Rich Harwood captivates scholars after being invited to speak at Springsteen Symposium on September 16

The weekend of September 14-16 was all about Bruce Springsteen for Rich Harwood as he joined 38,000 fellow fans at Bruce's DC concert at Nationals Park on Friday night before speaking at the Springsteen Symposium in West Long Branch, NJ on Sunday morning. The Springsteen Symposium featured an academic look at Bruce and the impact his music has had on religion, politics, business, and literature, with scholars coming from as far as Australia to participate in the discussions.

While there, Rich lead a discussion about how Springsteen has incorporated the life of regular Americans into his songs, and transformed concerts into "communions," using examples from his soon-to-be-released new book The Work of Hope. Citing people's need to Turn Outward, Rich discussed the potential for people to strengthen their role in communities in order to kick-start a new trajectory for the country, allowing for a new sense of hope and possibility.

Rich's work at the Springsteen Symposium continues his efforts to spread the messages in The Work of Hope as he has previously engaged with faith and political leaders, librarians, and social change organizations, all of which are eager to adopt the new findings.