2025 FASPE Reunion Conference: "We Have Never Been Woke"

Join GradFUTURES and FASPE for  the 2025 FASPE Reunion Conference "Encouragement in Ethical Pursuit".

Society has never been more egalitarian—in theory. Prejudice is taboo, and diversity is strongly valued. At the same time, social and economic inequality have exploded. In We Have Never Been Woke, Musa al-Gharbi argues that these trends are closely related, each tied to the rise of a new elite—the symbolic capitalists. In education, media, nonprofits, and beyond, members of this elite work primarily with words, ideas, images, and data, and are very likely to identify as allies of antiracist, feminist, LGBTQ, and other progressive causes. Their dominant ideology is “wokeness” and, while their commitment to equality is sincere, they actively benefit from and perpetuate the inequalities they decry. Indeed, their egalitarian credentials help them gain more power and status, often at the expense of the marginalized and disadvantaged.

A powerful critique, We Have Never Been Woke reveals that only by challenging this elite’s self-serving narratives can we hope to address social and economic inequality effectively.

FASPE (Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics) challenges its professionals to recognize and exercise their ethical and leadership responsibilities as influencers. FASPE’s distinctive approach is to examine the roles and behavior of individual professionals in Germany and elsewhere between 1933 and 1945 as an initial framework for approaching ethical responsibility in the professions today. 

Each year, FASPE awards 80 to 90 Fellowships to graduate students and early-career professionals in Business, Clergy, Design & Technology, Journalism, Law, and Medicine. The Fellowships begin with intense study in Germany and Poland where FASPE takes advantage of the urgency created by the power of place to translate the history into the present. The FASPE Fellowship experience extends well beyond the two weeks in Europe. Fellows join a lifetime network, now comprised of over 900 alumni. FASPE curates and facilitates continuing conversations and learning, including through in-person gatherings; online education; participation in writing, lecturing, and symposia; and social and professional networking.

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