History Study Group
via ZoomBefore our Covid-19 delay, we were in the process of reading the book, The Swerve (2012), by Stephen Greenblatt. This book won many awards, including both a Pulitzer and a National…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will begin a discussion of Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages (2004) by Richard E. Rubenstein. This book can be had for under…
The Electoral College —Time For A Change?
via ZoomThis presentation by independent scholar Alan Johnson will address the history of, and proposed alterations to, the Electoral College. We will discuss the intentions of the 1787 framers of the…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will be beginning a new book, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created (2011), by Charles Mann. A new paperback edition of this book can be had for $15 - $18,…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomFor this meeting we will finish discussing the book Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages by Richard E. Rubenstein. We will see…
Mapping Prejudice
via ZoomFor many years restrictive covenants in deeds and documents related to real estate transactions reserved land for the exclusive use of white people. Research involving academics, community activists, and community…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomFor this meeting we will begin reading Aldous Huxley's book, The Perennial Philosophy, which proved to be very popular when it was first published in 1945 and remains so in some…
Taking the Fight to Parkinson’s: Rock Steady Boxing
via ZoomRock Steady Boxing (RSB) is a non-contact boxing program that helps people with Parkinson’s through intense exercise, camaraderie, and good fun. Established in Indianapolis in 2006, RSB has 900 affiliate…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will conclude our discussion of the book 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, by Charles Mann. The last parts of the book return to the subject of the conquest of…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will conclude our discussion of the book, The Perennial Philosophy, by Aldous Huxley. At this meeting we will be looking for immanent arguments and comments, the sort that can…
Celebrating Earth Month – Learn, Do, Make an Impact!
via ZoomEarth Day, 51 years old this year, has grown into an entire month of events encouraging us to recognize the importance of our impact on the planet. Our April speaker,…
History Study Group
via ZoomFor this meeting we will be beginning a new book, Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes (2010) by Tamim Ansary. This book can be had new in…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will be discussing a book by Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and author of the noted book, Man's Search for Meaning. This new book, Say Yes to Life: In Spite…
Ginny Hanson Poetry Day: The Poetry of Philip Bryant
via ZoomEllingtonia, The Great Migration and The Promised Land This presentation will focus around two poems in my book, "The Promised Land." I will start with a short reading of the…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will continue our discussion of the book, Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes, by Tamim Ansary. For this meeting we will cover chapters 8 through 11, which…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe are starting a new book, Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction (2014), by Jennifer Nagel. This book is a part of the Very Short Introduction series by Oxford University. A paperback costs…
Cass Gilbert’s White Bear Cottages
via ZoomWell-known Minnesota architect Cass Gilbert spent much of his early career designing homes and other buildings around the White Bear area. Rheanna O’Brien of the White Bear Lake Area Hustorical Society…
History Study Group
via ZoomThis meeting will cover the last chapters of the book, Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes, by Tamim Ansary. The author brings his story of Islam up…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will conclude our book, Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction , by Jennifer Nagel. The last part of the book covers some of the major issues that are currently being debated…
History Study Group
via ZoomThe book we are tackling this time is From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt against the West and the Remaking of Asia (2012) by Indian author Pankaj Mishra. A new paperback…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomZoom Link For this meeting we will spend our time discussing Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous by George Berkeley. First published in 1713, it has become a part of the…
Annual Picnic
Cherokee Park Picnic Shelter, Chippewa and Winona St., St. PaulThis is our annual summer picnic, resumed after a year off because of the pandemic. MISF will provide the drinks, plasticware, and grills, and St. Paul Parks & Rec will…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will finish discussing the book From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt against the West and the Remaking of Asia (2015) by Pankaj Mishra. This will conclude our reading of…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomAnother epistemological classic is on the agenda for this meeting – the first and one that philosophers have had to address in one way or another for twenty-four centuries: Plato's…
Resources of the Minnesota State Law Library
via ZoomPresenter: Erica Nutzman will give a brief overview of the history of the library as well as describe the unique resource collections available for research at the Minnesota State Law…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will begin the book In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos (2005) by Richard Lloyd Parry. A new paperback can be found for as little as $10,…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomFor this meeting we are going to have a discussion about aesthetics. We will be using the book Beauty: A Very Short Introduction by Roger Scruton. One can find a new…
Copyright and Sherlock Holmes
via ZoomHow long does copyright protection for fictional characters last? Why are people still suing about Sherlock Holmes whose last appearance in an Arthur Conan Doyle story was in 1927. What…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe are going to conclude our discussion of the book, In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos, by journalist Richard Lloyd Parry. This is a book about the…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will conclude our discussion of the book Beauty: A Very Short Introduction by Roger Scruton. In the last half of this book, the author examines what is sometimes termed “serious…
Racial Paradox of the Twin Cities
via ZoomWhy has our famously liberal political culture been at the same time so brutally hard on minorities? Looking at wealth gaps, incarceration, life expectancy etc. we vie with Mississippi, How…
History Study Group
via ZoomThere has been much talk recently of “political bubbles,” where people reinforce their own biases by talking only with those who agree with them, increasing the polarization we already have…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe are tackling one of the classics for this meeting: David Hume and his An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Published in 1748, it has profoundly influenced epistemological studies to this…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will finish our discussion of History Lessons: How Textbooks from Around the World Portray U.S. History by Dana Lindaman and Kyle Ward. You may also be concerned with how historians…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will finish discussing David Hume's classic, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In the second half of the book Hume talks about free will and critiques miracles, among other topics. These…
Historic Layers: Russian Alaska
via ZoomAre Asia and America connected? This geographic question occupied Russian explorers, entrepreneurs, and tsars in the 17th century. The answer led them to probe the American coast, trade for furs,…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will start a new book: Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence (2015) by Karen Armstrong. A new paperback of the book is around $17 and an ebook…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will begin a discussion of the book, Philosophy in the Flesh: the Embodied Mind & Its Challenge to Western Thought (1999), by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. For the 9th we…
Rent Control in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Program features and potential impacts
via ZoomRent control comes in many varieties in the U.S. In this talk, Prof. Edward Goetz of the University of Minnesota describes the range of different approaches that have been used…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will continue discussing our book, Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence by Karen Armstrong, by reading Part II. This is a book of warfare and conflict followed…