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Register Online for Atlas Summit 2013!
Feb 15, 2013
Registration information for the Atlas Summit 2013, June 27-30 at the Capital Hilton is now on line at EventBrite.
Some ot the registration options include:
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Call for Presentations Proposals for 2013
Nov 14, 2012
The Atlas Society is currently planning the Atlas Summit 2013, our annual summer conference, long known as the “Summer Seminar.” The Atlas Summit program will be held over three full days: June 28-30, at the Capital Hilton hotel, in Washington, DC. Most people will check in June 27 and check out July 1.
Atlas Summit 2013: June 27-30, Capital Hilton, Washington, DC
The Atlas Society is pleased to announce the site and date of the Atlas Summit 2013. The premier conference of open Objectivism will kick off with registration and receptions on Thursday, June 27. The main program days will be Friday June 28 through Sunday, June 30.
There will also be an extended special session for students on Thursday, June 27. Full program details will be announced during the Winter..
The site will be the elegant and conveniently located Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street NW, Washington, DC. Conference attendees will enjoy a classy and intimate ambiance, making for a delightful long weekend of intellectual re-charging.
Make your plans! Enjoy Washington, intellectual excitement, and the camaraderie of people who share your values. The 2012 US election, the ongoing strife in the Middle East, and the budgetary crises in Europe have all shown that more than ever, we need a culture of individualism and reason. It's early days yet. Start the ball rolling in 2013 at the Atlas Summit.
Atlas Summit a Huge Hit!
Jul 10, 2012
The 2012 Atlas Summit has come and gone. But what an event it was! From everything I heard from participants, to looking at my own goals as Conference Director, it was a huge hit!
We experimented with a new, more compressed schedule for our annual summer seminar this year. The Renaissance Washington DC Downtown provided comfort and elegance. Our speakers left everyone charged up with fresh ideas and renewed idealism.
The Atlas Summit had 193 registered in-person attendees, not counting guests invited at the last minute. In addition, 14 press passes were issued for journalists wanting to attend in person, and 18 press passes for live-streaming were issued, too. This attendance was the best at a TAS summer seminar in a decade, and hopefully all the positive buzz from this year will make this the first of a new growth spurt in involvement in open Objectivism.
Another exceptional aspect of the Atlas Summit was student attendance. 63 students were registed, and even more were present thanks to the Students for Liberty activists manning their table at the event. This is the highest level of student attendance ever at one of our multi-day conferences, and it was powered by a student scholarship program that received applications from students and funding support from donors beyond anything we expected when we began planning this event.
The sessions were recorded as well as live-streamed. Except for a few items we can't include for copyright reasons, the videos in their entirety will be made available as soon as the editing and postproduction can be completed. So if you missed the Atlas Summit, or attended and missed some sessions you still want to catch, keep an eye out in our store and in this blog for announcements of the videos when they become available. And if you don't get our email updates already, sign up for them to not miss any news of our new products and ideas.
Thanks to everyone who took part and made it such a success. Thanks to faculty, conference asistants, and TAS staff who pulled it all off. Thanks to Renaissance staff for their professionalism. Thanks to the event sponsors Heckle-Sketch and Students for Liberty.
Live-streaming: Only $19 for students
Jun 24, 2012
Can't make it to D.C. for the Atlas Summit? No problem --we've got you covered. Register for live-streaming and gain access to all sessions at the Summit. Cost: $99 for general public, $19 for students.
Preparation Guide for Participants!
Jun 20, 2012
To all Atlas Summit participants, good news: your Preparation Guide is here!
Atlas Summit
Either-Or: Atlas Shrugged and Future of Individualism
Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Washington DC
June 28-July 1, 2012
Preparation Guide
The Atlas Summit will begin on Thursday, June 28, with registration from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. and our opening reception at 7 p.m. The conference will end with a closing reception and dance on Sunday evening, July 1. If possible, you should plan to arrive in Washington between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on June 28.
TAS Staff and Offices
While the Atlas Summit’s primary site is the Renaissance Hotel, some participants are staying in the Regan Hall dormitory at the Catholic University of America.
Here’s how to find us:
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At the Renaissance: Meeting Planner Office C off the Renaissance Ballroom Foyer.
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At Catholic University: Kate Herrick, Julian Hassan, and Diego Zuluaga will be the resident Atlas Summit conference staff.
If you need to reach us during the Atlas Summit, call us on our cell phones: Conference Director Will Thomas, 202-370-6880; Assistant Conference Director Sue Fessler, 518-330-2914; Assistant Conference Director Kate Herrick, 313-595-2161; and Conference Assistant Julian Hassan, 908-907-6453.
