the 21st Century (Oxford University Press, 2016); and Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital Culture (12 translations; HarperCollins, 2018). She is co-author with Martha Denckla of the RAN/RAS naming speed tests, a universal predictor of dyslexia, and the creator of the RAVE-O Intervention Program for all struggling readers. She has received multiple awards for her contributions to the neuroscience of reading; the major awards from the International Dyslexia Association and the Einstein Award from the Dyslexia Foundation for her dyslexia research; and the Media Ecology Association's Walter Ong Award for Career Achievement in Scholarship for her work on the effects of different media on the intellectual development of the species. Most recently, she was elected a permanent member of the Pontifical Academy of Science.

    Dr. Wolf's Korzybski Lecture is entitled:

    Deep Reading in a Digital Milieu:

    The Beauty, the Threats, and Choice

    This lecture will use research from cognitive neuroscience to present an evolving portrait of the reading brain in a digital world, where the threat of continuous distraction competes with the perception of beauty and meaning in written language. An understanding of how different media shape and influence the development and use of deep reading processes will be used to discuss the antidote of choice by the reader, as well as the potential repercussions for our society and democracy.

    The lecture, dinner, and symposium are being held at the historic Players Club in Gramercy Park, Manhattan. 

    Registration is free for IGS members and their guests, but all attendees must be registered in advance in order to gain admittance to the club. More information regarding the dinner and symposium schedule will be made available at a later date.

    Please note that as an historic 18th century landmark, the site is not handicap accessible. Dress code is business casual and is strictly enforced, including no sneakers, shorts, ripped jeans, t-shirts).

    • 30 Sep 2024
    • 23 Dec 2024
    • 12 sessions
    • Zoom
    Register

    Science and Sanity

    Sixth Edition
    Reading Group

    The Institute of General Semantics is pleased to announce that our long-awaited reading group devoted to the new edition of Alfred Korzybski's magnum opus will be held this autumn, following our annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture and symposium. The reading group will be led by IGS President Lance Strate on Monday evenings beginning September 30th, and continuing through to December 23rd.

    Alfred Korzybski's Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics was first published in 1933, and has remained in print for over 90 years now, with the Sixth Edition having been published in 2023, and available in the traditional hardcover version, and new paperback and searchable ebook versions.

    As the work that introduced general semantics to the world, Science and Sanity is essential reading for anyone interested in the topic, and remains highly influential in many other fields and disciplines. And yet, this is a book that has often been misunderstood, and universally acknowledged as challenging and difficult to read. For this reason, we will bring together new readers and seasoned veterans for the first time to discuss Korzybski's work in an online live forum via Zoom.

    All references and page numbers in the discussion will be based on print versions of the Sixth Edition, which differs somewhat from previous editions. If you do not have a copy of the new edition, you can obtain one through any major online bookseller, and via the IGS's online bookstore (IGS members can obtain a 15% discount by emailing orders at generalsemantics.org for the coupon code). 

    Registration is free and open to the public. You do not have to be a member of the Institute of General Semantics to join the reading group, but it is strongly encouraged. Registrants will receive information for joining the Zoom session in an email reminder. Sessions will be recorded and made available for viewing to IGS members. 

    Schedule

    Note that every session will run from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM New York Time. For the sessions scheduled from Sept. 30th to Oct. 28th this will be Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4), and from Nov. 4th to Dec. 23rd it will be Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5).

    The following are the dates and sections of the book to be discussed:

    September 30: All front matter, including Prefaces to the 6th, 5th, 4th, & 3rd editions, Introduction to the 2nd edition, and Preface to the 1st edition

    October 7: Book 1 Part 1

    October 14: Book 1 Part 2

    October 21: Book 1 Part 3

    October 28: Book 1 Part 4

    November 4: Book 1 Part 5

    November 11: No Meeting

    November 18: Book 1 Part 6

    November 25: Book 2 Part 7

    December 2: Book 3 Prefatory Remarks & Part 8

    December 9: Book 3 Part 9

    December 16: Book 3 Part 10

    December 23: Supplements

Past events

25 Jul 2024 Navigating the Now: A Guide to Recognizing What is Going On? A 3-Day General Semantics Seminar
1 May 2024 Film Screening: Man on a Mission
27 Apr 2024 Non-Aristotelian Perspectives, Ecological Approaches, and the Anthropocene II Symposium
4 Mar 2024 Language and Thought Online Course
15 Feb 2024 Michelle Shocked & bluerace In Concert
12 Dec 2023 "I Feel, Therefore I Am": Reviewing the Thought and Work of Silvan Tomkins
22 Nov 2023 The Calculus as A Psychological Tool
27 Oct 2023 AKML and Symposium
16 Oct 2023 So You Want to Change the World? A Hitchhiker's Guide to Subversive Thinking
18 Sep 2023 Comprehending & Minimizing Interpersonal Conflict: An Adaptation of Laing, Philipson, & Lee’s Interpersonal Perception Method
7 Aug 2023 Language and Thought Online Course
19 Jun 2023 General Semantics Seminar
25 May 2023 Some Perspective on the Perspective of Communication and Media Revolutions
29 Apr 2023 Ecologies of Mind, Media, and Meaning 2 Symposium
25 Apr 2023 Film Screening: The Frontier Gandhi
26 Mar 2023 General Semantics and Epistemics: The Science-Art of Innovating
21 Feb 2023 EmpathyA is not EmpathyB is not EmpathyC
31 Jan 2023 What is Warm Data?
12 Dec 2022 Metaphors and Definitions: A General Semantics Look at the Language of Pain, Addiction, and the Opioid Epidemic
11 Nov 2022 Challenging Some Common-Sense Notions About Language
28 Oct 2022 The Issue of Is: A Commentary on the Case Against the Verb “To Be”
7 Oct 2022 AKML and Symposium
29 Sep 2022 How to Improve Your Thinking and Communicating Ability Using General Semantics
21 Sep 2022 The Map is Not the Territory
25 Jun 2022 Science, Sanity, and the Semantic Environment II: An Online Symposium
6 Apr 2022 Totem and Taboo in Contemporary Talk
1 Oct 2021 AKML and Symposium

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