Robert Putnam, political scientist and author of ‘Bowling Alone,’ comes to Vanderbilt Sept. 19

Dialogue Vanderbilt is partnering with the Aspen Institute's Weave Projectto bring Robert Putnam to campus to explore "How to Heal a Divided America."

Putnamwarned about social isolation and its destructive impact on society in his 2020 book Bowling Alone. Almost 25 years later, he will visit Vanderbilt to scrutinize what he believes to be a "deepening and intensifying of that trend" during a conversation with an expert in community building, Weave Project Executive Director Frederick Riley.

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"We're in a really important turning point in American history," Putnam told The New York Times.

Putnam and Riley will be in conversation on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 5:30 p.m. CT in Langford Auditorium.The two will discuss the impact of social isolation and polarization and share their insights on reviving community and building-or "weaving"-relationships.

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This featured talk is part of a two-day collaboration between Dialogue Vanderbilt and the Weave Project and will be followed by a series of workshops and panels on Friday, Sept. 20.

Robert D. Putnamis the Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. He has written 15 books, which have been translated into 20 languages, including Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italyand Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community,both among the most cited (and bestselling) social science works in the last half century. In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded him the National Humanities Medal, the nation's highest honor for contributions to the humanities, for "deepening our understanding of community in America."

Frederick J. Rileyis the executive director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute. Riley has served as the chief advancement officer for the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, the national director of urban development for YMCA of the USA and the principal thought leader and strategist for programs and services impacting more than three million teens around the country. He has spent almost two decades ensuring positive life trajectory for youth through his focus on urban, underserved communities and poverty.