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…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will continue with the book, Philosophy in the Flesh: the Embodied Mind & Its Challenge to Western Thought, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. This is a long book and…
Futures Study Group
via ZoomA volume that provides a broad overview of the coming webinars. A very good set of studies that deal with anticipation and futures is the series RethinkX (https://www.rethinkx.com/). Many of the series…
Reducing Social, Economic and Ecological Stress with the Genuine Progress Indicator
via ZoomThe dominate economic signal on Earth, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is inaccurate and dangerous in relation to our overall well-being and sustainability on Earth, while the Genuine Progress Indicator…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will be concluding the book, Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence by Karen Armstrong. In Part III, Armstrong covers the modern era, from the Reformation and the…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomNote that April 11 is not the second Wednesday of the month, the time we have been meeting recently. We will finish discussing the book, Philosophy in the Flesh: the…
This Was 2020
via ZoomWhat role can the public library play in publishing community voices and creating communitas? The year 2020 was especially difficult for Minnesotans as we weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and George…
History Study Group
via ZoomOur next book is: The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy. We are taking on the 2021 revised edition that is evidently quite popular as it is…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will begin reading A History of Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (2001) by Christian Delacampagne. The paperback version retails for around $28 ($23 on Amazon), but there are used books…
Ginny Hanson Poetry Day: The Poetry of Donna Issac
via ZoomDonna Isaac will read from each of her publications as well as new poems she is working on. Teacher and Poet, Donna Isaac holds English degrees from James Madison University…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will continue reading A History of Philosophy in the Twentieth Century by Christian Delacampagne. For the 8th we will discuss chapters 2 and 3, in which the author covers the development of…
Minnesota in World War II
Robert H. Rohlf Room at Ridgedale Library, Ridgedale MNWhat was the reality of war for a state so far from Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan? Learn the stories of ordinary people who went to far flung battlefields or…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe are still gaining daylight these days - which means you can enjoy our next book almost anywhere: The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science by Seb Falk.…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe plan to conclude our discussion of A History of Philosophy in the Twentieth Century by Christian Delacampagne. Early in my study of philosophy I was told that if you really want…
Futures Study Group
via ZoomAs mentioned previously, there was interest in hydroponics of raising commercial plants in houses. A related area that has not been touched on is the raising of fish commercially. The…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomFor this meeting we are going to begin a discussion about distributive justice. First, we'll do an overview. Both the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy have articles on distributive…
Annual Picnic
Cherokee Park Picnic Shelter, Chippewa and Winona St., St. PaulCome join us at the small picnic shelter in Cherokee Park in St. Paul's West Side neighborhood for our annual picnic. We will start gathering at 11:30 with serving beginning…
History Study Group
via ZoomHeading Southeast from our last book we travel to Burma. A place greatly influenced by natural disaster, colonial rule, fast-rising inequality, disintegrating state institutions, social media, China next door, climate…
Global Climate Summit in Egypt November 2022: The Role of Fresh Energy in the Push for Meeting the U.S. Commitment of 50% Reduction in Carbon Emissions
Washburn Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419J. Drake Hamilton, Senior Director, Science Policy, Fresh Energy, will explain that President Biden, on November 1, 2021, was at the Global Climate Summit held in Glasgow, Scotland. To 40,000…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe are finishing the book, Chapters 6-9, The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century, by ThantMyint-U. Burma, a place greatly influenced by natural…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will discuss a paper by Nancy Fraser, “Social Movements vs. Disciplinary Bureaucracies: The Discourses of Social Needs” (1987) Center for Humanistic Studies Occasional Papers, Number 8, 3-37. For a copy of…
Minnesota and the Ultra-Resistance
Washburn Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419Based on his 2018-2019 oral history project, “We Don’t Want You to Go Either,” Peter Simmons will talk about Minnesotans who, during 1967-1970, took part in raids on Selective Service…
History Study Group
via ZoomWe will be discussing Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer. Of course you have heard about Cornelius Vanderbilt and his unbelievable…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will begin reading The Human Condition (1958) by Hannah Arendt. You can find a new paperback of this book for around $22 or an ebook for about $15. Since this…
The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota
Washburn Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419The Great Depression New Deal-era program, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), has been recognized as the largest conservation program in U.S. history. Its Minnesota story is a fascinating one, involving…
History Study Group
via ZoomWhile we read many fantastic books, this was the first time in months where everyone was really looking forward to the rest of the book! We have seen Cornelius Vanderbilt…
Philosophy Study Group
via ZoomWe will continue our discussion of The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt by reading Parts III and IV. This is not a difficult book to read, but the arguments can be complex…
Philosophy Study Group – Rescheduled!
via ZoomWe will finish up our discussion of Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition, covering Parts V and VI, in which she discusses action and the modern age, drawing her final conclusions…
Systems Change Not Climate Change
Washburn Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419We can’t grow our way out of the problems such as climate change. That means neither growth nor “degrowth”. Malcolm X has said that a chicken cannot produce a duck…
History Study Group
via ZoomBlood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West, by Hampton Sides We are finishing the book. So far we have met a wonderful assortment of characters. Navajo warrior Narbona,…