What is a Salon?

Historically, salons were gatherings of people for good conversation and rhetorical pursuits. Such gatherings happened in Athens during the time of Socrates and Aspasia and during the Renaissance in Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. Some of the most famous were led by women in 17th and 18th century France and are referred to by historian Mary Beard as "feminine institutions of civility".1

The Utne Reader refers to salons as "an informal discussion group, an intellectual jam session, a thought traders' rendezvous".2

1. www.salon1999.com
2. http://www.utne.com

For more information see the above Internet references. To participate in salons and learn about other people doing salons contact:

Neighborhood Salon Association
UTNE Reader
1624 Harmon Place, Suite 330
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Stories Told about Grandparents' Economic Situations

"One of my grandmothers, of Norwegian background, was a seamstress who was as 'tough as nails' and lived to be 98 years old. The sewing shop where she worked was in the second floor of the building on Front Street in Traverse City where the local brewery and pub are now located. One time while her husband, a carpenter, could not find work here and had to go downstate; she relocated the family from a house in the country outside of Suttons Bay into the town. She did this by buying a lot for $50.00 and having the house moved to this lot while she sat in the moving house, sewing."

"My grandmothers were great women; they ran households and this was not based on money. One of my grandfathers emigrated from Sweden as an indentured servant after the cow he was responsible for died. He focused on survival and worked very hard eventually becoming head of design for an automobile company. He always focused on dollars. One time while the mill where he had been working was on fire he ran to another mill to be sure he would be able to get a new job. He was very successful and a "very unhappy guy." My other grandfather emigrated from Scotland when he was 7 years old. His first job in the U.S. was in Detroit. He wound up here; never made much money and retired with very little money but was a very happy person. When my father went bankrupt, this latter grandfather came to our house with a $100.00 gift."

"My great grandfather left a journal describing his life. He emigrated from the Netherlands where he had worked on a farm. He came to the U.S. to try to do better and settled in Muskegon where he worked in the lumber mills. He did "shit jobs" under terrible working conditions. He developed networks of support through church and friends and relied on these people when he had problems including need for loans. In his older years he was a gardener for wealthy people. He was proud of what he did and able to support his family. . . . things don't work this way now; we don't build communities rather we depend on money."

". . . one of my grandfathers was a timber camp doctor in the Southern pine lands; the other one was a mining engineer. In their time the natural resource base was better than it is today. . . ."

Citizens' Rights and Needs for Communication

"The right to communicate freely is a basic human right and a necessity for sustainable development. Access to information is essential for informed decision-making at all levels. As Chapter 40 of Agenda 21 declares, 'in sustainable development, everyone is a user and provider of information considered in the broad sense that includes data, information , appropriately packaged experience and knowledge.' The International Meeting of Journalists on Environment and Development (meeting in Belo Horizonte, May 20-24, 1992) identified as threats to democratic communication unequal access to the media, the concentration of information resources in the hands of economic groups, censorship and other forms of government control. Governments and international institutions should guarantee the right of all people to communicate, to collect, to put in proper shape, to disseminate and to exchange all information they choose without any risk to personal security. People should have the material and cultural means, including the basic mail and telephone facilities to communicate with colleagues locally and globally. Unfortunately, in many Southern countries these facilities are deteriorating."--Treaty on Communication by Non Governmental Organizations Meeting at the Rio Earth Summit

"Everyone has the right to the freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights from Synapse #25, Fall 1993, p. 7)

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." (Article I of the Bill of Rights from Synapse #25, Fall 1993, p.5).

Return to the Index of Synapse 41, Fall 1997