The Lecture Halls and Common Room
Almost all sessions, meals, and events will take place in or near the Renaissance Ballroom on the Ballroom Level of the Renaissance Hotel. Some sessions will be held in Meeting Room 2 and Meeting Room 3 on the Meeting Room Level. Get a map of the Meeting Room level and the Ballroom Level at: www.marriott.com/hotels/event-planning/floor-plans/wasrb-renaissance-washington-dc-downtown-hotel/ (Click “expand all” to get both maps. They will be in your conference binder,too.)’
From 9 p.m. into the wee hours (starting June 28), the Atlas Summit’s central socializing place will be the Common Room located in Penn Quarter, up the stairs from the lobby. On Saturday, June 30, the Common Room will kick off at 8 p.m. There will be a cash bar with service that ends at midnight.
Renaissance Hotel Contact Numbers
The Renaissance Hotel front desk phone number is 202-898-9000 and can be called any time. Our event manager with the Renaissance is Nathan Baca, (202) 682-3416. Up to June 28, the person to contact about our group discount room rate is Rachel Nickerson, (202) 682-3427.
For those staying at CUA, your check-in and check-out is with Conferences and Pryzbyla Management (conference services). Their office is at 201 Pryzbyla Center (officially The Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center) CUA’s 24-hour help line: 202-319-5200. CUA conferences office: 202-319-5291.
Conference Registration
At conference registration, you will receive a name tag that will be your primary participant identification, as well as a 3-ring binder containing abstracts and outlines of the Atlas Summit sessions, a program schedule, and other useful information.
Registration for the conference will take place from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. and from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. on Thursday, June 28: look for us in the lobby, and if we aren’t there, look for us near Office C on the Ballroom Level by the Renaissance Ballroom.
If you cannot make it to registration at those times, track down the TAS conference staff at one of the TAS offices, by phone, or at the lecture halls and Common Room in Penn Quarter, and we will register you for the conference.
Room Registration
If you are staying at the Renaissance Hotel, just check in to your room there as you would at any hotel. You may check in after 3 p.m. on your day of arrival, and you must check out by noon on your day of departure. Enjoy the comfort and convenience of the Renaissance!
If you are staying at Catholic University, check in with Conferences and Pryzbyla Management in the Pryzbyla Center. Also, let Kate Herrick or one of the Conference Assistants know you’ve arrived. Catholic University will provide your room with a linen package of 2 sheets, 1 wash cloth, 1 towel, 1 pillow case, and 1 coverlet, which will not be washed or changed during your stay. TAS will provide a pillow. You should bring soap, shampoo, and detergent (if you plan to do laundry). Note: linen service towels can be small.
Getting to the Renaissance Hotel
The Renaissance Hotel is at 999 Ninth Street NW. Parking is $33 per day ($40 valet). For other nearby parking options, go to: www.dcconvention.com/content/Washington_DC_DT_Parking_Map_2011_Master_04.aspx
On the convenient Metrorail system, the Renaissance is four blocks from the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop on the red, yellow, and green lines. (The red line also serves Catholic University and Union Station; the yellow line also serves Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.) The Renaissance is also four blocks from the Mount Vernon Square/7th Street/Convention Center stop on the yellow and green lines.
Meals and Events at the Atlas Summit
The following meals and events are part of the Atlas Summit program and all are covered as part of your whole conference registration. If you have any special dietary requirements, check with the conference director.
Opening Reception To open the Atlas Summit, TAS will host an opening reception 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in the Renaissance Ballroom Foyer. It will feature food stations that should satisfy the not-too-hungry eater (but if you’re very hungry or have a restricted diet, you may want to dine separately). There will be free soft drinks and a cash bar for alcohol. Come meet everyone, get to know the speakers and staff, and get into the swing of things. After the reception, drift up to the Common Room in Penn Quarter to keep the conviviality going. Meeting for Students The Atlas Society staff invites students attending the Atlas Summit to a special meeting at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, in Meeting Room 3, after the opening reception. Students on scholarship are required to attend (and complete an assignment that will be explained at the meeting). For all students, and especially for those attending their first TAS event, this will be a valuable opportunity to consider the distinctive value of Objectivism and to meet other students as well as some of the Atlas Summit faculty. Friday Dinner Event “Atlas Shrugged and Struggle for Liberty” The Friday dinner is a full, seated banquet with salad, entree, dessert, and a selection of table wines. It will be held from 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. in the Renaissance Ballroom West. If you are attending the Friday dinner, you must choose an entree from among: Smoked tea salt marinated N.Y. strip steak with porcini demi-glace & au gratin potatoes Double breast of chicken with forest mushroom duxelle, with sundried tomato-marsala demi-glace & reggiano polenta Oven-roasted salmon with lobster-tarragon sauce & ginger risotto cake Roasted vegetable paella (vegan), composed of saffron scented shortgrain rice, piquillo peppers, zucchini, squash, sweet peas, grilled eggplant, oven roasted tomatoes, & grilled asparagus We are sending each participant an online survey link that you can use to let us know whether you are attending the opening reception, the