missing the "university experience"
📌 Weekly Bulletin: Lifelong Learners and the Pursuit of an Intellectual Life Starts with Intellectual Community
Why is the university so appealing?
Is it the environment? The architecture and spaces dedicated to the production and preservation of knowledge?
Is it the people? The tutors and classmates who shape and challenge our ideas?
Is it the time? The dedicated space in which to study for its own sake?
Or is it the knowledge we gain?
In 2026, Universities across the world are facing a reckoning. We all know the stats and the headlines. Yet, spaces are emerging in parallel with the university which are fostering intellectual belonging once found within the gated walls of academia. They include feminist reading groups, pub lectures, and anti-fascist book clubs. They include online spaces and communities flocking to the tune of #personalcurriculums and #selfstudy.
Intellectual community is not just about the meeting place or the topics discussed. The value is in identifying safe spaces where our ideas are challenged, stretched, and emboldened. Where we show up as ourselves and find ourselves belonging. Where we engage in the pillars of building and embodying an intellectual life as individuals and a collective.
The Pillars of An Intellectual Life
Continuous Learning: In order to live a true "intellectual life”, one must treat their mind as a muscle deserving of care and challenge which can only be found in the act of curiosity and the determination to seek out answers. It is embodied in the library search, pouring through footnotes, developing a web of ideas which overlap, layer, and stretch. To learn continuously is to incorporate learning into the day to day. To engage in the topics and remain curious about things that both entice and repel us.
Critical Engagement: A true intellectual existence is one which acknowledges nuance and does away with black and white thinking. There is a repetitive practice of questioning which takes place in the mind of the intellectual. A challenge to the concept of truth and a sense of excitement and even comfort in the state of ambiguity. Nothing is as it seems.
Sharing Knowledge: Knowledge is valued in so far as it is shared. Half baked ideas are, in many ways, more intriguing than those which has supposedly reached their conclusion. The intellectual life is one which is shared and enriched by the collective. It is brought together over a cup of coffee or glass of wine, laughter and tears, as well as in the coupled silence of two beings sitting and reading alongside one another, looking up every few minutes to share a moving quote.
Listening & Challenging with Care: An intellectual life is also one which is observant. One which does not demand to be seen or acknowledged, as much as felt and embraced. To learn is also to listen. To become a welcomer of lessons presented by another. Our role is not solely to educate but also to make space to be educated. To listen and offer challenge to our intellectual collectives with care and curiosity. To ask questions which might help another make connections or better articulate a point. This is done not to shame or to boast. Instead, this is a practice of deep human care.
Rituals for an Intellectual Life
An intellectual life is not a prescription. It goes beyond a syllabus or curriculum. It is a ritual, a behavior of sorts. It is a state of being as much as it is a set of practices. However, if you are still in the process of figuring our what an intellectual life might look like for you, perhaps these prompts will give you somewhere to start:
Journal Prompt: What am I curious to learn more about today?
Reading somewhere that puts you at ease
Ring up a friend to ask what they are reading, a museum they visited recently, etc.
Free write any ideas which come into your head (you can even start with describing something in your environment or simply writing “I don’t know what to write”). Keep going for at least 5 minutes.
Annotate an article and note any sources in the footnotes worth further exploration.
Review a news article or broadcast and deep dive on any statistic provided (where did this information come from? What was the study? What were the findings? Was it accurately represented?)
etc.
Intellectual Community
Unlike at University, where classes, seminars, and the common room created the ideal space for the fostering of friendships and intellectual communities, doing so as an adult requires proactive steps. The first is simply the acknowledgement that you, yourself, have to show up and create a space of intellectual belonging in order to receive. There is countless book clubs, community organizations, and writing groups you can join to establish common ground but it does come down to making yourself available and willing to participate.
But don’t worry. If you are reading this, I am willing to bet you are a bit of an introvert. You likely read articles, books, and substack articles and despite the writer’s word resonating with you, you are more comfortable observing.
Good things come to those who wait but if no one knows you’re there, they won’t extend an invitation.
So, consider this an invitation 💌
Accepted Society is a publication but it is also an intellectual community built by and for lifelong learners. And here is what we have going on in the community this week!
This Week in Accepted Society
Community Led Silent & Interactive Study Sessions: 24/7
[Online] Self Directed Study & Creative Writing with Cree (Monday, July 27)
[Online] 5am Club with Cait Murphy-Hurrell (Tuesday, July 28)
[In Person; UK] British Library Study Day with Kaelyn Grace Apple | Historian (Tuesday, July 28)
[Online] Modern East Asian History Reading Group: Homeseeking by Karissa Chen with Kaelyn & Ezra (Tuesday, July 28)
[Online] Neurodivergent Support Group (Tuesday, July 28)
[Online] Brainstorm and Write with Kaelyn (Friday, July 31)
[Online, Italy] Italy Chapter Virtual Meet Up with Stefania (Friday, July 31)
[Online] End of Week: Write & Reflect with Cait (Friday, July 31)
[Online] Personal Curriculum Accountability Meeting with Shyah (Saturday, August 1)
[Online] August Monthly Reset with Kaelyn & Hannah (Sunday, August 2)
