Living/Learning Community
The Kenan LLC is an intentionally designed residential community for students interested in conversations, practices, experiments, and group and personal reflections that address the problem of ethical living in contemporary society.
Theme
This year’s theme is Ethics & Alienation: On Establishing Connection Amidst Disconnection.
The food we eat is grown and prepared by people we likely will never meet. The goods we buy are assembled mysteriously across global assembly lines. Our personhood is shaped by the pressures of a competitive job market. And even the seasons of our circadian rhythms are treated as things to be conquered or ignored.
Ordinary disconnections such as these abound within our daily lives. We are alienated from the people whose labors reproduce our lives. We are separated from a sense of our belongingness to the natural world. We are denied the uncategorizable richness of our own multiplicity. We are distracted from the realities of how our wealth is built. We are disillusioned of the feasibility of the better worlds we might dare to dream. These and other alienations are the ground upon which we are asked to ethically act in the technologically advanced world we live.
As a thought experiment, might we ask: What ethics follow from a foundation of disconnection? How does disconnection feel? How does disconnection think? By contrast, we might also ask, what ethics follow from the experience of connection? How does connection feel? How might connection think?
LIVING
Students live together on the second floor of Few HH in the heart of Duke University’s West Campus. The LLC organizes a variety of low-pressure, social and intellectual opportunities (dinners, outings, game nights, etc.) to intentionally build a sense of community around questions of living ethically individually, collectively, and as part of a larger community beyond Duke. The use of common spaces for gathering in the dorm is encouraged; common spaces in Few include the Few HH Second Floor common room, the nearby Few Tower in House GG, and an outdoor courtyard space with seating.
LEARNING
ETHICS 211
M 6:15–7:30p.m.
Old Chem 201
Instructor: Hayes
Required for new LLC members, this course focuses on aspects of living that fall into the background of professional life: sleep, food, mental health, interpersonal relating, and practices of consumption/waste. Assigned readings cover topics related to the concept of “social reproduction,” and interdisciplinary studies on the above-named themes. Weekly peer- and instructor-designed “experiments in living” accompany readings, paired with writing assignments, group reflections, and analytic discussions. The course goal is to help students experientially develop awareness and living practices, while keeping open the question of “ethical living” within the built environment.
COMMUNITY
There are many opportunities for students in the Experiments in Ethical Living LLC to contribute to building community, such as joining our Social, Recruitment, and Trip-Planning Committees. The LLC hosts a variety of social events throughout the school year, including examples such as our annual “Open Door Day” following move-in, a daytrip to the Eno River for swimming and canoeing, and a Halloween-themed cookie cake decorating contest. As the LLC continues to grow and develop, we’re committed to continuing to center community-building through both on-campus events and intentional service engagements throughout Durham.
ANNUAL TRIP
The LLC offers an annual trip to its members, usually taking place over Winter Break before the start of the spring semester. Recent destinations include Puerto Rico, New York City, and Miami. This year’s trip will align with the theme of cultivating skills & awareness around practices of social reproduction and ethical living.
CONTACT
Have a question about the LLC? Contact us at KenanLLC@duke.edu!
Keep up with LLC members by following @dukekenanllc on Instagram!
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