Friday dinner, and/or the closing reception, and to let us know what your entree preference is for the dinner (if you will be there). You can also just email your preferences to the conference director. Either way, let us know your meal preferences by Sunday, June 24. Closing Reception and Dance Party The Atlas Summit goes out with a bang. TAS will host a catered reception Sunday, July 1, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in the Renaissance Ballroom West. The food stations should satisfy the not-too-hungry eater (but if you’re very hungry or have a restricted diet, you may want dine separately). There will be free soft drinks and a cash bar for alcohol. After the reception, you may hit the dance floor or drift out to the Foyer for conversation with friends old and newfound. What to Bring We suggest a “dress casual” clothing style: not stuffy, not sloppy. Be prepared for heat and humidity outside and for cold air-conditioning inside. For the Friday dinner and for the final reception and dance on Sunday night, or if you plan to attend our Sponsors Dinner Saturday night, you should plan to wear something more dressy (a jacket and tie for men or an evening or cocktail dress for women would suit the occasions fine). If you want to take notes on the Atlas Summit sessions, a pen or pencil and some loose-leaf notebook paper might serve you well, though your conference binder has a page at least for the outline of each session. Conference Sessions Format The standard format at the Atlas Summit is a lecture to a large group. Sessions will start and end at the posted times: arrive before the start to have time to get comfortable. There will be an M.C. at each session to introduce the speaker and moderate the session. Speakers will try to leave time for questions from the audience: we will have microphones placed in the aisles of the lecture halls where participants should line up to ask questions. Keep your questions brief and to-the-point: your views are very welcome, but others may have questions, too. At speakers’ discretion, the format for some sessions may differ. We will be video-recording, too, and this will require some formality in how sessions proceed. Website and Online Program The Atlas Summit website is www.atlassociety.org/as. Go there or to http://either-or.sched.org to see the conference schedule, see who else is attending, and create your personalized program. (Social networking via Sched.org replaces our traditional print Participant Directory.) You can download the program onto your mobile device, too. We will post other resources on the Atlas Summit website, including a link to live streaming, and after the conference it will be your source for speakers’ notes and slide shows and for recordings. Participant-Sponsored Sessions These afternoon and evening sessions are for lectures, meetings, and other participant-run activities. You could give a talk you have prepared, or simply host a discussion of a favorite topic or one of the Summit’s presentations. You might even persuade a faculty member to join in or field questions. Participant-Session sponsors book one of the rooms we have available for one-hour time slots and provide a description of the session for posting on the Atlas Summit bulletin boards. Write to the conference director if you want to offer one. We try to accommodate all reasonable proposals, but note that only a limited number of rooms are available. Although the rooms available may be equipped with audiovisual equipment, they also may not. Any audiovisual arrangements are ultimately the responsibility of the participant, as are any special costs for the session. If you will need A/V equipment, check with the conference director to see if your room will automatically come with A/V support. We will have an initial PSS schedule posted as part of the online schedule by June 25, which you can use to determine your room assignment, if you proposed a PSS in advance. Seminar Policies The Atlas Summit exemplifies The Atlas Society’s two-decade tradition of open, rational, benevolent conversation about philosophy, politics, the arts, and the art of living. We encourage you to take every opportunity to engage with the people and ideas we have gathered. We trust and expect that you will do so in a civil, courteous, and even friendly manner, so that you and your fellow participants can have an enjoyable, educational experience. All participants are responsible for complying with the policies of the Renaissance Hotel and The Atlas Society. Moderators and conference assistants are responsible for the orderly conduct of sessions; we ask that participants comply with their requests and exercise respect for speakers. We also ask that participants always treat others in a civil and courteous manner. During Seminar sessions, audio and video recording is not permitted, except with permission of TAS. Speakers on the program speak for themselves, and their views are not necessarily those of the Atlas Society. The Atlas Society reserves the right to limit or deny further participation in the Atlas Summit to anyone who violates these policies. On this and on all other matters that may arise during the Atlas Summit, the decision of the conference director shall be final. Finally, it is our policy to try to make this conference as excellent an experience as it can be! We hope you will have an enriching and delightful time at the Atlas Summit. The Atlas Society 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 830, Washington, D.C. 20036 Email: ConferenceDirector@atlassociety.org Telephone: 800-374-1776 or 202-AYN-RAND (202-296-7263) Fax: 202-296-0771 www.atlassociety.org
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| Preparation Guide 2012 AS.pdf | 125.87 KB |
Stossel on Regime Uncertainty
Jun 07, 2012
The burden of unjustified laws and regulations would be hard enough for businesses to bear if they were stable, but uncertainty makes it even harder. As John Stossel argues:
Read more from Stossel at Reason.com, and come see him at the Atlas Summit.
Kerry O'Quinn to Speak on Struggle
Jun 07, 2012
Unfortunately, professor Anne Wortham is not able to come and speak on "Sociology in The Fountainhead," as she had planned. We wish Anne well and hope to see her at a future event.
But into the breach has stepped Kerry O'Quinn.
Kerry will be speaking in the 10:15 time slot on Saturday, June 30 that Anne had held. Kerry's talk is titled "Reach for the Stars." It's a personal challenge to all lovers of Ayn Rand's vision of achievement to live it in lives that stretch beyond our comfort zones and struggle to make the most of our opportunities.
Trained as an Objectivist in the 1960s, Kerry O'Quinn has lived a life of artistic and entrepreneurial achievement, most notably as co-founder and publisher of Starlog science fiction magazine for many years, but also in various publishing, writing, and producing activities too numerous to recount here.
(Photo) Kerry showing his irrepressible sense of humor with a statue of a childhood influence! Amen!
Thanks, Donors!
May 30, 2012
Over the weekend, I was able to increase the total number of scholarship students accepted to 36, from an already high number in the low 20s. It's all thanks to our donors, with special thanks to Ashwin Vasan, who came through in the pinch with a donation that made it possible add 13 students right away, many from abroad
For these students, the Atlas Summit promises to be an unforgettable chance to explore the world-view of open Objectivism. We're still expanding our reach for the event, trying to bring even more students. Donors, your help with this work is much appreciated!
Hotel and dorm options
May 18, 2012
The Atlas Summit is going to be fantastic! It's our Summer Seminar on steroids, packed with headliners and fascinating content. It's where the open Objectivist movement will be this summer!
For those coming to the Atlas Summit from out of town, here's a primer on places to stay.
The Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel – UPDATE: inquire for discount
The Renaissance is Atlas Summit Central. You're just an elevator ride and a few steps from all the sessions, the Friday dinner with John Stossel, the receptions, and the Common Room.
The Renaissance is comfort, convenience, and downtown Washington, with all its restaurants and entertainment, at your doorstep.
We've reserved a block of rooms at the amazing price of $189 per night (normally, these rooms go for over $300 per night)! This is very competitive rate for downtown Washington. To take advantage of the $189 discount rate at the Renaissance, be sure to reserve your room by 6pm, Thursday, May 31. After that time, fewer or no rooms may be available at the discount rate. UPDATE: a small number of rooms remain available at the $189 rate. It's also possible to get an upgraded, larger “Capitol room” at the Renaissance for $239 per night.
There's only one way to get the Atlas Summit/Summer Seminar discount rate at the Renaissance: write to conferencedirector@atlassociety.org. If you contact the hotel directly, you could well hear that it is sold out or that the going rate is much higher than our special discount.
There's no advance payment needed at the Renaissance: your credit card is for confirmation purposes, only. You won't be charged until June 28. You can cancel your reservation at any time before your check-in day.
Catholic University Dorms – UPDATE: Inquire
For those on a tight budget, we've made arrangements for basic dormitory accommodations in double rooms at the Catholic University of America (if you don't have a roommate, we can find you one). The dorm, expected to be Regan Hall, is half an hour by foot and Metro rail from the Renaissance where the Atlas Summit events take place (I've timed it.). The rooms are air-conditioned open doubles with twin beds. Bathroom facilities are shared (segregated by sex, of course).
The dorms are basic, college-style living. But it is cheap: $210 for four nights June 28-July 1: that's $52.50 per night, and it includes breakfast provided each morning June 29-July 2 at CUA. Over thirty-five scholarship students and others will be staying at CUA, so it won't be lonely and you'll have company traveling back and forth. To make a dorm reservation, go to http://either-or.eventbrite.com.
Because dorm rooms must be reserved and paid for in advance, it may not be possible to get rooms after May 29, and room payments may not be refundable after that date. It may still be possible to book a CUA dorm package. Contact conference director at atlas society dot org to check if any are available.
Other options – Good luck!
The Washington area is full of hotels, but June 28-July 2 is a busy period. Parking downtown can be tricky or expensive, but Washington's extensive Metro system overs a lot of the territory and their website has a handy trip planner. Comparison shop if you like with online services like hotels.com to see what's available. Or bid for a good value on Priceline.com (both these have worked well for me in my travels). Cheaper hotels are further out in the suburbs. Just remember: you are trying to get to the Renaissance Downtown, at 999 9th Street NW, Washington, DC. 20001 each day for the Atlas Summit activities.
